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Old 08-10-2011, 08:16 AM   #1
AVANTI R5
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Default NHTSA says that the Pagani Huayra can’t be sold in the U.S.



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Although a $1.1 million supercar without an airbag sounds like a joke to you, find out that it’s not and we are talking about the new Pagani Huayra. As you may know already, earlier today we told you that the new Huayra made its debut in the United States and that some customers already placed order for the new car. Now here’s the bad news: less than a day from its debut on U.S. shores, the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) denied Pagani’s exemption request in a Federal Register notice due to the fact that the car uses an 11-year-old air bag system.

Apparently, the cars sold in the United States need to have the so-called advanced air bags that have sensors to adjust deployment force based on occupants’ heights and weights, according to Bloomberg. Currently, Lamborghini and Tesla are among the limited-production companies that have won exemptions over the past five years on financial-hardship grounds. Developing a new airbag system would cost Pagani 3.2 million euros ($4.5 million).

Although Pagani has realized profits in recent years, the company asserted that immediate compliance with the advanced air-bag requirements will cause substantial economic hardship,” NHTSA said in today’s notice. “Pagani stated that the company only operates on the cash on hand without lines of credit or debt financing, and its small profit margin is necessary to guard it from market fluctuations.”


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Old 08-10-2011, 08:33 AM   #2
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Setting aside draconian airbag standards for a moment, Pagani seriously can't raise $5 million to ensure a foothold in one of the world's biggest markets?

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Old 08-10-2011, 08:53 AM   #3
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Ok I guess I'll be the first with the obligatory "guess I'm getting my deposit back" joke.

-Mike.
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Old 08-10-2011, 10:06 AM   #4
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One day before it comes to the US and the government pulls this card? Add this one to the pile...
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Old 08-10-2011, 10:10 AM   #5
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I removed the DOT regulated/approved seatbelts and disconnected the airbags in my car. Shh, don't tell Big Brother.
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Old 08-10-2011, 10:27 AM   #6
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I have to go with NHTSA on this issue. Yes, they can be annoying but their job is to keep us safe.

If I'm willing to shell out $1.1 mill for a supercar with that much speed,I would atleast want some sort of safety mechanism to go along with it. Not some shoddy obsolete 11-year-old air bag system. WTF?

From what I've remembered(from Dateline NBC), the older system doesnt regulate deployment force, and can sometimes kill you.
Either develope or license the technology. Get with the program son! Where do they think this is, China?
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Old 08-10-2011, 10:49 AM   #7
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Id take the stance of who the heck is the gov. to tell me I cant purchase this car here because its airbag tech is not up to snuff for MY SAFETY. That is MY decision to make. While I, and more than likely 90%+ of the members on here could not financially afford this vehicle, if I could, and wanted it, id be ticked.

In other news, I think I will go buy a motorcycle and drive it down the interstate with no helmet....stupid, arrogant, government!
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Old 08-10-2011, 10:57 AM   #8
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My problem isn't the safety regulation but their piss poor timing.
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Old 08-10-2011, 03:00 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by Ysidro View Post
Yes, they can be annoying but their job is to keep us safe.
Well, we didn't ask them to, and a large portion of people don't want them attempting to "keep us safe".

They're also the reason that fuel mileage in todays cars sucks, via the bloated weights. As well as why prices are high.

Set minimal standards, and let consumers choose their priorities when buying a car.
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Old 08-10-2011, 03:07 PM   #10
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This is why we can't have nice things. This also stinks of politics to me. They really can't grant an exception to a company that was planning on selling FIVE cars here?
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Old 08-10-2011, 03:18 PM   #11
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How does Lamborghini, a car company bankrolled by one of the richest manufacturers in the business get to claim financial hardship while tiny independent Pagini gets denied?
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Old 08-10-2011, 03:52 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by skywaffles View Post
How does Lamborghini, a car company bankrolled by one of the richest manufacturers in the business get to claim financial hardship while tiny independent Pagini gets denied?
I don't think they were turned down for it. I believe they were just stating the rarity of the exceptions using Lamborghini as an example. I'm sure Pagani will file for such an exception and get it considering exactly what you just said.

What I dont get it why they bother to uphold such standards on cars that costs so much and are so rare. Who gives a ****!? There will be all of about 20 of these, most of which will rarely ever leave the garage. The effect they will have on any type of mass vehicle statistic will be so negligible.
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Old 08-10-2011, 04:00 PM   #13
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Actually Sky, I take that back, apparently they were turned down.

More relevant information.

http://www.gtspirit.com/2011/08/09/e...he-us-in-2013/

Quote:
Pagani has been frequently seen in the headlines the last week over the US debut of their latest creation, the Pagani Huayra. Reports in various media last weekend suggested the Italian supercar would not be able to sell its cars in the US after the NHTSA denied an exemption request from the advanced airbag rule submitted by Pagani over three years ago. In an attempt to find out what was going on, we got in touch with Pagani and today can bring you their explanation on where they are at with the Pagani Huayra introduction in the US.

