That is a R33, but it was "illegal" as far as the government is concerned. No Bond release was issued, so as far as the government is concerned, the car should technically still be sitting at the port/at customs until the bond release it issued.
Now, let me highlight the important parts of that article (I read it a few months back)
So what makes importing such a headache and prevents other Skyline models from being imported? One would think since Motorex imported R32’s, R33’s and R34’s years ago that they’d be legal as well, that is where things get sticky. When Motorex originally petitioned to the NHTSA to obtain approval to import Skylines they jumped through all the hoops the government required except one, crash testing. Most people did not learn of what Motorex did until the following of their shut down by the government and one would have to ask the question, WHY? Where Motorex screwed the pooch was the crash testing of Skylines to obtain a stamp of approval from the NHTSA on it’s safety compliance package to meet FMVSS. The law requires non-conforming vehicles not approved for import to be crash tested and have the subsequent data approved by the NHTSA before the vehicles can be cleared for import, sounds easy right? Motorex did in fact hire a company to conduct crash testing, however, they only crash tested one car, a R33, and the submitted data was then approved. All good and well? Not so much. The approval that Motorex pushed through the NHTSA was that R32’s, 33’s and 34’s were to be imported and the crash testing data from the R33 was used for all 3 models under a “substantially similar” clause that was later challenged in 2006 when the VCP-17 approval of Skyline imports for R32’s, 33’s and 34’s was reconsidered by the NHTSA. It was decided that the 3 models were far too different and the fact that there was no crash test data to support the R32’s and R34’s sealed their fate and got them removed from the non-conforming approval list at the NHTSA. The approval for import was later redesignated VCP-32 and only covered 1996-1998 R33’s both GTS and GTR varients. In a nutshell, only specific Skylines can be imported as of 2006 and there’s still a constant uphill battle over OBDII that still has yet to see the end of the tunnel.
Now, here is the issue as to why his supposed legal by law, is actually "illegal".
A interesting topic that is commonly discussed amongst Skyline owners is what happens to the cars that slipped into the country by unknown measures, both carrying U.S. titles and not. Taken from a recent affidavit: “If a vehicle is not on the list, it cannot be lawfully imported into the United States, even if efforts can be made after importation to bring it into compliance with FMVSS because that vehicle would not have been legally imported into the U.S. and would have violated Customs and Border Protection (CBP), US/DOT and EPA regulations in its importation into the U.S.”. Unfortunately, that means that if a Skyline does not carry a “Bond Release” from the NHTSA and applicable EPA forms then it’s not legal.
Importing JDM Nissans
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), but the US equivalent as well)??
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