[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 195 (Monday, October 7, 1996)] [Notices] [Pages 52493-52494] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 96-25611] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [Docket No. 96-108; Notice 1] General Motors Corporation; Receipt of Application for Decision of Inconsequential; Noncompliance General Motors Corporation, (GM) of Warren, Michigan, has determined that certain 1996 Saturn passenger cars fail to conform to the requirements of 49 CFR 571.115, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)115, ``Vehicle Identification Number,'' and has filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR Part 573 ``Defect and Noncompliance Information Report.'' GM has also applied to be exempted from the notification and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C., Section 30118 and 30120 and 49 CFR Part 556, ``Exemption for inconsequential defect or noncompliance,'' on the basis that the noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. This notice of receipt of an application is published under 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and does not represent any agency decision or other exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the application. Paragraph S4.6 of FMVSS No. 115 requires that the VIN for passenger cars, * * * be located inside the passenger compartment. It shall be readable, without moving any part of the vehicle through the vehicle glazing under daylight lighting conditions by an observer having 20/20 vision * * *. Each character in the VIN subject to this paragraph shall have a minimum height of 4 mm. GM's description of the noncompliance follows: From December 1 through 31, 1995, approximately 403 Saturn, Model Year 1996 vehicles were produced which fail to comply with requirements in FMVSS No. 115. Because of a temporary deviation from the normal production process, the instrument panel upper trim cover partially obscured the lower portion of the VIN plates on 260 cars shipped to Saturn retailers. GM first became aware of this condition in January of 1996. The characters on the VIN plate are 4 millimeters high. Based on measurements of 25 cars, Saturn estimates that up to one millimeter of some characters was covered on 91.9% of the cars and more than one millimeter was covered on only 8.1% of the cars (about 22 cars). It is easy to read the VIN characters when up to one millimeter is covered. GM supported its application for inconsequential noncompliance with the following: ``The VIN is in two other easily accessible places--the certification label on the driver's door and the service parts label on the spare tire cover (the owner's manual identifies these locations). Derivatives of the VIN also appear on the engine and transmission. Because the VIN appears in several places on these cars, as well as on the car's title and registration, these cars can be easily identified for the purpose of determining whether they are subject to [recall] campaigns. ``GM uses a `posident style' font * * * in which each character has a unique upper and lower half. Police agencies have copies of the font sample and will be able to read the VIN even in the worst case condition (2.25 millimeters was the highest obscuration measured). Even without the aid of the font sample, a customer will likely be able to read most of the characters. ``Saturn has not received any field service reports or complaints from customers, dealers, motor vehicle registration officials, or law enforcement personnel. This indicates that no one is being seriously inconvenienced by this condition. ``The NHTSA has agreed that other comparable instances of non- compliance with FMVSS 115 were inconsequential: Marina Mobili, Inc., 51 FR 40367 (50 motorcycles with less than 17 characters in VIN); Volvo White Truck Corp., 47 FR 35063 (46 trucks with wrong model year code); General Motors Corp., 58 FR 32167 (630 cars with VIN characters smaller than 4 millimeters). ``[GM] this non-compliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. A recall would impose costs on Saturn and inconvenience its customers without creating any safety benefit.'' Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and arguments on the application of GM, described above. Comments should refer to the docket number and be submitted to: Docket Section, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room 5109, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, D.C., 20590. It is requested but not required that six copies be submitted. [[Page 52494]] All comments received before the close of business on the closing date indicated below will be considered. The application and supporting materials, and all comments received after the closing date, will also be filed and will be considered to the extent possible. When the application is granted or denied, the notice will be published in the Federal Register pursuant to the authority indicated below. Comment closing date: November 6, 1996. (49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120; delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50 and 501.8) Issued on: October 1, 1996. L. Robert Shelton, Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards. [FR Doc. 96-25611 Filed 10-4-96; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910-59-P