Photo: Aston Martin
As the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration continues to look for new ways to make vehicles safer, a group of Aston Martin dealers is reportedly petitioning the administration to make the current DB9 and Vantage models exempt from the upcoming Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 214 requirement. This new safety standard aims to improve side impact protection.
FMVSS No. 214 incorporates a new test that replicates the scenario where a car slides sideways into a tree or pole. Finalized in 2007, the test began being phased in to new cars starting in 2010, but automakers that produce fewer than 5,000 units have been exempt from the phase-in period. That is until September 1, 2014 when all vehicles (excluding convertibles) are expected to be compliant; convertible have until September 1, 2015.
According to the petition, the coupe and convertible models of the DB9 and Vantage will not meet this regulation within that timeframe, and claims that Aston Martin would require an investment of $30 million (€22.4 million) to make the necessary changes to the vehicles, which the petition says that automaker doesn’t have. Even worse, the next-generation models of both cars have been delayed with no specific time table for their arrial.
The dealer petition is asking for exemptions ranging from one to three years for the DB9 coupe, DB9 Volante, Vantage coupe and Vantage Volante, which amounts to around 670 vehicles based on current sales. A report from Bloomberg indicates that if the cars aren’t changed by September 1st of this year (which likely isn’t going to happen) and the exemption is extended for these cars, it could lead to numerous Aston Martin dealerships going out of business due to the fines that would be levied on the non-compliant cars.
According to the petition, the coupe and convertible models of the DB9 and Vantage will not meet this regulation within that timeframe, and claims that Aston Martin would require an investment of $30 million (€22.4 million) to make the necessary changes to the vehicles, which the petition says that automaker doesn’t have. Even worse, the next-generation models of both cars have been delayed with no specific time table for their arrial.
The dealer petition is asking for exemptions ranging from one to three years for the DB9 coupe, DB9 Volante, Vantage coupe and Vantage Volante, which amounts to around 670 vehicles based on current sales. A report from Bloomberg indicates that if the cars aren’t changed by September 1st of this year (which likely isn’t going to happen) and the exemption is extended for these cars, it could lead to numerous Aston Martin dealerships going out of business due to the fines that would be levied on the non-compliant cars.
Google News