Mexico bans used cars from America - except for 1998 models
It was come to my attention recently that the president of Mexico, Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa, is an avid AutoblogGreen reader. Just the other day we mentioned that gas-guzzling, pollution-spewing, used American cars were flooding the streets of Mexico, creating the conditions for impending environmental disaster. Well, the good president obviously read the post and quickly made an astute decision. Ban this horde of iron invaders! One bold decision and everybody's happy, no? The environmentalists are happy, the Asociacion Mexicana de Distribuidores de Automotares,AC is happy. Everybody's happy. Well, everybody except for the poor used car dealers. So, in a move of stunning political adeptness the likes of which had not been seen since el revolución, an exception was made. Since 1998 was such an exceptional year in automotive styling, let them continue to send 1998 models - and only those - down. That'd be cool. Now everybody's happy.
[Source: Associated Press with an H / T to commenter Phil L.]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tim 9:06AM (3/05/2008)
No used cars = NO AFFORDABLE TRANSPORTATION!
No Transportation = NO JOBS!
No jobs = POVERTY!
Poverty = NO CREDIT!
No credit = NO NEW CARS!
SOLUTION? Let's all go to America! Once there, we can take THEIR jobs by working for peanuts and the FOOLS will feel sorry for us so they will give us their taxpayer funded "entitlements" so we'll have PLENTY left over to ship back to Mexico.
After all, the south-western US was REALLY just stolen from Mexico in the first place so it's ours anyway, right? Once we bankrupt their foolish government, we’ll take over their schools and political system so we can vote even MORE of their tax money for ourselves. We can take the US without firing a single shot!
The Mexico Gov't says: "NO, the people can't have used cars! Yes, they can walk or ride donkeys to pick up their unemployment bread and cheese. What, we have no bread and cheese? Hello, Mr. Bush? Please send US taxpayer funded Bread and Cheese. By the way, we have this problem with OUR southern boarder. Can you send us a few $Billion so we can take care or the problem? Thank you."
Socialists/Liberals and Neo-Cons are Brilliant?
NOT!
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Wildgoosechase73 4:25PM (3/05/2008)
Consider this, now there will significantly fewer used cars going across the border. This means that fewer older more polluting cars will be replaced in Mexico. Additionally this means that more older cars will be remaining in US polluting our air. Restricting the free market may sound good on paper but in reality it helps nobody.
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A 5:06PM (3/06/2008)
Wow! You're amazingly uninformed. This so called "ban" is actually a
modification to a previous NAFTA agreement that would open the Mexican
frontier to the import of vehicles 15 years old and older starting 2009.
Something that has been happening for years illegaly. Anyway, the
thing now is that the age of the cars falls down to 10 years old and
older, so that Mexico can still import older cars, but preferably not
that old. The real problem is not that the cars being, now legally,
imported are old, but their actual conditions.
So, don't worry my redneck friends, Mexico is still going to take the
US car market's crap, mostly Katrina cars and other junk that could have been involved in a crash, and will keep
on polluting their environment; but, have you heard of the butterfly
effect? it means that the consequences of throwing your junk down
South will eventually come back and bite you in the ass. Pollution
also travels, you know?
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Chris M 7:33PM (3/06/2008)
Wouldn't it have been better to simply set certain minimum standards for imported used cars?
Ah, but the simple solution isn't always obvious to a politician!
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Marco 5:34PM (4/10/2008)
Well im a Mexican Citizen and i just imported my ¨New¨car a previosly own by my sister Dodge Neon a 1996 model,wich my sister owned for many years and she gave it to me,its in impecable conditions and it just passed CA, US smoke check and emmisions test i paid 550dlls to import my car plus i need to get Baja California State license plates wich will cost me another 130Dlls yes! U.S. dollars and to add another 30Dlls to renew my Drivers license well i spend more money in just paperwork then what the car cost me!...but with a growing middle class in Mexico i see many new mexican cars on the road,that actually turn out to be a better deal then importing old yunk from the U.S. and its a kit better for the enviroment,Im thinking of selling my neon and getting a new 2008 VW polo wich i would just make easy monthly payments.
Grettings from Mexico.
Marco Camacho Presichi
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Ruben 11:18AM (5/13/2009)
i have a 97 dodge ram p.u truck in very good condition that i want to give to my father who lives in tepatitlan mexico but do not know the proper process do so ..do you think you can help me out point me in the right direction im hoping its not true that only 1998 vehicles are allowed into mexico thank you
miscah 5:09AM (10/16/2008)
im am relocating to usa in 2 months, i would like you to mail me a list and pictures of used cars + prices.
thank you.
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