Interpretation ID: nht70-1.38

DATE: 01/29/70

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Lawrence R. Schneider; NHTSA

TO: Eshelman Inc.

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This is in reply to your letter of December 20, 1969, in which you responded to our inquiry concerning consumer information on vehicles sold by your company.

You stated that your Golden Eagle cars are "made from new model Chevrolets without any mechanical change," and that the "consumer information and the warranty book as supplied by General Motors are passed along to the consumer with the vehicle." You also stated that you place a label next to the CM certification label, quoting language similar to that specified in the Certification Regulations for the distributor who alter a vehicle, 49 CFR @ 367.6. We are enclosing a copy of the Certification Regulation; please note that the abovementioned distributor statement, if it is applicable, requires the month and year of alteration to be stated immediately after the name of the distributor.

The question whether the procedure you have outlined in respect to certification is acceptable depends on whether the alterations that you perform on the Chevrolets are sufficiently minor to place you in the category of "distributor" rather than "manufacturer". In order to make this determination, we need and would like to receive more detailed information on the work that you do on the vehicles.

The question whether the practice you describe, of passing on the General Motors consumer information, is acceptable depends on whether the information is actually correct for the vehicle as you alter then. The weight of the final vehicle, for example, is an important factor in the vehicle's performance in all three areas of acceleration, braking, and tire reserve load. We should mention that you are fully responsible, subject to the penalties specified in section 109 of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, for ensuring that the correctness of the consumer information that you provide with your vehicles is not adversely affected by the work that you do on them, whether you are ultimately placed in the category of manufacturer or distributor.

We are pleased to be of assistance.