[Edmund]

The wrecking claw hangs over the Land Rover Defender as its operator prepares to crush the exclusive vehicle on the orders of US customs. Moments later the air is filled with the sound of twisted metal and shattering glass as the value of the car is reduced from a starting price of $100,000 to just $30 in seconds.

The legendary Land Rover Defender - a favourite with the Royal Family - had failed strict US safety laws and was banned from the roads for failing to have an airbag.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz2dKaNUVEm

[vinair]

Originally Posted by Edmund

The wrecking claw hangs over the Land Rover Defender as its operator prepares to crush the exclusive vehicle on the orders of US customs. Moments later the air is filled with the sound of twisted metal and shattering glass as the value of the car is reduced from a starting price of $100,000 to just $30 in seconds.

The legendary Land Rover Defender - a favourite with the Royal Family - had failed strict US safety laws and was banned from the roads for failing to have an airbag.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz2dKaNUVEm

What about all the custom stuff that the American's churn out?? are these cars fit to be on the road?

[VernaCular]

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[girimajiananth]

For all petrol heads out there , this thread must have viewer discretion advice . Brutal killing of a nice car . Send it back if it does not have an airbag (or better give it to me ) Why crush it like this ?
I was like when I saw the first image.

[GTO]

The real reason for destroying these Land Rovers is that they're imported illegally. VINs were changed and actual manufacturing dates fudged. IIRC, the importer was also arrested. Look up on the interweb, there's a load of news articles on the same.

Several examples were confiscated a long time back by the Customs. This case has been going on for a while.

[Rehaan]

Well, that wasn't a bluff...



To fill in the blanks here (from the same article) :

The importer manipulated the Defender to make it look over 25 years old so he could legally import it. People think they're getting a 1975 Defender but really they're getting a 2005 Defender that's been illegally imported.

...we could not offer it for resale or re-export it and we had to ultimately destroy it.

cya
R

PS - Thread title updated.

[Wildy]

That's very astonishing to see. However, I appreciate the US Govt. for implementing strict rules in view of national/and it's people security.

Wish someday our Indian Govt. too think positively about its people security and make a rule to have driver airbag and ABS as mandatory in every car.

[Edmund]

True that it's good that the US enforces strict action against illegally brought in vehicles, but saying you're wiping off these classics from the face of this planet because they don't have an airbag begs the question, what about all those first-gen broncos on their roads! Infact theres a new version of the bronco, the ICON Bronco, ignoring the fact that it's a sweet set of wheels, no airbags there too!!

@rehaan: Nice follow up pic!

[zenren]

Originally Posted by Wildy

Wish someday our Indian Govt. too think positively about its people security and make a rule to have driver airbag and ABS as mandatory in every car.

Its high time Indian govt. puts across some such requirement with a compliance date in future. With the leading car manufacturer in India thinking that an additional storage area is better than a passenger airbag, its time govt. puts across some safety standards.

Originally Posted by Edmund

True that it's good that the US enforces strict action against illegally brought in vehicles, but saying you're wiping off these classics from the face of this planet because they don't have an airbag begs the question, what about all those first-gen broncos on their roads!

By definition, no car that is lesser than 25 years old would qualify as a classic. The rule says anything older than 25 yrs is allowed, which means true classics can still be imported but not something that is brand new off the factory that violates the safety, emission or any other compliance requirements. US govt. is clear on their stand- if JLR wants to sell Defenders in US, equip it with airbags. They do care about the life of their citizens, though they don't care much about other nationals.