[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 215 (Wednesday, November 6, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67686-67688]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-28243]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2001-10526; Notice 2]


Decision That Nonconforming 1999 Ferrari F355 Passenger Cars Are 
Eligible for Importation

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of decision by NHTSA that nonconforming 1999 Ferrari 
F355 passenger cars are eligible for importation.

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SUMMARY: This document announces the decision by NHTSA that 1999 
Ferrari F355 passenger cars not originally manufactured to comply with 
all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards are eligible for 
importation into the United States because they are substantially 
similar to vehicles originally manufactured for importation into and 
sale in the United States and certified by their manufacturer as 
complying with the safety standards (the U.S. certified version of the 
1999 Ferrari F355), and they are capable of being readily altered to 
conform to the standards.

DATES: This decision is effective as of the date of its publication in 
the Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Luke Loy, Office of Vehicle Safety 
Compliance, NHTSA (202-366-5308).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Under 49 U.S.C. 30141(a)(1)(A), a motor vehicle that was not 
originally manufactured to conform to all applicable Federal motor 
vehicle safety standards (``FMVSS'') shall be refused admission into 
the United States unless NHTSA has decided that the motor vehicle is 
substantially similar to a motor vehicle originally manufactured for 
importation into and sale in the United States, certified under 49 
U.S.C. 30115, and of the same model year as the model of the motor 
vehicle to be compared, and is capable of being readily altered to 
conform to all applicable FMVSS.
    Petitions for eligibility decisions may be submitted by either 
manufacturers or importers who have registered with NHTSA pursuant to 
49 CFR part 592. As specified in 49 CFR 593.7, NHTSA publishes notice 
in the Federal Register of each petition that it receives, and affords 
interested persons an opportunity to comment on the petition. At the 
close of the comment period, NHTSA decides, on the basis of the 
petition and any comments that it has received, whether the vehicle is 
eligible for importation. The agency then publishes this decision in 
the Federal Register.
    J.K. Technologies, LLC, of Baltimore, MD, (``J.K.'') (Registered 
Importer 90-006) petitioned NHTSA to decide whether 1999 Ferrari F355 
passenger cars are eligible for importation into the United States. 
NHTSA published notice of the petition on September 24, 2001 (66 FR 
48905) to afford an opportunity for public comment. The reader is 
referred to that notice for a thorough description of the petition.
    Three comments were received in response to the notice of the 
petition. Only one of these, from Ferrari North America (FNA), the U.S. 
representative of the vehicle's manufacturer, provided substantive 
technical information relating to the petition. The other comments were 
in favor of granting the petition, with one party identifying a recall 
that would need to be addressed. The FNA comments and subsequent 
responses from J.K. and FNA with respect to each FMVSS that the 
comments addressed are discussed below.

Standard Nos. 208--Occupant Crash Protection, and 209--Seat Belt 
Assemblies

    On October 24, 2001, FNA stated that J.K. failed to note 
differences between the U.S.-certified 1999 Ferrari F355 and non-U.S. 
certified versions of the vehicle with respect to 12 parts directly 
relating to Standard No. 208 and/or Standard No. 209. FNA stated that 
the seat belts in the U.S. version are different from those in the non-
U.S. version with respect to labeling and the child seat ratchet 
mechanism. On April 11, 2002, J.K. stated that all modified vehicles 
will have the U.S. parts for all seat belt components and thus will 
comply with Standard Nos. 208 and 209. On May 6, 2002, FNA stated that 
NHTSA should condition the importation of non-U.S. certified 1999 
Ferrari F355 passenger cars on a requirement that registered importers 
(RIs) replace any non-U.S. model parts related to Standard Nos. 208 and 
209 with U.S. model parts. On June 3, 2002, J.K. agreed and reiterated 
that all components would be inspected for U.S. part numbers and, where 
necessary, U.S. parts will be installed.

