Maine Canceling Delica Registration

Sputnik said:
Nothing new in the article, but Jalopnik just picked up the story.

jalopnik.com

Maine Is Cancelling The Registrations Of Imported JDM Cars

Maine is turning fun, capable vehicles into lawn ornaments.
jalopnik.com jalopnik.com
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The only think "new" I saw (maybe I missed it in other articles) was...
I have reached out to Cook, asking if all imported vehicles that don’t meet federal safety and emissions regulations will eventually have their registrations cancelled. The news isn’t good:

You are correct with regard to Maine only registering vehicles that were manufactured to meet federal regulations for safety and emissions. The exception is for antique vehicles (which were manufactured to the regulations of their time and can only be driven in limited circumstances) and golf carts which are allowed on some coastal island roads. And it does mean that vehicles which don’t meet these standards aren’t supposed to be registered. When we find that any such vehicle has been inappropriately registered, we revoke that registration, which is what recently happened to a handful of pre-1995 Mitsubishi Delica vans. This is all, of course, to ensure safety on Maine roads and protect the environment.
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So, that sounds like if Maine DMV/Cook finds a ROW Land Rover Defender registered, then that's the next batch of letters... Or insert any other importable but lacking the FMVSS sticker registered in Maine.
 
I reached out to some registered importers regarding 1993 Defender 110's which are on the non-conforming import list, unfortunately no Delicas are on that list. Would be interested to know if the state requires just the FMVSS sticker or the sticker and EPA papers. Seems like from the emails in this thread that its more about the FMVSS sticker than EPA requirements since the FMVSS conversion is all that is needed for the bond release.
 
Out of curiosity, other than @cpginkpt, has anyone else sought legal council on this?

Most of the major automotive sites have stories on this including Autoblog, The Truth About Cars, Jalopnik, and there are more coming likely. The SEMA Action Network is also aware of this debacle. So there's attention drawn to it. But will there be any actual action on attempting to change what's going on?

It's great to have this brought to light, but I was wondering if there's anything going on to actually change this yet?
 
natematos said:
Do you want the real answer or the optimistic answer?
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Nate, I'm pretty sure I know the answer and it means someone's going to have to go to bat with a lawyer. In fact, maybe multiple people or organizations.

Anyway, Motor Trend / Four Wheeler has also now written about this:

www.motortrend.com

Why Is Maine Deregistering Mitsubishi Delica vans?

The state of Maine has allegedly begun sending notices to Mitsubishi Delica owners stating that the vans can no longer be registered as motor vehicles.
www.motortrend.com www.motortrend.com
 
Crankshaft Culture said:
Nate, I'm pretty sure I know the answer and it means someone's going to have to go to bat with a lawyer. In fact, maybe multiple people or organizations.
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Yup. I honestly think absolute best case scenario is that existing vehicles are grandfathered in. But even that is a stretch.

Quite simply, the automotive communities with any amount of pull haven't been hit (yet). And if they do, it's likely going to be the same thing where you have <20 cars impacted. Just not enough people to really do anything.
 
So I was poking around in my engine bay today and decided to Google Translate this label. Interesting information. Says "...based on the safety standards for road transport vehicles." That might not be a NMVSS sticker, but it does say it is a road transport vehicle, not an ORV. Also, it complies with some sort of emissions standard. Anyone know how to compare safety standards? I'm struggling with Google right now to find anything related to the 1986/62 safety standards. This probably doesn't help anything, but I'm trying still.
PXL_20210730_234037533.jpgScreenshot_20210730-195021.png
 
Crankshaft Culture said:
And another article: https://www.thedrive.com/news/41590...orted-mitsubishi-delicas-and-no-ones-sure-why
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From that article:

Delica owners want to know why a BMW Isetta can be registered, but a minivan of the same size as most other minivans on the road have to relinquish their plates.

Of all the delightfully quirky automotive deathtraps ever designed, the Isetta has to top the list.

www.motorbiscuit.com

This BMW Isetta Looks Like a Children's Toy Car

Over decades of design and production, BMW has become well known for its luxury sports cars, sedans and SUVs. They have, on occasion, given us a car that
www.motorbiscuit.com www.motorbiscuit.com
 
Sputnik said:
Delica owners want to know why a BMW Isetta can be registered, but a minivan of the same size as most other minivans on the road have to relinquish their plates.
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I'm struggling with this logic, as two seconds of reading any response from the BMV would explain it.

The BMW Isetta was sold in the US, the Delica wasn't. People are getting really hung up on the kei-car/ATV/off-road stuff, but that's all just poor descriptors. The intent clearly seemed to restrict road access to vehicles sold in the US. Specific safety merits, vehicle size, engine displacement, etc. None of that actually matters.

Is it good logic? No. But I get it.
 
natematos said:
I'm struggling with this logic, as two seconds of reading any response from the BMV would explain it.

The intent clearly seemed to restrict road access to vehicles sold in the US.
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Yet there hasn't been a blanket ban by BMV against all foreign-sold/imported/non-US vehicles, and as far as we know, they still allow most 25 year import vehicles to continue to be registered on their roads (at least for now) such as HiAces (most similar to Delicas) and JDM sedans and SUVs, Land Rovers, etc.

I'm not sure specifically how the domestic-made military HUMVEEs (that they're also deregistering) fit into their categorizations. If it's lack of a FMVSS cert, then any vehicle (foreign or domestic) built before 1967 won't have that, including Issettas, which by any measure, are more 'dangerous' than almost any car on the road - so much so that California banned them from their highways in the late 1950s.
 
Sputnik said:
Yet there hasn't been a blanket ban by BMV against all foreign-sold/imported/non-US vehicles, and as far as we know, they still allow most 25 year import vehicles to continue to be registered on their roads (at least for now) such as HiAces (most similar to Delicas) and JDM sedans and SUVs, Land Rovers, etc.
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Based on the FOAA e-mails, this isn't true. They stated that any vehicle found to not be in compliance will receive a letter as well. It just hasn't happened yet.

Honestly I'm surprised this hasn't been the avenue most people have tried to explore (at least that I've seen). People should be connecting all JDM owners in the state together, plus all European imports like Porsche's, Defenders, etc.
 
natematos said:
Based on the FOAA e-mails, this isn't true. They stated that any vehicle found to not be in compliance will receive a letter as well. It just hasn't happened yet.

Honestly I'm surprised this hasn't been the avenue most people have tried to explore (at least that I've seen). People should be connecting all JDM owners in the state together, plus all European imports like Porsche's, Defenders, etc.
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We have contacted some of the Rover people in Maine, FWIW.
 
For what it's worth, in the MDOC Mitsubishi Delica Owners Club USA group on Facebook, we're getting a report that Rhode Island is not allowing the Delica to be registered. Something about safety regulations, something about retracting JDM registrations whenever they come across one.

I messaged my buddy who lives in RI and is both a car enthusiast and the owner of a JDM Mini. He messaged a friend who has a number of JDM vehicles and he mentioned RI won't allow minitrucks and Delicas.

This is the first I've heard of this in RI.
 
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