Lobbying politicians

[cshama]

Has anybody thought of lobbying a  carfriendly congressman to insert a line into a bill creating a national loophole for cars like the Atom produced by small domestic manufacturers? Given that congressmen and senators are always attaching crap to various bills it would seem to make a lot of sense.

[M3ichael]

How much money are you planning on giving to him or her???  This seems to be the driving influence behind every congressman.
Pork(the attaching crap) is a perfect example of this.

[bolus]

I think that the SEMA action network is the largest organization that does this now.  Best join them and help out if you can or solicit help through them
http://www.semasan.com/main/main.aspx?I ... m/HomePage

[cshama]

To be honest I am not that impressed by sema in terms of what they can do for atom owners. They do not seem to be focussed on new vehicle manufacturers. I am hoping Brammo has this situation in hand and is greasing the appropriate palms, I mean , lobbying.

All that is needed is a bill giving certain exemptions to small car manufacturers( ie less then 300 cars a year). It could be done on the basis of fosteing innovation,local employment etc. If they can get $200 million bridges to nowhere approved then surely we have a shot. Afterall if they allow motorcycles on the road then why not the atom which must be safer and probably slower too.

Passing a federal law applying to all DMVs would make much more sense.

However this is such a pain in in the neck, even to think about doing. I just hope I can get my car registered in NY.

I would love to know what Brammo is doing to get this registration situation resolved. The more atoms there are on the road the more temptin a target for retroactive punitive action we will be.

[bolus]

I doubt Brammo could make any national changes.  They are working pretty hard just to get Oregon worked out. 

The more I learn about registration issues across the country the more I realize how restrictive it is.  Surprising really, given how the individual car is so cherished here. 

[nickpoore]

I would be happy for simplified regulations.

In Cali, SMOG is the worst.
We have to pass tailpipe emissions.
We have to pass EDB2.
We have to pass visual inspection.

Baisally, a home buit car has no chance of passing 2 or 3.

There is no reason for any kit car to have these kinds of restrictions.
A kit car should have to meet tailpipe emissions for the year engine that is installed, and that's it.

Oh well

[Karl]

But for all that, we have SB100!

[cshama]

you guys are lucky with the sb100

[Karl]

[quote="cshama"]
you guys are lucky with the sb100
[/quote]

Tell me about it, its mere existence is almost un-Californian.

[wisp]

[quote="bolus"]
I think that the SEMA action network is the largest organization that does this now.  Best join them and help out if you can or solicit help through them
http://www.semasan.com/main/main.aspx?I ... m/HomePage

[/quote]

Bolus is on the right track. SEMA is a partnership of car clubs, and individual enthusiasts who work together to impact legislation.

Registration is only possible in New Zealand due to the existence of a similar organization. My registration has LVVTA printed on it. At first I was not sure what this meant. Dave Fellows pointed out that this means Low Volume Vehicle Technical Association Inc.

http://forum.atomclub.com/index.php/top ... l#msg45545

It is them that Kiwis can thank for being able to register Atoms in NZ. Like SEMA the LVVTA is a partnership of car clubs.

If SEMA are not performing then you need to participate to get some action.

[Driver]

SEMA evidently isn't doing much on the East Coast for those people up TK's way. They need to get at it in New York state.

[bolus]

Well, for what it is worth I sent off an email to SEMA summarizing the issues we were having (in NY, PA, OR, CA, HI) that I could remember off the top of my head.  I'll see what advice they offer. 

[wisp]

[quote="bolus"]
Well, for what it is worth I sent off an email to SEMA summarizing the issues we were having (in NY, PA, OR, CA, HA) that I could remember off the top of my head.  I'll see what advice they offer. 
[/quote]

If you don't get much back; stay on them. A lot of these organisations are voluntary, non-commercial. You may need to offer to do some of the donkey work yourself if they are lacking motivation. I really wish all the best for you guys to succeed in the USA and also Australia.

[Driver]

SEMA is a HUGE organization. If they are unresponsive then... Let us know how it goes bolus.

[Jammer]

Sema has been somewhat successful in the NorthEast, but ait really pertains to HotRods and cars like the Cobra replicas.  If the Atom used another cars chasis, or was a replica of another car previously built, the process would be pretty easy. Some of the states have emmissions regulations based on the year of the motor etc, but the above criteria is the hardest.