Phil said:
>
> Here is the scoop on weight: There was a loophole that was open for a
> while after Black New Year's. A manufacturer could get a car certified
> for sale in the USA without passing smog and crash tests if the car
> weighed less than 1000 pounds. Since a Lotus Seven (not a Super Seven)
Hmmm, first I've heard of this one. I know of one loophole that Fiat
used. The EPA, in writing the emissions standards for automobiles, had to
define the term automobile. one of the definition parts stated that an
automobile was propelled by an internal combustion engine of at least
50 cubic inches. So, for a few years, the Fiat 850 sported a 817cc (49.x ci)
engine. Look ma, no smog. :>
It's possible that EPA had the engine size, and DOT had the minimum weight,
if it existed. I really can't say. My car awareness began in '70, when, as
a pre-teen, my father took me for a test drive in a hemi Charger before
buy a mundane Coronet. (The biggest lemon ever in the family, and the
last home built car owned). He quickly added an MG 1100 4dr sedan and a
TR250 to the collection. Oh, and three years later he sold the MG and Truimph,
bought my mother a Volvo wagon... and traded that Dodge in on his first Lotus,
a 70 Europa. :>
Randy
randy@taylor.wyvern.com
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