Interpretation ID: milazzo1.ztv

Mr. Bryan Milazzo
100 Page Road
Bow, NH 03304

Dear Mr. Milazzo:

This is in reply to your e-mails of January 20 and 27, 2000, to Taylor Vinson of this Office. Your second e-mail withdraws the request for confidentiality that you made in your first communication. Your letter seeks clarification of the status of Ameritech of Ridgefield, CT.

Your first question is based upon an article you read in the December 1997 issue of Road and Track magazine which purportedly listed Ameritech as a manufacturer of certain McLaren F1 vehicles. You ask whether Ameritech is "a manufacturer of this vehicle," as defined under NHTSA regulations.

Under our basic vehicle safety statute, 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 - Motor Vehicle Safety, "manufacturer" is defined as "a person (A) manufacturing or assembling motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment; or (B) importing motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment for resale." 49 U.S.C. 30102(a)(5). At the time of the December 1997 article, Ameritech had imported several McLaren F-1 vehicles for resale. (We have been advised that these vehicles had been completely assembled in Europe, but not certified for sale in the United States.) Therefore, McLaren was the "manufacturer" of these vehicles within the meaning of section 30102(a)(5)(A) and Ameritech was the "manufacturer" of these vehicles within the meaning of section 30102(a)(5)(B).

You ask whether Ameritech is "a manufacturer of any other automobiles or vehicles listed with NHTSA." We have no information that Ameritech has assembled any other vehicles, but we believe that it has imported other vehicles for resale.

Your next question is whether Ameritech maintains "any facilities for testing their vehicles for NHTSA and DOT FMVSS standards." We have never asked Ameritech, and it has never informed us, whether it maintains "any facilities for testing [its] vehicles for NHTSA and DOT FMVSS standards."

Your fourth question is whether we can supply "any applications of other information specifying that Ameritech meets the definition of manufacturer as referred to under any section of CFR 49."

Enclosed is a copy of a statement that Ameritech filed with us in 1996 pursuant to 49 CFR Part 566, Manufacturer Identification.

You next ask whether "Ameritech McLaren F1 vehicles carry an Ameritech vehicle identification number (VIN) or a McLaren VIN." Enclosed is a VIN "Decipher Information" statement that Ameritech filed, indicating that those vehicles it imported import for resale would carry Ameritech VINs. We do not know whether any of the vehicles also carried McLaren VINs.

You express an opinion that "any company or individual would qualify as a manufacturer for the sake of importing a motor vehicle," and ask "what is preventing me from calling myself a manufacturer and importing any number of cars not meeting FMVSS. Please explain how Ameritech qualifies under NHTSA/DOT and I would not."

You may import "any number of cars not meeting FMVSS" provided you are a registered importer (see 49 CFR Part 592) and we have deemed the cars capable of being modified to comply with the FMVSS (49 CFR Part 593). As a registered importer importing vehicles for resale, you would be a statutory manufacturer of these vehicles, as discussed above. Your principal obligation would be to certify to us that you had modified the vehicles to comply with the FMVSS, and to attach a certification label to the vehicles.

We recognize that Ameritech did not follow this procedure. Although it certified compliance of the McLaren vehicles after modifying them, it was not a registered importer, and the vehicles had not been found to be capable of being modified to comply with the FMVSSs. We did not know in advance that Ameritech was acting in this way. When we did become aware of Ameritech's actions, we informed Ameritech that it was unacceptable, and Ameritech ceased such importations.

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
Enclosure
ref:571
d.2/22/00