![OPEN BORDERS HOW A FERRARI-OBSESSED BUREAUCRAT OPENED AMERICA TO A WORLD OF FORBIDDEN CARS.](https://cdn.magzter.com/1357655671/1689677621/articles/MpSxI6hDL1689741023095/OPEN-BORDERS-HOW-A-FERRARIOBSESSED-BUREAUCRAT-OPENED-AMERICA-TO-A-WORLD-OF-FORBIDDEN-CARS.jpg)
Particularly for those with any awareness of foreign cars for instance, the typical Road & Track reader. Newly enacted U.S. emissions and safety regulations choked the performance of cars sold here, while shrinking R&D budgets limited consumer choice as big manufacturers certified fewer models and engine families for sale. Meanwhile, several smaller foreign brands bowed out of the U.S. market entirely.
For many years, those who wished to partake in tasty automotive hardware sold elsewhere had three basic choices. They could (1) expend considerable effort and sums "federalizing" noncompliant cars from abroad, (2) emigrate, or (3) lump it.
Then, in 1988, came a quiet thunderbolt: the Imported Vehicle Safety Compliance Act, also known as the 25-year rule. An amendment to the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, it “exempts non-conforming foreign motor vehicles that are 25 years old or older (‘classic or antique’) from the restrictions imposed by this Act.” It was accompanied in due course by a maddeningly non-harmonizing regulatory amendment from the EPA that permitted the entry of non-emissions-compliant machinery at least 21 years old.
The effect of the rules would not be realized for some years, but beginning in the late Nineties, the amendment’s impact became apparent. Forbidden fruit—Alfa Romeo Montreals, late-model Fiat Dinos, MGB GT V8s from the early Seventies— could be imported to America for nothing more than the price of purchase, applicable duties, and shipping fees.
Esta historia es de la edición August - September 2023 de Road & Track.
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Esta historia es de la edición August - September 2023 de Road & Track.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
![MR. CALIFORNIA](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2252/1708861/CIutG7xe51716471837312/MR-CALIFORNIA.jpg)
MR. CALIFORNIA
MEET THE MAN WHO PUT THE STATE ON THE MAP AS THE LEADER IN THE FIGHT AGAINST VEHICLE EMISSIONS.
![RESIDENT ALIEN](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2252/1708861/3vJ9-U8GP1716471318029/RESIDENT-ALIEN.jpg)
RESIDENT ALIEN
THE CZINGER 21C LOOKS LIKE IT ARRIVED FROM A DISTANT PLANET. INSTEAD, IT COMES FROM CALIFORNIA, WHICH IS KIND OF THE SAME THING.
![FUNNY FACE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2252/1708861/08PC6W7G51716471222373/FUNNY-FACE.jpg)
FUNNY FACE
THE CURIOUS CASE OF CALIFORNIA-DIAL WATCHES.
![THE PROBLEM WITH ROBERT WILLIAMS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2252/1708861/eyjTKIxgD1716470778481/THE-PROBLEM-WITH-ROBERT-WILLIAMS.jpg)
THE PROBLEM WITH ROBERT WILLIAMS
TOWARD THE END of our third interview, Robert Williams gives me some advice about overcoming creative blocks. “Phrase it as a problem,” he says. “
![Quiet Riot](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2252/1708861/MCmYY3c3K1716470528155/QUIET-RIOT.jpg)
Quiet Riot
In the Ioniq 5 N, Hyundai makes the case that an EV can tamp down racetrack noise without sacrificing capability.
![The Sound and the Fury](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2252/1708861/NMbmGRx1e1716470070406/THE-SOUND-AND-THE-FURY.jpg)
The Sound and the Fury
A legal feud over booming decibels put California's most historic roadracing circuit in jeopardy.
![HOLLYWOOD'S GREATEST STUNT DRIVER](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2252/1708861/pAdkTCuXv1716469755089/HOLLYWOODS-GREATEST-STUNT-DRIVER.jpg)
HOLLYWOOD'S GREATEST STUNT DRIVER
CAREY LOFTIN WAS THE KING OF THE SCIENTIFIC WILD-ASS GUESS
![OFFLINE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2252/1708861/h6egxritX1716469325981/OFFLINE.jpg)
OFFLINE
THIS BURBANK BOOKSTORE IS A REPOSITORY FOR THE WORLD OF AUTOMOTIVE INFORMATION NOT ON YOUR PHONE.
![THE COURSE OF HISTORY](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2252/1708861/modg4dABW1716468903544/THE-COURSE-OF-HISTORY.jpg)
THE COURSE OF HISTORY
The West Coast tracks where modern racing was born.
![TANK WARFARE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2252/1708861/Ccdf8X7Oe1716468477963/TANK-WARFARE.jpg)
TANK WARFARE
WHAT IF THE WHOLE CAR WERE A GAS TANK?