Canadian Bumper Laws Relaxed, Finally
June 25th, 2008
Hideous rear bumper addons like the one seen above on a Ford GT will no longer be necessary after today. Despite opposition from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Canada has harmonized its bumper safety standards with European and United States standards. Specifically, section 215 of the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations will be replaced with the following:
215. (1) A passenger car shall be equipped with bumpers that conform to either
(a) the requirements set out in paragraph 6, and the low-speed-impact test procedure set out in Annex 3, except for paragraph 4 of that Annex, of ECE Regulation No. 42 — Uniform Provisions Concerning the Approval of Vehicles with regard to Their Front and Rear Protective Devices (Bumpers, etc.), in the version dated June 12, 2007, as amended after that date by any amendment in the 00 series of amendments; or
(b) the requirements, conditions and test procedures set out in title 49, part 581 of the Code of Federal Regulations of the United States (revised as of October 1, 2006).
This is both good news and bad news. Car enthusiasts have been waiting for this day long before the Canadian Government made the announcement it was looking to harmonize the Canadian bumper standards with those in the rest of the world. This means that cars that were previously not available in Canada because they did not pass the more stringent bumper standards are now permissible in Canada since they pass either the ECE standard or the US standard. The only hurdle that remains is for the Registrar of Imported Vehicles to update their admissibility list.
The bad news, is the point about safety and durability of front bumpers on newer cars now that they do not need to conform to a higher safety standard. When the Canadian Government first announced this, they mentioned that this harmonizing of the bumper safety standards will help maintain the safety of Canadian roads. I never did quite get that statement. Obviously, a bumper that is designed to withstand at least 5mph (8km/h) will be stronger and safer than a bumper designed for half that speed. Many will argue the trade off is worth it. There will be more variety of cars available in Canada (mainly imports of used vehicles), and a possibility that prices will drop because they are no longer built specifically for the Canadian market.
I look forward to the newly available cars that can be imported into Canada!
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Here Here… It’s about time…
Pontiac GTO, here we come! 400 horses stock. Ooooohhhh ya.
does that mean evo VIII??
evo!!!!!!!!!!!?
GOLF R32!!! EVO!!!
Whats the appeal of the R32? AWD? Just doesn’t seem worth it when comparing it to the GTI.
Well, that’s good! More variety! New cars! YAY!
how bout the mr2 spyder???
The R32 has a 3.2 liter V6 with around 250hp (depending on the year) plus AWD. And the new one has the 6 speed DSG. Based of performance, it really isn’t too much faster then a GTI. But you get a Porsche-like exhaust note, its unbelievable.
This is good, now you can buy a EVO X at the US price (maybe, thats speculation on my part)
Kenny, I think more than anything regarding the R32, it was just something the Dubbers couldn’t have you know??…That, and yeah the AWD too haha…
EK: Yeah I suppose but the R32 is available with an Audi badge (A3).
Dino: Up in Calgary, a GTI probably has about the same power but I guess it doesn’t have the AWD.
[...] and Amends CMVSS Section 215 This fairly old thread has been brought back to life since the announcement by the Canadian Government that it had updated section 215 of the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards pertaining to [...]
[...] up a ride from south of the border becomes more attractive than ever (especially with the new harmonized bumper law). What Canada needs to keep the used car market strong here is simple: we need to rip off the [...]
I sent an e-mail toTransport Canada last May? June? asking why they allow right hand drive vehicles in the country but not vehicles such as the Pontiac 2004-2006 GTO.. for safety reasons… Anyhow, what great news. Thank you Transport Canada!
Pretty awesome I do have to say. Maybe ill think about importing now..