Interpretation ID: aiam3152
Nissan Motor Co.
Ltd.
Suite 707
1919 Pennsylvania Avenue
N.W.
P.O. Box 57105
Washington
D.C. 20037;
Dear Mr. Murakami: This is in confirmation of the discussion with Mr. Schwartz of m office when you met with him on September 10, 1979, as well as further confirmation of the telephone conversation between you and Mr. Schwartz in response to the letter from Mr. Maeda of your company dated February 9, 1979. As you may remember, the questions raised in this letter were substantially answered in the Agency's response of February 13, 1979, to a previous letter from your firm. In addition, I have enclosed a copy of the Agency's letter of Volvo on the same subject as requested.; Section 4.5.2 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 115 (Vehicl Identification Number) States that the second section of the vehicle identification number for passenger cars shall be decipherable into the vehicle's line, series, body type, engine type, and restraint system type. 'Line' is defined as 'a name which a manufacturer applies to a family of vehicles which have a degree of commonality in construction, such as body, Chassis or cab type.' 'Series' is defined as 'a name which a manufacturer applies to a subdivision of 'line', denoting price, size, or weight identification, and which is utilized by the manufacturer for marketing purposes.'; Your particular concern relates to the division of a particular Datsu model into several series based on the amount and type of optional equipment with which it is sold.; Based on the facts presented, it is apparent that Datsun models wit different optional equipment packages could each be designated a 'series' if Nissan desired. Nonetheless, the definition of 'series' makes clear that the responsibility for applying and utilizing the 'series' designation rests initially with the manufacturer. If the differences between the potential series are superficial and a manufacturer chooses not to designate separate series for marketing reasons because of the superficiality, the agency will not require such a designation.; Examples of series include Chrysler Plymouth Fury I, Fury II and Fur III.; You also wish to know which types of restraint systems need to b distinguished within the VIN. Active belts, passive belts, and air bags must each be separately designated. Please note that if all the vehicles of a particular model utilize one restraint system type, that type must be reported to the Agency, but need not be directly encoded in the VIN itself.; Sincerely, Frank Berndt, Chief Counsel