Standard No. 214--Side Impact Protection

    On October 24, 2001, FNA stated that only U.S. and Canadian 
versions of the 1999 Ferrari F355 were equipped with specially designed 
door beams that are needed to meet this standard. FNA stated that there 
was no practical method of installing door beams on the outside of the 
door frame, as was done on the U.S. certified version of the vehicle, 
without major disassembly of the door. FNA also stated that the door 
beam material was not available from FNA, as J.K. had claimed in the 
petition. FNA contended that the only way to achieve compliance with 
Standard No. 214 was to completely replace both the driver and 
passenger doors.
    On April 11, 2002, J.K. responded that there are two ways to bring 
the non-U.S. certified 1999 Ferrari F355 into compliance with this 
standard: one method is to replace the non-U.S. model doors with U.S. 
model doors, as suggested by FNA; and the second method is to modify 
the non-U.S. model doors by installation of a door beam. \1\ J.K. 
stated that beam stock that is identical to the door beam stock that 
Ferrari installs in the U.S. door is available from Ferrari's supplier. 
J.K. stated that the door beams can be installed from inside the door 
and mounted on the stock mounts, and asserted that the finished product 
would have door beam installations that are

[[Page 67687]]

identical to those on the U.S. certified version of the vehicle.
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    \1\ We note that for purposes of determining eligibility for 
importation, replacement of a door is a simple modification that 
clearly would meet the criteria of 49 U.S.C. 30141(a)(1)(A)(iv). 
However, J.K. stated that it would prefer to modify the vehicle by 
installing an additional door beam, since that would be far less 
expensive.
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    On May 6, 2002, FNA stated that J.K. had not provided any basis to 
support its claim that the installation of a side impact door beam in a 
non-U.S. certified 1999 Ferrari F355 would allow the vehicle to meet 
the requirements of Standard No. 214. FNA reiterated its view that any 
door lacking an original equipment door beam would have to be replaced 
with an entire new U.S. model door.
    On June 3, 2002, J.K. advised NHTSA that it would conduct a static 
Standard No. 214 test of its door beam installation and supply the test 
results to the Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance (OVSC). 
Subsequently, J.K. provided OVSC with the test report regarding a test 
conducted at the MGA test laboratory. The test report indicates that 
the door met the requirements of the standard, with a compliance margin 
of 17-21%. However, the MGA test did not actually test the strength of 
the door as mounted on a vehicle, since the door was mounted on a rigid 
(non-movable) fixture. The rigid fixture did not simulate the bending 
that would be associated with the door front hinge-to-A pillar and the 
rear door latch-to-B pillar connections during the application of test 
forces.
    The agency has reviewed the test report prepared by MGA. In our 
view, because the boundary conditions used in the MGA test were too 
restrictive and added additional resistive force, a passing result in 
that test does not necessarily demonstrate that a vehicle equipped with 
a door constructed in the same manner as the one tested will be in 
conformance with the static test requirements of Standard No. 214. We 
note that a more convincing simulation would utilize boundary 
conditions that allow translation and rotation in the same way door 
hinges do to account for the vehicle body deformation. Nevertheless, 
given the margin of compliance in the MGA test, we cannot say that a 
vehicle modified in this way would not comply with the standard.
    After considering all the circumstances, we have concluded that the 
1999 non-U.S. certified Ferrari F355 is capable of being readily 
altered to comply with the static test requirements of the standard. We 
note, however, that J.K. did not provide a test demonstrating 
compliance of a vehicle equipped with the modified door with the 
dynamic crash test requirements of Standard No. 214. While it is likely 
that the non-U.S. certified version would meet these dynamic test 
requirements (and FNA has not contended otherwise), modification of the 
door could conceivably have an adverse effect, particularly if padding 
originally installed in the vehicle door is removed. Therefore, the 
agency will require any RI modifying a 1999 Ferrari F355 to reinstall 
any padding or other material taken out of the door during the 
installation of a door beam.

Standard No. 301--Fuel System Integrity

    On October 24, 2001, FNA stated that, contrary to assertions in the 
petition, the rollover valve and the check valve are not the only 
safety-related components of the fuel system on the non-U.S. certified 
1999 Ferrari F355 relevant to compliance with Standard No. 301. On 
April 11, 2002, J.K. responded that all parts of the fuel system, 
including the fuel tanks, fuel lines, rollover valves, carbon 
canisters, and purge valves, would be inspected during conversion. J.K. 
agreed that it would assure that all these parts would bear the U.S. 
model part number, and they would be mounted in the stock U.S. model 
location using the U.S. specification hardware. J.K. stated that the 
non-U.S. certified 1999 Ferrari F355 has the same mounting points as 
its non-U.S. certified counterpart. On May 6, 2002, FNA essentially 
agreed that if all non-U.S. model parts related to Standard No. 301 
were replaced with U.S. model parts, there would be no compliance 
issue.

