Tim - Firstly my apologies for hijacking your thread. I guess that this topic is close to your heart, so I hope you don't mind if I press on !
Hersh, Mike & Pete - thanks guys. You are right, we do need a common voice to be able to deal with these "people". That might be possible from our perspective, but dealing with the self-serving politicians & bureaucrats from seven different States will be the challenge. We have inherited a weird setup whereby Oz is really just a loose agglomeration of 7 separate sovereign States - the politicians & bureacrats of each one wanting to preserve their "independent" status (for obvious reasons). Rumour has it that Oz has more politicians per head of population than any other country on earth - we also have more "standard rail gauges" than any other country - some 33 to date ! (So you see the dimensions of the problems we face).
Russ - EUREKA !!! The LVVTA just what is needed over here.
That puts paid to any silly ideas of NZ becoming just another State of Oz - it should be the other way around. If we could get that sort of common-sense from the politicians/bureaucrats, we would be happy to just be that little bit of NZ on the left !!
Robert - I assume that you are going for "Low Volume Vehicle Compliance" (LVVC) so that all RF cars will get automatic approval, regardless of the actual "assembler" (providing they are all built identically). This has got to be a way better alternative to the existing ICV (Individually Constructed Vehicle) "rules" where everyone is pretty-much on their own. As you mention, the cost of full emissions testing is ridiculous in terms of our small community of interest (but trivial for the likes of Ford/Holden, etc). So ... back to my original point about emissions - are they really that relevant in the scheme of things for small manufacturers/home builders, etc ? Why not some exemptions (or at least leniency) in this area ? The only way we'll get any of this is to band together & approach the National regulators who write the ADR's - if they could issue CLEAR rules for "LVV's", then the State minions would have to fall in line. The way I see it is that the major car clubs (eg Cobra Club, etc) & the ICV manufacturers would provide the obvious foundation for such a movement (much like in NZ).
Michael - don't be put off by all my Oz-related ranting & raving, or by current stories of delays, etc. Its simple : just do it ! The on-going buzz you will get from driving the car will be worth any amount of frustration & delay - trust me !
Kind Regards,
Peter D.