First of all they like to share that with last weeks debut the Huayra and Pagani brand received an overwhelming reception by the invited media and customers.

But to clear up the current situation we have to go back three years in time. It was than in the Summer of 2008 when Pagani petitioned NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) for a temporary exemption from the advanced or ***8216;smart' airbag rule as regards the Huayra. The exemption would have covered sales for the first few years in the US. Pagani adds:

"The fundamental motivation for our exemption request concerned having to prioritize our budget (we have to remember that this was happening at the start of a period of global economic uncertainty). And keep in mind, this exemption had already been given to companies such as Bugatti, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Koenigsegg and Spyker."

The advanced airbag regulations in the US are just a small part of car safety regulations and rules as a whole. Pagani has developed systems that go way beyond regular safety regulations and normal speed crash tests as indicated by the following indepth view on some of the extraordinary safety systems used in and developed for the Pagani Huayra:

From research and experience, we know about the dynamics of accidents in supercars, so we focused on a thorough development of the center tub in carbo-titanium, with many destructive tests to prove our designs. We developed a fuel system that behaves in a precise fashion during a crash, not only because of the position and construction of the fuel tank, but also because of the pressure management in the whole system, getting rid of high pressure instantly in the event of an impact, and thus reducing the probability of a major fuel spray in the engine bay if a fuel line were damaged. We know that this is a typical event in lateral high speed crashes. A significant investment also went into the study of how the subframes would behave in a side crash, especially the rear subframe, which in our car detaches from the carbon safety cell, dissipating kinetic energy by getting rid of over 400kg of the weight to which the occupants are attached at that moment.

There are no rules that tell you how a car must behave in a 200km/h crash. Even if Germany may be the only place in the world where you can legally drive the car on the highway at these speeds, we still feel compelled to make sure that our car is as safe as possible throughout its range of performance, rather than merely as safe as required.

Obviously, the integration of the advanced airbag system is very much in our plans, and has been from the start. To prove this point, you need only to look at the hardware components that we fitted on the Huayra from the beginning, even on the European version. The airbag components, are compatible with advanced airbag management (airbag, advanced belt retainer, steering column). This shows our determination to design a car that will meet all requirements in our relative markets.

During these past three years, Pagani has been waiting for a reply from NHTSA, and they had been led to believe that by June of this year an answer finally would be available. Obviously, having a NHTSA decision prior to the key events that Pagani had planned for the US was very important. From June 2011 Pagani put utmost pressure on the NHTSA to receive an answer regarding their exemption request. As you can imagine the market introduction in the US has a large impact on the budget of a small company like Pagani. Pagani continues:

Friday the 29th of July, we received from NHTSA the denial of our petition (Five days prior to our first US event and about three years after it was requested). This news spread like wildfire. Fortunately, however, over the last months, after having not heard anything from the authorities, we sped up the development of the advanced system with a large number of simulation runs and tests.

As GTspirit reported last month Pagani's schedule prior to the denial foresaw start of US deliveries in mid to late 2012; now Pagani cautiously says first part of 2013. Pagani finishes with:

The US market is important to Pagani and the future of our company. The Huayra project had a US market introduction as a key goal from the start. The reception we are currently experiencing in the US fully supports our vision and will fuel our determination to uccessfully deliver the Huayra to our customers in the United States.

To sum it up, Pagani confirms reports that a requested exemption for the advanced airbag rule has been denied by NHTSA but denies this will permanently disrupt a market introduction of the Pagani Huayra in the United States. With preparations for the implementation of an advanced airbag system done, and testing well under way a successful market introduction of the Pagani Huayra in the United States with a delay of six to nine months is still feasible. This would put the first customer Pagani Huayra on the US roads as soon as the beginning of 2013.
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Old 08-10-2011, 04:22 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SCRAPPYDO
This is BS pure and simple. If bikers can ride without helmets, I can damn sure live with a first gen air bag. Perhaps the first gen is better as it deploys faster. Maybe that was not an oversite by pagani. I freaking HATE the NHSTA. They need to get dispanded and they do ZERO good for me or you. They are an example of government sticking its nose into crap they have no business.

If I were pagani, I would slap an experimental sticker on my cars and sell them as is. THey would lose exactly ZERO customers.
i agree with everything you said, especially what i bolded. the govt allows motorcycle riders to ride without helmets, why don't they allow us to drive without airbags?

oh wait, i already do.
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Old 08-10-2011, 05:12 PM   #15
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wow that sucks, Pagani completely designed this car to be sold in the US (part of why the front looks so ugly)
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Old 08-10-2011, 11:06 PM   #16
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Set minimal standards, and let consumers choose their priorities when buying a car.
minors riding as a passenger in their parents' car did not get to choose what the vehicle's priorities should be. and no, i do not want you to be able to choose what height your vehicle bumper should be set at because your priorities might not be quite the same as mine. and no, i don't believe the auto industry (like wall street) is capable of regulating itself.
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Old 08-11-2011, 06:29 AM   #17
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I hate to say that i side the gov on this one... Pagani is cheaping out.

