If you’re a car enthusiast living in the U.S, you’ve probably been in and around chatter about how the country missed out on some of the most legendary JDM cars that were never federalized. Somehow though, some of those non-compliant cars make it to the U.S. — a handful through the proper channels, but the vast majority are considered shady. And, when it comes to stories about illegal JDMs in the U.S, there’s one that sits at the very center of the conversation: the Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R.
Based on the requirements of the 1988 Vehicle Safety Compliance Act, the R34 GT-R doesn’t qualify as a roadworthy vehicle in the U.S. and is banned from being imported until its 25th birthday, which is when it is finally exempted from those rules. But some JDM diehards haven’t been content with waiting that long to get their hands on a GT-R (and other icons of that era), so the illegal imports started coming in.
The act of dissembling a vehicle, importing it into the U.S as “car parts,” and then putting it back together has somehow worked like a charm for illegal importers. In the featured video, Craig Lieberman highlights the fact that the U.S Customs and Border Protection can only check just two percent of imports coming into the country at a time. With this in mind, illegal importers simply play the odds.
However, when these illegal imports are flagged, they’re inevitably seized by the Feds — and it’s been something that’s been happening over the years. What happens after they’re held? Fans of Godzillas look away because it typically involves a crusher. With the 25-year rule preventing the import of the R34 GT-R standing until 2024, prices are going through the roof. More crushed cars mean less to own, and well, you can see where this is going.
The illegal imports game was so famous in the U.S that, in many cases, it actually turned into a full-blown business. Lieberman highlights a series of car import companies that did profitable companies by bringing in high-demand vehicles and selling them illegally. Unsurprisingly, most of them got caught eventually. The video dives in-depth into some of the most controversial car import busts in the country and is worth checking out if you are into some real-life, dramatic F&F stuff.
There is some good news for those looking to someday own an R34 GT-R after the 25-year rule applies to it in 2024; according to Lieberman’s latest video, a recent post by Midori Parts Shop based in Florida showcased a series of seized cars along with their respective powertrain, all of which still fall under the import ban, being put up for auction by the Feds themselves. There’s a catch though: those interested in buying the cars had to keep in mind that the vehicles are sold for export purposes only to ‘noncontiguous countries’, which means that they cannot be sold or driven anywhere in the North American continent.
However, the good news is that these cars are no longer being crushed or stored away forever. Being sent to other countries means that there will be more R34 GT-Rs on the road, which we guess is a good thing.
