[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 91 (Tuesday, May 12, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26247-26248]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-12597]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-98-3812; Notice 1]
Bug Motors, Inc.; Receipt of Application for Temporary Exemption
From Two Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards
Bug Motors, Inc., which has its principal place of operations in
Long Beach, California, (``Bug'') has applied for a temporary exemption
of three years from two Federal motor vehicle safety standards as
described below. The basis of the application is that compliance would
cause substantial economic hardship to a manufacturer that has tried in
good faith to comply with each of the standards.
This notice of receipt of an application is published in accordance
with the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 30113(b)(2) and does not represent
any judgment of the agency on the merits of the application.
In June 1997, California granted a year's license as a ``Vehicle
Remanufacturer'' to Looking Glass Replicas of Long Beach, of which
Kenneth Scheiler was the sole proprietor. Mr. Scheiler changed this
business entity into ``Bug Motors, Inc.'' in December 1997, a
corporation of which he is the sole shareholder and president.
Therefore, Bug has not manufactured any vehicles in the 12-month period
preceding the filing of its Application, nor can it file financial
information for the three fiscal years called for by the regulation.
Upon incorporation, its assets were stated as $224,600. Mr. Scheiler
has been engaged in refurbishing used Volkswagen Beetles, and would now
like to produce ``new and improved replicas'' of the car. Bug intends
to buy certain vehicle components from Volkswagen-Mexico, import them
into the United States, and assemble Volkswagen ``Beetles'' to be sold
under the name ``the Bug.'' Specifically, Bug will buy and import new
chasses, axles, and bodies including interior components. The Bug will
be equipped with a refurbished 1973 engine and ``a rebuilt speedometer
(converted from Kilometers to Miles). Under California law, the Bug
will be titled as a ``1998 Remanufactured Vehicle,'' but is considered
``used'' rather than ``new.'' NHTSA reviewed the intended modus
operandi with the applicant's attorney and concurred with Bug's
decision that, under these facts, the Bug should be treated under
Federal law as a newly manufactured passenger car which is required to
comply with all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards.
In addition to the conventional Beetle two-door sedan, Bug will
offer two convertible models. One is a sedan modified to have an
electric-powered fabric roof that opens along the roof rails. The other
is a fully convertible car with a manually-operated top, the familiar
Beetle convertible. Bug's Application includes a list of the applicable
Federal motor vehicle safety standards, indicating the compliance
status of the Bug with respect to each. Representation is made that the
Bug complies (e.g., Standard No. 104) or complies with a minor
exception which will be modified in production (e.g., addition of a
brake warning light, Standard No. 105). However, the Bug will not
comply with Standard No. 208 and Standard No. 214.
Specifically, under Standard No. 208, the Bug will be equipped with
a three-point restraint system, but ``the warning system, including
audio and visual aids'' will only ``be available within one year after
production commences, and most likely within 6 months.'' Bug says that
it ``has been working with vendors to adapt a Dual Inflatable Restraint
System to the Bug,'' but it anticipates that an entire three-year
period will be required for the system to be developed and implemented.
With respect to Standard No. 214, Bug states that it ``has been
attempting to identify vendors and parts for the installation of door
beams for the Bug'' and that it ``is uncertain as to what, if any,
engineering will have to be performed to document compliance.'' It
hopes to achieve compliance within a three-year period.
In support of its hardship argument, Bug informs NHTSA that it
would be put out of business if the Application is not granted, as its
subsidiary business of refurbishing Beetles is not sufficient to carry
it alone. In addition, its national distributor would lose its entire
investment in start-up costs, estimated to exceed $100,000.
An exemption would be in the public interest as it will allow Bug
to increase its workforce from seven to 35 people within a year, drawn
from ``a significant number of minorities, including Hispanics, Asians,
and African-Americans.'' The availability of the Bug
[[Page 26248]]
also ought to create jobs and sales for ``suppliers and sales people at
auto dealerships. In addition, ``sale of these vehicles [ought to]
generate retail sales taxes of approximately $1,162.50 per unit,'' and
these revenues would be lost with the denial of the Application. An
exemption would be consistent with the objectives of 49 U.S.C. Chapter
301 as it would make available to the public a nostalgic vehicle that
complies with all but two Federal motor vehicle safety standards.
Interested persons are invited to submit comments on the
application described above. Comments should refer to the docket number
and the notice number, and be submitted to: Central Docket Management
Facility, room Pl-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590. It
is requested but not required that 10 copies be submitted.
All comments received before the close of business on the comment
closing date indicated below will be considered, and will be available
for examination in the docket (from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) at the above
address both before and after that date. Comments may also be viewed on
the internet at web site dms.dot.gov. To the extent possible, comments
filed after the closing date will also be considered. Notice of final
action on the application will be published in the Federal Register
pursuant to the authority indicated below.
Comment closing date: June 11, 1998.
(49 U.S.C. 30113; delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.50. and 501.8)
Issued on May 6, 1998.
L. Robert Shelton,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 98-12597 Filed 5-11-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
