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Will all 2005's be held up until September for federalization in the US?
I heard that while 05's are on ships on their way to American shores and the first batch could be here within the next 2 weeks or less but it rumored that those cars wont actually be able to go into customers hands until early September.
Does federalizing 05's require that these cars will not actually be sold to the customers (and taken home) until early September or something?
It appears that it doesn't prevent people from placing orders and etc for 05's, but does look like it prevents them from being taken home?
Last edited by johnsocal; Jul 24th, 2004 at 06:38 AM.
Just out of interest (since it obviously doesn't affect me)... What is "federalization"?
The few useful results I could find with Google suggest that it is something to do with meeting US regulations (on emissions maybe). But wouldn't cars built for export to the US come from the factory with all these requirements already met?
Last edited by TomH; Jul 24th, 2004 at 10:12 PM.
Reason: Add icon.
It's possible this is nothing more than a rumor (which I certainy hope, since my 05 hits U.S shores tomorrow ), but I spoke with my father (who is a GM that's been working in the auto trade for longer than I've been alive) and he said it's not unthinkable. According to him, federalization does indeed have to do with inspection of new models to assure they meet various federal standards before they can be released to the market. He didn't go into great detail, but did mention that he would be surprised if BMW hadn't sorted this out prior to sending the Minis to U.S docks, as that will just create a pointless pile up of incoming vehicles. Hopefully that's the case...
There's nothing special about September for model year changes in the US, like other countries. Some cars have increased the model year as early as April/May.
I do wonder if the increase in HP requires new emissions certification?
And most likely the new 5-speed getrag in the MC needs to get re-tested for emissions too.
The extra weight of the 05 convertible might cause that particular model to get held up. The extra weight of the canvas roof and mechanics in conjunction with its non-aerodynamic design might alter its emissions and mileage ,but hopefully that wont cause delays with the 05 hardtop.
When the Mazda RX8 launched in the US last year they had alot of cars sitting at the US ports on both coasts for almost an extra month until they got the final certification of approval.
Note: This might be MiniUSA's topsecret way to sell off all those 2004 MC40's they can't seem to get rid of (how many of those 1000 MC40's have they sold anyway?). By delaying the 05's some people will buy an MC40 just to get a Mini before summer is over (yes, I'am joking)
Last edited by johnsocal; Jul 25th, 2004 at 06:56 AM.
My guess is it's all relative. After all my options, mine ended up breaking the 27K mark (at MSRP) and will eventually go well past once I install an aero kit. Honestly doesn't seem like too much to spend to me, considering what a kick ass car it is. It's like I have coworkers riding around in Porsches, H2s and Ferraris (some with one of each) and I could never imagine wanting to spend that kind of money on a car... They, on the other hand, have no problem with it.
My 04 MCS was the among the first batch that arrived in the US. (Production date was 9/4/03; 04 production started on 9/1/03) It was held at the VPC for about an extra week while MINI "prints the new window stickers".
Makes you wonder what kind of operation they are running when they're caught by surprise and need to print window stickers 2 months after the car was ordered and all of its options picked.
Magic 8-ball was correct. All be in awe of Magic 8 ball.
As I recall, the reason for the delay was they had to wait for EPA approval for the "gas mileage" numbers on the stickers. From what I could find, EPA gas mileage rating for 2003 MCS is 24/33 (according to edmunds.com), and EPA gas mileage on my sticker is 25/34.
I wonder if the 05s would be any better..... maybe 26/35?! :-)
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... 
What is federalization? 
), but I spoke with my father (who is a GM that's been working in the auto trade for longer than I've been alive) and he said it's not unthinkable. According to him, federalization does indeed have to do with inspection of new models to assure they meet various federal standards before they can be released to the market. He didn't go into great detail, but did mention that he would be surprised if BMW hadn't sorted this out prior to sending the Minis to U.S docks, as that will just create a pointless pile up of incoming vehicles. Hopefully that's the case... 
