These two are my most favorite vehicles, but unfortunately, they're not even MADE in the US and I'd like to drive them in America. Seeing that the Land Cruiser Prado is a cheaper Lexus GX and that the Suzuki Swift is a tiny, zippy and fuel efficient hot hatch, could I import these and have them both pass emissions and safety tests and be able to successfully register them in the United States?
Yes it's true the USA has restrictions on importing foreign vehicles. But USA also has all kinds of trade deals with Mexico. (remember NAFTA?) So it might be worth looking into. Your DMV can probably advise you where to look.
I asked my DMV friend and he said you can import from Mexico. It just has to pass EPA. He gave me this link:
https://www.epa.gov/importing-vehicles-and-engines
Here is the EPA procedure
https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi/P10081IS.PDF?Dockey=P10081IS.PDF
No, non-certified foreign vehicles have to be at least 25 years old to be imported into the U.S.
Thanks for answering. I went on the internet and saw this:
"Is it possible to import right hand drive JDM cars to USA? Yes it's possible. According to NHTSA Importation and Certification FAQ, a motor vehicle that is at least 25 years old can be lawfully imported into the U.S. without regard to whether it complies with all applicable FMVSS regulations."
From what I'm seeing is that I'd have to wait until the vehicle is at least 25 years old to have it imported WITHOUT regard to whether or not it passes applicable regulations, so is it likely that I could get something like the Land Cruiser Prado imported into the US and passing the regulations tests seeing that it's quite similar to the Lexus GX, a vehicle that is sold in the US and complies with all regulations? (sorry if i seem aggressive)
That won't work. By "complies with all applicable FMVSS regulations" they mean that model must have passed a specific series of federal emissions and safety tests. Bear in mind that the reason many models are not available in the U.S. is that the manufacturers have determined they won't sell enough of them to make it work bringing them into compliance. Entire manufacturers have pulled out of the U.S. market due to the cost of compliance testing making the limited market they would have here not worthwhile. Establishing compliance for a single vehicle is essentially impossible.
I see. Thanks
This is the kind of thing that happens if you try to bring a non-complying vehicle into the U.S. It could be argued that this is nonsensical etc., but it's just the way things are:
https://www.carscoops.com/2013/08/feds-destroy-illegally-imported-land/
If you ever figure out how, let us know. I would like to import some Mexican Market Toyota's and Honda's for personal use.
As far as I have researched, it is next to impossible.
Oof. If I find a way, I'll let you know.
You'd have much more success bringing in something like a 1990s-vintage Mexican-made VW Bug or maybe a VAM Lerma. 🙂