Once or twice a month, usually on the freeway on the way to work in the morning, we'll catch a glimpse of a right-hand-drive Nissan Skyline GT-R. It's always thrilling to see it. Here is a small piece of Japanese auto culture that, save for a handful of safety and emission parts, is just how one would find it in its native habitat, and it's operating on our streets. Make that car a Honda and the whip goes from kinda cool to bad-ass.
For many it's the ultimate badge of coolness a non-Japanese national Honda enthusiast can hope for: a street-legal Japan-spec car. The credibility earned by owning one usually occurs on two different levels; first, a right-hand driver gets plenty of looks on U.S. streets from average folk for being so unconventional (how often does any of us see a RHD?).
More importantly, though, is that the same import will get even harder stares from Honda heads for carrying all the JDM minutiae. If you believe, like many in the import sport compact community, that vehicles that approach the Japanese visual aesthetic are cool, then the paragon of hip is owning an imported Japanese coach.
But the sad truth is acquiring such a car is no walk in the park. The process is very involved and somewhat expensive. Additionally, there are supply issues and regulatory hoops to jump through at each turn. Ultimately bringing in an entire vehicle may be too much of a headache for the average person.
Reality CheckAlmost from the get-go there are discouraging omens in the laws regulating the importation of vehicles into America. In fact, before you even begin to look at a dealer, exporter, or auction in Japan for that Integra Type-R you've been dreaming of, you should be aware of a very important list that the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) keeps.
Importers must report to NHTSA, a subset of the U.S. Department of Transportation, whether the vehicle being brought in adheres to DOT requirements outlined in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, herewith the FMVSS. The FMVSS are federal standards written in terms of minimum safety performance requirements for motor vehicles, and you can get a copy at www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/FMVSS/.
As a general rule, cars less than 25 years old need to comply with all applicable FMVSS in order to be imported permanently into the United States. Vehicles made after September '78 need to also meet a bumper standard, and vehicles made in model years 1987 or later need to meet a theft-prevention standard. Cars made to meet these criteria should have a certification label provided by the original manufacturer near the driver's side door.
The trouble is, most of us aren't interested in 25-year-old cars or U.S.-spec ones either, which is what the certification verifies and is exactly what gets in easily. As U.S. Customs and Border Protection even cites in its "Importing or Exporting a Car" manual, "If vehicles manufactured abroad conform to U.S. safety, bumper, and emission standards, it is because these vehicles are exported for sale in the United States." At which point the laws are very clear-cars entering the United States that don't conform to U.S. standards will either be brought into compliance, exported, or destroyed.
Most people interested in bringing over a Type-R will have to contract with a DOT-registered imported (RI). An RI modifies the vehicle to make sure it conforms to all applicable FMVSS. The importer must also post a DOT bond for one and a half times the vehicle's dutiable value in addition to the normal Customs entry bond, and only an RI can import vehicles for resale. Before an RI can modify the vehicle, though, it must first be determined whether the vehicle is capable of being modified to comply with the FMVSS.
Enter that list we alluded to earlier. The registry is of vehicles that have already been approved for modification to comply with the FMVSS and it's available on NHTSA's Web site. Plainly dubbed the "List of Nonconforming Vehicles Capable of Being Modified by a Registered Importer," the collection carries only four Hondas: the '91-to-'99 Accord, the '89 Civic DX, '89-to-'97 Prelude, and the '88-to-'92 Acura Legend. That's it.
Which means the process evolves to the next level. Since our ITR is a nonconforming vehicle and not on the list, it must go through a petition process to determine whether it's capable of being modified for compliance. If the vehicle is not similar to one sold in the United States, the process of bringing it into compliance becomes very complex and costly, explains Password: JDM's Steven Niang, adding, "The laws exist to protect the U.S. manufacturers." Niang would know a bit about importing into America; he is the owner of Password, the country's largest JDM parts importer, and has brought in a few cars over the years, primarily for marketing purposes for his business.
Right Drive, Wrong Attitude"The major deal-breaker for the DOT is the right-hand drive," contributes RB Motoring's Sean Morris. Morris is a certified RI and has been importing since '99, with stints at Motorex, the famed Southern California Skyline importer, and G&K Automotive Conversion, the largest and oldest established import conversion company in the United States. "Honda could also enter and say the U.S. version is significantly different than the Japanese version, in which case the RI needs to convince the DOT that the two versions are enough alike to satisfy the rules.
"The RHD issue is a sensitive one for the Department of Transportation. In fact, NHTSA regulations specifically state that while there are no specific restrictions against bringing over cars with a flopped steering wheel, they "... may not be imported under eligibility decisions based on the existence of substantially similar U.S.-certified left-hand-drive vehicles."
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