Hemmings Daily: Petition asks the federal government to drop 25-year import rule to 10 years

Ford Escort RS Cosworth. Photo via Ford UK. With every passing year, another crop of 25-year-old cars becomes eligible for unrestricted import into the United States, but a petition started earlier this week aims to change that cutoff to allow far more cars never sold here to set tire on our shores. The petition on the White House's We The People site asks the government to reduce the rolling model year cutoff down to 10 years, though the petition's creator, B.R., offered only a breezy rationale for the reques

View in Browser | Subscribe Friday, December 2, 2016 Petition asks the federal government to drop 25-year import rule to 10 years Posted by Daniel Strohl - Ford Escort RS Cosworth. Photo via Ford UK. With every passing year, another crop of 25-year-old cars becomes eligible for unrestricted import into the United States, but a petition started earlier this week aims to change that cutoff to allow far more cars never sold here to set tire on our shores. The petition on the White House's We The People site asks the government to reduce the rolling model year cutoff down to 10 years, though the petition's creator, B.R., offered only a breezy rationale for the reques... Read More Hemmings Find of the Day - 1955 Imperial Crown Posted by Daniel Strohl - Fully restored eight-passenger 1955 Imperial Crown limousine for sale on Hemmings.com. From the seller's description: This example is one of the finest available anywhere at any price. Powered by the 331ci Hemi V8 rated at 250hp with a Power-Flite 2-speed automatic transmission. Lovingly frame off restored with an engine and transmission rebuild in 2006-2007, then awarded an AACA Senior National First Prize in 2008. A long list of appointments include working factory air conditioning, factory radio, heater, wide wh...Read More Remembering "Mr. Turbo": Per Gillbrand, 1934-2016 Posted by Mark J. McCourt - Per Gillbrand at the Swedish Radio concert hall Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, November 2014; photo courtesy of Claes Johansson, Klassiker magazine We learned this week of the November 30 death of automotive engineer Per Gillbrand, who was 82. Gillbrand may not be a household name, but to automotive enthusiasts, his achievements are world-famous. Have you driven a modern vehiclewith a turbocharged engine? Chances are that engine used technologies perfected by this brilliant Swede. >From a young age,Gillbr...Read More This or That: 1966 Mercury Comet Cyclone GT versus 1967 Mercury Comet 202 Posted by Matt Litwin - 1967 Mercury Comet 202 (top); 1966 Mercury Comet Cyclone GT (below); images by the author. Editor's note: This or Thatasks you, in an idyllic world, to add a collectible vehicle to your dream garage each week, but with a catch:You can only pick one vehicle fromthis pairing and it has to be for enjoyment purposes rather than as an investment. Thus far we've paired cars from opposing brands. However, this week we thought we would mix things up a bit by putting a1966 Mercury Comet Cyclone GT up against a ...Read More Wee Waa, New South Wales, 1970s Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: circa 1970s Location: Rose and George streets, Wee Waa, New South Wales, Australia Source: Ran When Parked Yes, there really is a town called Wee Waa. What do you see here?...Read More THIS DAY IN AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY 12/2/1927: Model A Ford goes on sale UPCOMING EVENTS Second Saturday at WAAAM Air and Auto Museum December 10, 2016 - Hood River, OR Supercar Saturday Florida at Lamborghini Broward December 10, 2016 - Davie, FL Streetside Classics Atlanta Cars & Coffee Cruise In December 31, 2016 - Lithia Springs, GA Sumter Swap Meets January 1, 2017 - Bushnell, FL 11th Annual Open Classic Car & Truck Show January 8, 2017 - Sunrise, FL Just Sell It Automotive Swap Meet January 8, 2017 - Glendale, AZ See All Events FEATURED CLASSIFIEDS Sponsored By: 1947 Ford Sportsman $50,000 1955 Dodge Royal Lancer $13,900 1965 AMC Rambler $9,995 1962 Chevrolet Impala $57,500 1969 Volvo 144 $8,900 1999 Buick Riviera $18,500 1970 Plymouth AAR $45,000 1964 Mercury Park Lane $88,000 PROMOTED LISTING 1977 Porsche Turbo Carrera $140,000 front bumpers for 1947-1950 PACKARD $275 View All Classifieds FEATURED IN THE BLOG Sponsored By: Licenses, registrations, and one of the oldest cars in the country: a visit to an Italian DMV office Open Diff: How do you price cars for sale? See All Featured Blog Posts FOLLOW US: View Newsletter Archives WEEK IN REVIEW Thursday, December 1, 2016 Don Prudhomme's Snake II 1972 Plymouth Barracuda slithers to no-reserve auction Posted by Kurt Ernst - The Snake II funny car. Photos courtesy Barrett-Jackson. Don Prudhomme initially preferred dragsters to funny cars, because, in his mind, early floppers weren't all that quick. It was a chassis built by "Lil" John Buttera and wrapped in a fiberglass Plymouth Barracuda body, dubbed the Snake II, that