49 CFR Part 581--Bumper Standard

    On October 24, 2001, FNA pointed out that J.K. had erroneously 
stated in its petition that the bumpers and the support structure for 
the bumpers on the non-U.S. certified 1999 Ferrari F355 were the same 
as those on the U.S. certified model. FNA stated that the U.S. model 
bumpers are stronger and heavier than those on the non-U.S. certified 
vehicle. FNA also stated that the bumper support trestle assembly is 
not part of the non-U.S. model bumper assembly.
    On April 11, 2002, J.K. agreed that modifications would be needed 
to bring the non-U.S. certified 1999 Ferrari F355 into conformance with 
the Bumper Standard. J.K. identified two ways of doing this. One of 
those ways was for the bumpers and bumper mounting structures to be 
replaced with U.S. model parts. The second method would be to modify 
the non-U.S. model bumpers to meet the standard. J.K. stated that the 
bumpers on the non-U.S. certified 1999 Ferrari F355 are readily 
modifiable, in part because they are substantially similar to those on 
the U.S. certified version of the vehicle. J.K. stated that it planned 
to use the modifications that it used and tested in connection with its 
import eligibility petition for the 2001 Ferrari 360 (notice of grant 
published on April 10, 2002 at 67 FR 17483) to modify the bumper 
systems on the 1999 Ferrari F355.
    On May 6, 2002, FNA contended that any bumper modification on non-
U.S. certified 1999 Ferrari F355 vehicles must be tested to demonstrate 
conformance to the requirements of Part 581. On June 3, 2002, J.K. 
responded that it had performed testing of its modified bumper system 
on the 2001 Ferrari 360, and that the testing demonstrated the adequacy 
of its modification. J.K. also noted that other RIs might choose to 
install U.S. model bumpers and bumper support structures.
    The agency notes that Bumper Standard compliance issues are not 
directly relevant to an import eligibility decision, as that decision 
is to be based on the capability of a non-U.S. certified vehicle to be 
readily altered to conform to the FMVSS, and the Bumper Standard in 49 
CFR Part 581 is not an FMVSS. That matter aside, the agency is of the 
opinion that the test conducted by J.K. of the bumpers on the non-U.S. 
certified Ferrari 360 is sufficient to demonstrate that the non-U.S. 
certified 1999 Ferrari F355 is capable of being altered to meet the 
Bumper Standard.
    In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA has concluded that the 
non-U.S. certified 1999 Ferrari F355 is substantially similar to the 
non-U.S. certified version of the vehicle and that it is capable of 
being readily altered to meet all applicable FMVSS, as well as the 
Bumper Standard at 49 CFR part 581. Accordingly, the agency has decided 
to grant the petition.

Vehicle Eligibility Number for Subject Vehicles

    The importer of a vehicle admissible under any final decision must 
indicate on the form HS-7 accompanying entry the appropriate vehicle 
eligibility number indicating that the vehicle is eligible for entry. 
VSP-391 is the vehicle eligibility number assigned to vehicles 
admissible under this notice of final decision.

Final Decision

    Accordingly, on the basis of the foregoing, NHTSA hereby decides 
that 1999 Ferrari F355 passenger cars that were not originally 
manufactured to comply with all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety 
standards are eligible for importation into the United States because 
they are substantially similar to 1999 Ferrari F355 passenger cars 
originally manufactured for importation into and sale in the United

[[Page 67688]]

States and certified under 49 U.S.C. 30115, and are capable of being 
readily altered to conform to all applicable Federal motor vehicle 
safety standards.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30141(a)(1)(A) and (b)(1); 49 CFR 593.8; 
delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.50 and 501.8.

    Issued on: November 1, 2002.
Marilynne Jacobs,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 02-28243 Filed 11-5-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P