Red Tape and Replica Cars

A 2015 law was supposed to create an industry of government-compliant replica cars. So far, it hasn’t.

By Greg Fink

In 2011, the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) began chasing a legal route for low-volume manufacturers (LVMs) to build and sell replica vehicles in the United States. This resulted in the introduction of H.R. 2675, the Low Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Act, which sought to establish a program for LVMs, defined as manufacturers that produce up to 5000 vehicles annually, to sell their wares. Ultimately, much of H.R. 2675’s content found its way into the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which President Obama signed into law on December 14, 2015. As written, the FAST Act states that LVMs are eligible to build up to 325 replica vehicles each year, all of which are exempt from typical Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) rules. NHTSA…

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Car and Driver (Digital) - 1 Issue, January 2024

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