would change his mind, and thanks to sponsorship and marketing from Hot Wheels, turn "The Snake" into a household name. Next January, Prudhomme will be selling the restored Snake II Plymouth Barracuda in a no-reserve ...Read More Hemmings Find of the Day - 1956 Pontiac Chieftain Posted by Kurt Ernst - >From the seller's description: Untouched for 28 years in a Southern California garage, this 1956 Pontiac Chieftain 2-Door Hardtop with a V-8 (believed to be the 316.6 cu.in. engine) was a fully running and driving car when put in storage. Not surprisingly, it's not currently running and would need a good going through of fluids in the radiator, transmission, master cylinder, engine, etc., as well as, brakes, new tires and battery. The transmission was reportedly rebuilt just prior to being stored and that claim wou...Read More Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum display celebrates Indiana-built cars Posted by Jim Donnelly - 1916 Baby Inter-State. Photos by Walt Kuhn, LAT Photo USA, courtesy of IMS Museum. The great Hoosier state of Indiana was admitted to the Union on December 16, 1816, and thus marks its bicentennial beginning next month. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is doing its part by presenting a special exhibition beginning next week on Indiana-built passenger automobiles, more than 35 of them, recalling that at one point, Indiana ranked second only to Michigan in terms of automobile production. 1904 Premier T...Read More Calamity Jane's baby sister - 1957 S-120 International Civil Defense Rescue Vehicle Posted by Mike McNessor - Photos by author. After Tim Havens brought his 1957 S-120 International Civil Defense Rescue Vehicle to our August 18 Cruise-In and drove off with Favorite Truck honors, we had to know more. So we tracked him down in Hudson Falls and got him to give us all the details, complete with photos of this carefully restored Cold War relic, inside and out. A full feature will appear in the February 2017 issue of Hemmings Classic Car, but here's the backstory "The Cold War is kind of a mysterious part of my li...Read More Las Vegas, 1959 Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: February 1959 Location: Las Vegas, Nevada Source: Vintage Las Vegas What do you see here? ...Read More Wednesday, November 30, 2016 Rotunda replica plans back on for Early Ford V-8 museum Posted by Daniel Strohl - Images courtesy Early Ford V-8 Foundation. The once-backburnered plan to build a replica of Ford's famed Rotunda as part of the Early Ford V-8 Museum has now returned to the forefront after an anonymous donation that will allow the museum to more than triple in size. "This is a huge undertaking but one the V-8 Museum is confident of achieving," foundation officials wrote in the group's most recent newsletter. Plans for a replica of the Rotunda - the 214-foot wide and 10-story tall structure that Albert Kahn...Read More Hemmings Find of the Day - 1956 Ford Crown Victoria Skyliner Posted by Kurt Ernst - 1956 Ford Crown Victoria Skyliner for sale. From the seller's description: *1 of 603 built *Last year for the innovative Glass Top' *Peacock Blue & Colonial White with Matching Interior *Thunderbird 292ci engine with optional dress up kit *3 speed Ford-O-Matic Transmission *Fully optioned *Factory Power Steering & Brakes *Factory Dual Exhaust *Factory Kelsey Hayes Wire Wheels *Factory Stainless Rocker Panel Moldings *Factory Fender Skirts *Factory Continental Kit *Retrofitted AC This is th...Read More A three-owner 1925 Bugatti Type 35 Grand Prix seeks caretaker four in Scottsdale Posted by Kurt Ernst - Photos by Brian Henniker, courtesy of Gooding & Company. Bugatti's Type 35 was the most successful racing car of its day, reportedly winning over 1,000 races from 1924-'30, including the 1926 Grand Prix World Championship. While most racing cars lead hard lives, especially as they age, some are blessed with more considerate owners and more forgiving circumstances. Perhaps by chance, the 1925 Bugatti Type 35 Grand Prix carrying chassis number 4487 is one such car, having passed through just three owners over the...Read More Historic Sportscar Racing comes to Sebring this weekend Posted by Kurt Ernst - Sebring 1966 - Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby piloted this Ford GT40 Mk II to victory. Photo courtesy of Ford Motorsports History. Auto racing has been going on in Sebring, Florida, ever since Miles Collier and Alec Ulmann organized The Sam Collier Memorial Grand Prix of Endurance, run on December 31, 1950. Vintage events at the track aren't exactly uncommon, but this weekend Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) will debut a new classic car endurance event with the launch of the Classic 12 Hour Pistons and Props. Like HS...Read More Philadelphia, 1943 Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: August 1943 Location: Juniper and Locust, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Source: PhillyHistory via The Old Motor What do you see here?...Read