Interpretation ID: 7067
14195 Westchester Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80921
Dear Mr. Randall:
This responds to your letter of March 2, 1992, asking for confirmation that you will be a manufacturer of "used" motor vehicles under the fact situation that you outlined and a previous interpretation of this agency.
You intend to assemble replica vehicles which will incorporate new items of motor vehicle equipment except for "previously used engine/transmission/drive axle/gearing combinations." Because "its running gear is not new", you believe that we would consider your vehicle "as 'used' even thought its body and chassis are previously unused." In support you cite a l980 interpretation of this Office under which the then Chief Counsel stated that "the agency tends to view as 'used' a motor vehicle whose running gear is not new even though its body and chassis may be previously unused." In that instance, the vehicle for which the interpretation was given was to be constructed from new parts except for the front suspension and axle, engine, and transmission.
Your letter has provided an opportunity for the agency to review its position on motor vehicles constructed from a mixture of old and new parts. When the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act was enacted in 1966, such motor vehicles were primarily "kit cars." A "kit car" in those days consisted usually of a new body placed upon the chassis of an older Volkswagen from which the original body had been removed. The resulting assemblage generally retained the title of the original vehicle. The agency termed this type of vehicle a "used" vehicle, and stated that the assemblage did not have to comply with the Federal motor vehicle safety standards that apply to vehicles at the time they are manufactured. The primary reason for this interpretation was the realization that it would be impracticable, if not impossible, for a motor vehicle to meet all contemporary Federal motor vehicle safety standards if that vehicle used a chassis that was manufactured before January 1, 1968, the date that the Federal standards began to apply to motor vehicles.
Over the years, the body-on-chassis type of construction has grown less, and more complex fact situations have arisen with respect to motor vehicles constructed from old and new parts. Yet with the introduction of an increasing number of new parts, including the construction of a new chassis, the agency has applied the same rationale. With respect to the use of an older engine, NHTSA realized that compliance with two specific standards could be affected by the design of the engine and its components: Standard No. 124 Accelerator Control Systems, and Standard No. 301 Fuel System Integrity.
Your letter affords the opportunity to review that rationale. Standard No. 124 has been in effect since September 1, 1973. Standard No. 301, initially effective January 1, 1968, contains upgraded performance requirements applicable to passenger cars as of September 1, 1977. Given the substantial number of motor vehicles that have been produced in accordance with these standards, and the probability that engines from these motor vehicles, though "used", are likely to be incorporated into the manufacture of vehicles that are otherwise new, we have concluded that this rationale no longer supports an interpretation that relieves the manufacturer of a motor vehicle that uses all new components, except engine and drive train, from the responsibility of producing and certifying a motor vehicle that complies with all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards.
Although you are correct that your situation appears analogous to the one in the 1980 letter, the passage of time has rendered that opinion untenable today. In a somewhat similar situation, on April 22, 1991, we informed Memory Motors, a replica manufacturer, that its product would be considered a "new" vehicle for purpose of compliance with the Federal motor vehicle safety standards where the previously used chassis was retained in modified form, and the only used components retained included the rear axle assembly and front end components.
As a small volume manufacturer of new motor vehicles, however, under 49 CFR Part 555 you become eligible to apply for a temporary exemption from one or more of the Federal motor vehicle safety standards for a period of up to three years if immediate compliance with the standard(s) would create substantial economic hardship. Although NHTSA does not grant blanket exemptions from the standards, it is sympathetic to small manufacturers who appear to have attempted in good faith to meet the standards but whose economic circumstances do not permit total compliance before manufacture of the vehicle is scheduled to commence. If you are interested in pursuing this possibility, we shall be pleased to advise you accordingly.
Sincerely,
Paul Jackson Rice Chief Counsel ref:VSA d:5/21/92