Do you think Ferrari can buy their way out of this one?
 

Sorry for the long post...first few paragraphs say it all

Link:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=108934

Ferrari F430 Sales May Be Banned in U.S. for Airbag Issues

WASHINGTON, D.C. ? The federal government may ban sales of Ferrari's bread-and-butter F430 in late 2006 unless the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration grants the company a waiver on airbag requirements.

It isn't that the F430's airbags aren't safe ? they meet or exceed most NHTSA guidelines. But the F430 lacks sufficient protection for a small number of female occupants who aren't strapped into the correct position in the event of a crash. The same problem applies to child occupants. If the waiver isn't granted, Ferrari will be unable to sell cars built after September 1, 2006.

NHTSA suggested the company accelerate production and stockpile pre-September 1 cars to keep dealers supplied with cars for the two remaining years in the F430's production cycle, but Ferrari pointed out that it is already building the cars as quickly as it can to meet demand.

In its petition, Ferrari details its plans to continue the F430 line until late 2008, when it will "be replaced by a newly designed eight-cylinder model." What that means for rumors of a possible 10-cylinder Lamborghini Gallardo fighter isn't clear.

Lotus initially expected it would need a similar waiver to sell the Elise in the U.S., but ultimately found it could meet the requirement with off-the-shelf airbag technology. Ferrari, on the other hand, says in its petition that it has extensively tested available components without success. "The issue is not one of cost, but one of impossibility," the document states. (Emphasis added by Ferrari in its filing.)

"We focused on the work that had been done in an attempt to comply," observed Ferrari North American Corporate General Council Dave Wertheim. "We think there is a very high degree of safety in the car," he emphasized.

When the wheels of the federal bureaucracy will churn out a decision is anybody's guess. "There is no expected timetable," said Wertheim. What do Ferrari's oddsmakers think it'll decide? "We're cautiously optimistic," he said.

Waivers have typically been considered the realm of tiny startups and importers of limited numbers of unusual cars. Even though Lotus complied with the airbag requirement, the Elise still required waivers for other elements, such as lighting. The Crosslander SUV under consideration from Romania, for example, will require a waiver for its complete absence of any airbags, which is a much taller order than Ferrari's request.

Ferrari points out that only 13 percent of its owners have children under the age of 6, so that it is unlikely that many kids will ride in one of the waived cars. Further, the company pledges to provide, free of charge to any customer who requests it, a special child seat which will automatically deactivate the passenger's side airbag. The cars will also feature a manual cutoff switch for the passenger's side airbag.

If the notion of buying a Ferrari child seat sounds attractive, hold on. At this point that child seat is entirely hypothetical, says Wertheim, and even then it would only be available to those who own the car.

ACE Sell your car quick!!!

Supplie and Demand ;-)

my thoughts exactly...

"NHTSA says to produce as many as they can before Sept 1st"

bump for new crew that may have not seen this before

I find it really difficult to believe that anyone in here cares about this thread.

I just read the whole thing... It's not like ferraris are for kids, and I doubt many small womans are driving one too

You're right, not too many people will be putting their kids in the cars.

Porsche sells a child seat for their 911 that cost quite a bit if I remember correctly.
http://www.porsche.com/international...chechildseats/

It's nothing new to the sports car/exotic market, but that will only be an option if the car is made for the US market after Sept 1st

make the women and children sit in the back :thumbsup

a child seat in a ferrari? you've got to be kidding.

that isn't exactley the car you take little johnny to tee ball practice, or to the store with you to get groceries.

fucking NHTSA sucks my gooch.

i can't even buy certain bumpers for my car because of their goddamned crash bar laws.

http://www.blueballshosting.com/gfy/thread/12.jpg

maybe we could strap them to the rear bumper so they would be as far away from the impact of a front end collision :1orglaugh

"We're here from the government, and we are here to help."



:(

Yeah, who gives a shit about women and children! LOL