More Tuesday, November 29, 2016 Ethanol-free gasoline spared in latest EPA ruling, though its days may be numbered Posted by Daniel Strohl - Photo by BrotherMagneto. Despite worries that the Environmental Protection Agency would put an end to ethanol-free gasoline sales with its Renewable Fuels Standard ruling for 2017, the agency permitted E0 a reprieve at the same time it declared its intention to transition the entire nation's fuel supply to E10 and above. While the EPA has no say on the exact proportions of E0, E10, E15, E85, and other ethanol-blended fuels that make up the country's fuel supply, it does set forth the total amounts of ethanol t...Read More Hemmings Find of the Day - 1969 Dodger Charger R/T Daytona Posted by Kurt Ernst - 1969 Dodge Charger R/T Daytona Hemi for sale. From the seller's description: Made only with the purpose of dominating the super speedways in mind, Dodge introduced the Charger Daytona in 1969. Only 503 cars were built to be sold to the public, just enough to homologate for NASCAR. Of the 503 built for the street, only 70 came with the Legendary 426 HEMI engine. This Charger Daytona is one of them. Complete with documentation all the way back to the first owner, this Charger Daytona is one of the best documented ...Read More Sensational Mercury custom shown at AACA Museum Posted by Jim Donnelly - Photos courtesy AACA Museum. We'll stick our neck out here and salivate that this is one of most gorgeous modern customs we've laid eyes on in years. This incredible 1940 Mercury coupe is owned by Jack and Carolyn Kiely of Rumson, New Jersey, and it's going to be on limited display at the Antique Automobile Club Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania, until January 6, 2017. The Kielys commissioned Rob Ida Concepts of Morganville, New Jersey, to build it, a shop that's spun out more than its share of SEMA shockers and ot...Read More Open Diff: Automotive obscurities Posted by Kurt Ernst - 1985 Ford LTD LX. Photo by Jeff Koch. In 1984 and 1985, Ford built a four-door, 5.0-liter Mustang. It wasn't called a Mustang, of course, but it carried a Mustang V-8 (albeit the de-tuned one that came with the automatic transmission) and it rode on the Fox platform, just like its smaller stablemate. The Ford LTD LX sedan probably wouldn't have been built had it not been for the relationship between the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, the Ford Motor Company, and its then-president, Donald Peters...Read More Paris, 1985 Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: 1985 Location: Arc de Triomphe, Paris Source: Terry Dwyer on Flickr (with permission) What do you see here?...Read More Monday, November 28, 2016 Economy with muscle - the 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix D-500 Posted by Kurt Ernst - 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix D-500. Photos by David Newhardt, courtesy Mecum Auctions. After years of positioning itself as a mid-line brand, above entry-level Plymouth but below range-topping Chrysler, Dodge introduced a line of automobiles in 1960 to take on economy models from Ford, Chevrolet, and by default, Plymouth. Economy didn't necessarily mean de-contented or underpowered, and Dodge's new Dart could be had in multiple trim levels with five different engine options. Atop the list was the Dodge Dart Phoeni...Read More Hemmings Find of the Day - 1966 Pontiac Grand Prix Posted by Kurt Ernst - >From the seller's description: 1966 Pontiac Grand Prix. Factory 421 4 bbl automatic car converted to 4 speed. Frame on restored 53000 mile car in very nice condition. Very correct restoration with a few tasteful upgrades that do not detract from the originality of the car. It has the original engine with a conversion to the Muncie 4 speed transmission with console and 3.42 posi rear. This is not a "make it work" conversion but was done with factory 1966 parts and appears as new. The correct long tail transmission a...Read More Ford GT40 history discussed at Watkins Glen Posted by Jim Donnelly - Ford GT40s finish 1-2-3 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966. Photo courtesy Ford Motorsports History. A half-century after the Ford Motor Company shocked the world by sweeping the podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the International Motor Racing Research Center in Watkins Glen, New York, will present a discussion on Ford's historic Ferrari-stopper, the GT40 Mk. II, by author Preston Lerner. The presentation will take place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, December 10, at the Racing Research Center, which is located at 610 S...Read More Beyond El Malecon, part 3: a car show in Cuba Posted by Daniel Strohl - All photos by Gordon Rinschler. Over the last couple of years, the AACA Museum has organized at least a couple "people-to-people" trips to Cuba with pretty much the same aim as the posts we've been assembling that show Cuba's current automotive landscape: To document the cars as they have evolved over