However, there should be clause that you can sign for the car if you want it. So if u or your passenger get killed/injured by an old airbag system its 100% on your estate.
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Old 08-11-2011, 08:08 AM   #18
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Originally Posted by delongedoug View Post
I removed the DOT regulated/approved seatbelts and disconnected the airbags in my car. Shh, don't tell Big Brother.
Safer to be thrown clear, amirite?
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Old 08-11-2011, 08:17 AM   #19
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I hate to say that i side the gov on this one... Pagani is cheaping out.

However, there should be clause that you can sign for the car if you want it. So if u or your passenger get killed/injured by an old airbag system its 100% on your estate.
How much do you want to bet that the heirs of rich people who off themselves in such a Pagani would still sue?
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Old 08-11-2011, 08:33 AM   #20
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My issue with this is the timing. First, does it really take THREE years? Second, how do you get off telling Pagani after they announce an American launch? Seriously? Perhaps Pagani jumped the gun, but I'd LOVE to know why those low-volume manufacturers were granted exemptions and Pagani wasn't.

As another poster said...this is for a HANDFUL of cars. You can't exactly crank out those hand made cars at a blistering pace.
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Old 08-11-2011, 09:30 AM   #21
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^ Truf

Also, CT has no helmet law, yet I'll get a revenue genera... er, ticket if I don't have my seatbelt on. Explain the logic.
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Old 08-11-2011, 09:44 AM   #22
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Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the point of advanced airbags was to cut down on the number of injuries and deaths that the older style airbags could cause to small, lightweight people (i.e. kids).

Now I'm not usually one of the "Wont someone please think of the children!!?!" types, but at the same time I can see why if the NHTSA is going to require cars to be equipped with airbags it would want those airbags to be of the non-child decapitating kind. Now obviously most people don't use their $1 million supercar to take their kid to school, but the point remains that this rule really isn't designed to protect the driver, it's for the passenger who may or may not have had any say in the matter.

And to all the keyboard freedom fighters here, remember that while the big bad government may require cars to be sold with airbags, there's no law against ripping them out after you buy a car. Hell, you can even mount a big spike in the middle of your steering wheel if you want. Just in case you don't feel manly or free enough.
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Old 08-11-2011, 10:09 AM   #23
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Again, a simple warning sticker on the sunvisor saying do not let a infant/toddler ride in the front seat of this 240 mph supercar due to minuscule chance of front end collision on the 1 day a month you actually drive it more than 3 miles to the car show.

kids and toddlers are not usually the ones riding in said cars. Usually it is an augmented blond with 3 functional synapses who would not lose anything from a sharp blow to the head.

You can apply logic to this scenario all you want, but it is purely the ideal and utopian kind not at all based in reality. Allow consumers the option to accept risk when they want to.

Saying the law is there to protect the innocent who are forced to ride in a pagani is pure BS as the statistical chance of any injury happening to a child riding in a Huayra getting hurt due to the air bag going off is so minuscule as to be laughable.

Again, how many freedoms do you want to surrender in the name of safety? How many 1 in a million accidents do you want to pass laws to protect against.

If you buy into this decision, then you should support a nation wide ban on swimming in any water off the coast of the entire united states, as sharks kill a handful of people every year. People should be required to wear chain mail suits to swim...for their protection... think of the innocent kids.

Swimming should be illegal. We should form the National Institute for Protection Against Shark Attacks....NIPASA needs some government money.
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Old 08-11-2011, 10:16 AM   #24
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Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the point of advanced airbags was to cut down on the number of injuries and deaths that the older style airbags could cause to small, lightweight people (i.e. kids).

Now I'm not usually one of the "Wont someone please think of the children!!?!" types, but at the same time I can see why if the NHTSA is going to require cars to be equipped with airbags it would want those airbags to be of the non-child decapitating kind. Now obviously most people don't use their $1 million supercar to take their kid to school, but the point remains that this rule really isn't designed to protect the driver, it's for the passenger who may or may not have had any say in the matter.

And to all the keyboard freedom fighters here, remember that while the big bad government may require cars to be sold with airbags, there's no law against ripping them out after you buy a car. Hell, you can even mount a big spike in the middle of your steering wheel if you want. Just in case you don't feel manly or free enough.
You'd be surprised. I'm not going to spend the time researching it, but it wouldn't surprise me one bit. Considering you could get a ticket for a half dozen things the second you drove your new car off the lot, I'd guess you could get a ticket for removing federally mandated safety equipment.
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Old 08-11-2011, 10:17 AM   #25
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