"Frankly, the mere thought of a Pontiac El Camino vastly increases the likelihood we may have to move to Australia for some good ol' fashioned muscle car hoonage!"
What muscle cars do you even think Australia has? We haven't had a muscle car since the 70's, and even then there were only a few different types made, and each is worth thousands for even the most rusty, burnt out shell these days. The new Monaro is basically the only recent muscle car we have, and good luck getting one of them for under 30k.
A funny thing, I was talking to a friend of mine in Melbourne after the news came out that the G8 ST was killed, and he predicted that something along these lines would happen.
If only we could get the ute and wagon, registered, here. Is it possble to have it shipped to Canada, then import it? I looked at doing this with an M45 back in '02-03 for the, at the time, huge savings thanks to exchange rates.
Didn't hurt I was in Portland, OR, land of car-haters (mostly, not all of you).
I have a dream. A goal, if you will, to open an auto import shop. I've started looking into it and read up on some of the requirements from the federal government to import cars. We all know about the 25 year rule, but what if you want a car that car companies deem unsellable in the US? Like a Holden G8 Ute? Or a Ford Focus RS?
It's not cheap. My initial research has shown that over the last 10 years or so, the number of regulations just to get federal import approval has skyrocketed.
It's discouraging, but I am taking the opportunity of the economic downturn to lay low and figure out how feasible this would be.
@engineerd: Holy cow! Is this really the engineerd??? Or some sadistic impostor?
But the sentence structure and language style used definitely points to the great engineerd.
p.s: It's super weird not seeing that lil' golden star below the Ford GT. And me approving you. But fcuk it! If you're the real deal welcome back. Missed ya.
@engineerd: I suppose it would depend on the car; would it be cheaper to import a car that is already made to US crash and emissions standards, but just not sold here?
Oh, and welcome back, my friend. Now where is the crazy big brother of a Canadian?
@IsTryingToMakeItToTheLeatherWash...2Nite: I am trying, for now, to focus on variants of cars sold here. I haven't gotten real deep yet, but I'm thinking something like the G8 would be fairly easy to import since it was already built for US consumption. The Ute may be more problematic since the body is different and therefore not crash-test-approved.
The Focus RS, if/when the Euro Focus returns to the US, should be a fairly easy sell, too.
I say "should be", and when I think about it I get pretty excited, but there's so much BS that I don't know yet how realistic this is.
@engineerd: The Gawker hamsters are screwing with me. My comment above disappeared, so I re-typed it, only to come back and find out it showed up again.
@Deartháir II: The Return:
Whoa, this is big.
1. There were a series of foreshockalypses.
2. The Pontiac G8 ST lives.
3. The dead have risen.
Therefore, I have a short window of opportunity to find a girl before the world ends.
...
Welcome back, everyone.
You know, Ray, when I read the first part of the title, I almost had a total cargasm as I sat down at my desk this morning. A cargasm that would require more than the likes of a mere box of kleenex to clean up.
And then I saw the second part of the title. Way to play with a guy's emotions.
Tell you what. Please stop writing any words about the Pontiac G8, unless those words are "the Pontiac G8 is being rebadged as a Whatever Something, and will be available for sale in the United States." I do not want to read about the G8 living on in Australia. I don't even want to read about the Holden Commodore any more.
The memories of what GM did to that poor car, the best car they've ever built...they are just too painful.
I'll mark my calendar. In twenty five years we'll be able to gray market import them.
Prepare yourself for a long series of stories as GM functionaries explain in tedious detail how they decided it wouldn't be necessary to build the to US compliant specs, and the effort needed to alter production to send them to the US would now be cost-prohibitive.
08/20/09
What muscle cars do you even think Australia has? We haven't had a muscle car since the 70's, and even then there were only a few different types made, and each is worth thousands for even the most rusty, burnt out shell these days. The new Monaro is basically the only recent muscle car we have, and good luck getting one of them for under 30k.
08/19/09
08/19/09
08/19/09
08/19/09
08/19/09
Didn't hurt I was in Portland, OR, land of car-haters (mostly, not all of you).
08/19/09
It's not cheap. My initial research has shown that over the last 10 years or so, the number of regulations just to get federal import approval has skyrocketed.
It's discouraging, but I am taking the opportunity of the economic downturn to lay low and figure out how feasible this would be.
08/19/09
But the sentence structure and language style used definitely points to the great engineerd.
p.s: It's super weird not seeing that lil' golden star below the Ford GT. And me approving you. But fcuk it! If you're the real deal welcome back. Missed ya.
08/19/09
Oh, and welcome back, my friend. Now where is the crazy big brother of a Canadian?
08/19/09
The Focus RS, if/when the Euro Focus returns to the US, should be a fairly easy sell, too.
I say "should be", and when I think about it I get pretty excited, but there's so much BS that I don't know yet how realistic this is.
08/19/09
Blast it, Nibbles!
08/19/09
08/19/09
08/19/09
08/19/09
08/19/09
08/19/09
08/19/09
08/19/09
08/19/09
Whoa, this is big.
1. There were a series of foreshockalypses.
2. The Pontiac G8 ST lives.
3. The dead have risen.
Therefore, I have a short window of opportunity to find a girl before the world ends.
...
Welcome back, everyone.
08/19/09
08/19/09
When will you Aussies learn to be civil to Americans?
08/19/09
08/19/09
08/19/09
08/19/09
Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.
08/19/09
No G8's for America makes Uncle Sammy cry.
08/19/09
08/19/09
And then I saw the second part of the title. Way to play with a guy's emotions.
08/19/09
The memories of what GM did to that poor car, the best car they've ever built...they are just too painful.
08/19/09
Prepare yourself for a long series of stories as GM functionaries explain in tedious detail how they decided it wouldn't be necessary to build the to US compliant specs, and the effort needed to alter production to send them to the US would now be cost-prohibitive.
08/19/09