the last 50-plus years in the absence of restoration and maintenance parts from the United States. Reader Gordon Rinschler took part in one of those trips earlier this year and brought back this set of photos. "O...Read More The long road to Pebble Beach, part three Posted by Don Homuth - The partially reassembled car. There's still a considerable amount of work to be done. Photos by Brian Renhard, unless otherwise noted. As the bits and pieces got done, Jeff and the owner anticipated the car being nearly ready for Pebble Beach several times. It looked as though everything would come together - that maybe, perhaps, things might all work out in a more or less timely fashion. No - they wouldn't. Twice, in years before 2016, the car was entered into the event. Twice it was withdrawn because it was...Read More Sunday, November 27, 2016 Hemmings Sunday Cinema - 24-Hour War, Model T Sunday drive, White Lightning Posted by Daniel Strohl - Adam Carolla's documentary on the Ford-Ferrari rivalry of the Sixties, "The 24-Hour War," will be out soon. Here's the trailer. * Robert Merz takes us for a Sunday drive in the 1925 Ford Model T that his father built from parts as a hunting rig in 1950. Not on ordinary roads, though - on the "roads" his father would have taken in the T. * Finally, who doesn't want to see Burt Reynolds wring out every bit of performance he can get from a full-size Ford in the 1973 flick "White Lightning?"...Read More Hemmings Find of the Day - 1977 Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser Posted by Kurt Ernst - 1977 Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser for sale. From the seller's description: If you want a reliable, original, solid, rust free and well maintained 1977 FJ 40 Toyota at an affordable price, then this is the one you should consider. Excellent running and driving condition. Original Toyota 6- cylinder was professionally rebuilt approximately 3,000 miles ago in 2007. Original four speed manual transmission. Professional full exterior paint with correct matching Toyota colors in 2010. Original factory wheels included. I h...Read More Four-Links - Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild reunion, first Bronco surfaces, secret history of lead, stock car racing in Cuba Posted by Daniel Strohl - Fisher Body Craftman's Guild reunions have brought out some incredible models submitted for the long-running contest, and the recent reunion at the Art Center College of Design's Art Center Car Classic Show included plenty of never-before-seen examples, as we see in the coverage of the event posted to Dean's Garage this past week. * An early Ford Bronco, perhaps a prototype, perhaps the first production example, recently surfaced in Illinois and it appears Carroll Shelby at one point owned it. Photo by...Read More Hemmings Find of the Day - 1974 Citroen Mehari Posted by Kurt Ernst - 1974 Citroen Mehari for sale. From the seller's description: You are considering owning one of the rarest of all Citroen Deux Cheveaux (2CV) variants, the Mehari, for less than $8000 less than comparable Mehari's on the market. The Mehari was named after the quick-paced, dromedaries that were utilized by the British during World War II, in the North African campaign against the Nazis. Approximately 13000 of these were only made at the Citroen factory in Vigo, Spain. I acquired this car through a recent trade; (I...Read More LAST WEEK'S MOST READ Chevrolet brothers to get gravesite memorial after decades of neglect Posted by Daniel Strohl - Photos courtesy Indiana Racing Memorial Association. For a man whose legacy includes one of the largest and most well known car brands in the world, Louis Chevrolet's Indianapolis gravesite remains fairly humble decades after his death. His brother's headstone towers over his own, and apart from fan-added decorations, neither include any indication of the family's place in automotive history. That stands to change this weekend, however, when a new memorial to the Chevrolet brothers will be unveiled. "It's such...Read More LAST WEEK'S BEST DISCUSSION EPA invites public comment on rule that would permit additional ethanol blends above E15 Posted by Daniel Strohl - Photo courtesy Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The Environmental Protection Agency last week opened public commenting on its recently introduced rule permitting fuel blends above 15 percent with the goal of introducing the rule into law by next December. As outlined when the agency rolled out the Renewables Enhancement and Growth Support Rule early last month, the EPA proposes to reclassify fuels with 16 to 50 percent ethanol from "gasoline" to "ethanol flex-fuels," the same category that E85 curren...Read More Hemmings Motor News will not sell or share your e-mail address with other companies. For more information about this newsletter, email webmaster@hemmings.com or write to: Customer Service, Hemmings Motor News, 222 Main St., Bennington VT 05201. 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