This doesn't bode well...
I can't imagine SEMA or FFR will let that happen quietly.
Remember: This is coming from from a state where it's legal to ride in the back of a pickup truck as long as you're over 18 and has an exception to helmet law if you're over 21, take a safety course (ironic) and carry $10k in accident medical benefits (because that's enough.)
Are they going to outlaw CJ5s too. I bet more people have died in those than dune buggies.
Bureaucracy at its best. Bureaucrats are one of the few creatures on this planet that are worse than lawyers.
The0retical said:I can't imagine SEMA or FFR will let that happen quietly.
It already happened, they outlawed the specialty builds a few years ago. Now they are just not renewing/titling the ones which were grandfathered in before the change. Been a big issue with trike owners out there since you cant title a custom trike in TX anymore either.
i thought Texas was the home freedom, eve thought about moving there, looking into other options now
In reply to tdrrally :
If you are looking for registration freedom, Florida seems like one of the most lax. Michigan as well, I think.
Oddly enough, PA is pretty lax as well once you figure out a few of the loopholes. I haven't tried to title a kit car, though.
When I lived in Georgetown KY, you could drive anything on the street as long as it had a VIN that matched the title. There was no inspection to speak of.
In reply to Ian F :
I feel like we're missing part of the story here. Chassis swapped cars retaining the VIN of the donor have been a thing for 40 years or more. Heck, even California has the SB100 provision for vehicles which are specialty constructions. Why now? And why waste the resources chasing a diminishing return on safety when banning motorcycles (not that I endorse this either) would arguably yield a better return if you're looking to increase vehicular safety.
In reply to The0retical :
You hush. They may be listening to you. And if they do ban Motorcycles I'm going to have to move again because There is no way I'm giving that up. And I really don't want to move again.
Thanks for posting this.
I donated.
It seems like this article reached enough eyeballs to put them over the top on their fundraising goal.
But, if it really comes down to it, i think there are a lot more of us in Texas willing to throw down money to protect the hobby. The trick is reaching and informing us.
In reply to The0retical :
True... When I read about laws like this I often wonder, "don't you guys have more important things to get worked up about than bothering a group of car enthusiasts building rarely driven cars that might number a few dozen each year? Out of the hundreds of thousands of regular cars?" Just seems like a waste of resources.
The question isnt "why are they picking on kit car enthusiasts?", its "who makes money by having them banned?"
logdog said:The question isnt "why are they picking on kit car enthusiasts?", its "who makes money by having them banned?"
It's those big corporate auto manufacturers, forcing us to buy pre assembled cars!
JamesMcD said:logdog said:The question isnt "why are they picking on kit car enthusiasts?", its "who makes money by having them banned?"
It's those big corporate auto manufacturers, forcing us to buy pre assembled cars!
Not really. The types building kit cars are not going to buy a brand new car just because they have been prevented from being able to drive/register their kit. I just don't see where the profit vs. lobbying investment is.
That's like legalizing weed and thinking everybody's going to grow it themselves. People barely even grow their own tomatoes.
It was a joke.
It was a good one
The0retical said:In reply to Ian F :
I feel like we're missing part of the story here. Chassis swapped cars retaining the VIN of the donor have been a thing for 40 years or more. Heck, even California has the SB100 provision for vehicles which are specialty constructions. Why now? And why waste the resources chasing a diminishing return on safety when banning motorcycles (not that I endorse this either) would arguably yield a better return if you're looking to increase vehicular safety.
The short answer is Taxes. California loves the SB100 as we register at appraised value and we pay our taxes and they simply do not care beyond that. Same with the classic cars and no inspections, we pay our taxes and they are totally fine.
I am guessing that this is the actual real issue in Texas.
What the hell. If it's safe, can pass emissions and people want to build something, why do they care if it's custom titled? That's ridiculous!
So would this make factory five stuff illegal...?
You never know how accurate some article you read on the the internet is, but only going by what’s written in that blog, where did “...and other kit cars” come from? Everything in there specifically attacks dune buggies and sand rails. Not that that makes any sense in itself.
In reply to MazdaFace :
If my definition is correct then Yes, And I bet there are a Bunch Of them In Tejas.
I read through the TX manual and as long as the kit car comes with an mso or maintains certain parts of the starting vehicle it's going to be allowed. That law specifically targets dune buggies and sand rails as off road vehicles. If I had to guess it's probably backlash from something that the side by side guys were doing to get their rigs street legal.
logdog said:The question isnt "why are they picking on kit car enthusiasts?", its "who makes money by having them banned?"
The good thing is that if the answer is 'not many people, and not much money' then that means it is actually feasible to turn the tables with four digits of lobbying expenditure. Where there is not much money involved either way, governance basically goes to the people/interests who simply show up and say something.
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