Feds Sieze Land Rover

[Ben]

Very brief story, so there may be more background, but kinda ridiculous to firstly, just come and seize it and the others without prior notification so the owners could have options, secondly for showing up apparently in battle rattle.

http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/08/01/feds-raid-nc-womans-home-seize-land-rover

[Bob F.]

Executive Order???

[onions!]

Wow.That's rough.
A good use of manpower though.Efficient.

Glad we don't have tailpipe sniffers here.

Places to move to;Georgia,nope-rampant ebola,North Carolina,nope-grey market emission Stasi,Texas,Arizona,New Mexico-border situation.Florida-ummm,

[brimic]

Yet there are those that will question and mock the idea that tyranny has arrived.

Maybe the landrover didn't meet the requisite number of tax dollars stolen from 'merkins to produce.

[TommyGunn]

Yet there are those that will question and mock the idea that tyranny has arrived.

Maybe the landrover didn't meet the requisite number of tax dollars stolen from 'merkins to produce.

It snuck in sublty, quietly, inch by inch, over the last 82 years ..........

[freakazoid]

Brinkley said the agents didn't even know the reasoning behind the seizure because the case was sealed, but told her it might be related to the vehicle failing to meet Clean Air Act emissions standards.

"There were 40 seized that day all over the United States,"

 

[Tuco]

I'm not saying it's a Good Law, but the law was broken and these people got busted.

These were allegedly newer trucks that had vins from 25 y.o. trucks swapped onto them.  Many came through a single N.C. .importer.  They were brought in illegally, without dot safety features or proper papers, and anyone who bought into the idea that they could somehow leagally own a new defender simply by titling it as a series, and paying 60,000 dollars for the opportunity knew this was a possibility.

In the words of one "victim". "I came home from work to find an oil puddle in my driveway and a warrant nailed to my front door."

[MechAg94]

It was new and had an oil puddle?

[Jamisjockey]

I'm not saying it's a Good Law, but the law was broken and these people got busted.

These were allegedly newer trucks that had vins from 25 y.o. trucks swapped onto them.  Many came through a single N.C. .importer.  They were brought in illegally, without dot safety features or proper papers, and anyone who bought into the idea that they could somehow leagally own a new defender simply by titling it as a series, and paying 60,000 dollars for the opportunity knew this was a possibility.

In the words of one "victim". "I came home from work to find an oil puddle in my driveway and a warrant nailed to my front door."

But hey, we needed a swat team to confiscate the vehicle?  Something private repossessors do all the time with two grease monkeys and a tow truck?

[brimic]

But hey, we needed a swat team to confiscate the vehicle?  Something private repossessors do all the time with two grease monkeys and a tow truck?

Repossessors are grabbing the vehicle to get it back to the rightful owner. This is nothing more than armed robbery  done under the color of 'law' not passed by congress, but by administrators.

[Battle Monkey of Zardoz]

Repossessors are grabbing the vehicle to get it back to the rightful owner. This is nothing more than armed robbery  done under the color of 'law' not passed by congress, but by administrators.

But police are the good guys, our friends. 

[freakazoid]

It was new and had an oil puddle?

The oil puddle was probably from the super eco friendly swat team van.

I'm not saying it's a Good Law, but the law was broken and these people got busted.

 

[dogmush]

I'm not saying it's a Good Law, but the law was broken and these people got busted.

Did you not read the article?

This lady was driving a British car manufactured in the '80's.  What more punishment can we give her, a Reliant Robin?

[Ben]

These were allegedly newer trucks that had vins from 25 y.o. trucks swapped onto them.  Many came through a single N.C. .importer.  They were brought in illegally, without dot safety features or proper papers, and anyone who bought into the idea that they could somehow leagally own a new defender simply by titling it as a series, and paying 60,000 dollars for the opportunity knew this was a possibility.

In the words of one "victim". "I came home from work to find an oil puddle in my driveway and a warrant nailed to my front door."

From the video, this woman was the fifth owner of the vehicle. If there were any VIN swaps during the original import, how would she have known about them? Personally, I would have had no idea that this was an illegal vehicle (if it is in fact illegal) to own in the US. If it was a titled vehicle that I saw for sale and had a hankerin' to own, I would have bought it.

Ignorance of the law may not be an excuse, but it goes back to there being so many laws in our country that no one can know when they're breaking one. Another reason for them to have made a phone call, or at least for a guy in a suit to have shown up instead of an (apparently) tactical team.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

Oops

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/44/4476.asp

http://blog.caranddriver.com/exclusive-feds-declare-war-on-black-market-land-rover-defenders/
Maybe not

[dogmush]

Oops

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/44/4476.asp

http://blog.caranddriver.com/exclusive-feds-declare-war-on-black-market-land-rover-defenders/
Maybe not

Well I for one am glad that our heroic border protectors have gotten our border so secure that they have time to track down something as banal as a fraudulently aged Land Rover.  Remember the bad old days when we used to worry about drugs, weapons, and people (many of them slaves) coming through the ports?  At least those problems have been solved.

[lee n. field]

It was new and had an oil puddle?

British

[Ben]

Well I for one am glad that our heroic border protectors have gotten our border so secure that they have time to track down something as banal as a fraudulently aged Land Rover.  Remember the bad old days when we used to worry about drugs, weapons, and people (many of them slaves) coming through the ports?  At least those problems have been solved.

So I'm still unclear if it's "fraudulent aging" or EPA regs, or both. As the woman stated in the video, the vehicle was modified to pass smog inspection, and as she stated, there is also not a need to even pass. Even in CA, we he have exclusions for vehicles over a certain age (I can't remember what) OR if a vehicle failed its smog check three times, it gets an exemption (I guess because by that time, the state got enough fee money out of the owner).

[dogmush]

So I'm still unclear if it's "fraudulent aging" or EPA regs, or both. As the woman stated in the video, the vehicle was modified to pass smog inspection, and as she stated, there is also not a need to even pass. Even in CA, we he have exclusions for vehicles over a certain age (I can't remember what) OR if a vehicle failed its smog check three times, it gets an exemption (I guess because by that time, the state got enough fee money out of the owner).

The feds are claiming that that's not actually a 1985 (or whatever) Land Rover.  It's a 2007 (or whatever).  The claim is that folks are taking new Defenders (which WOULD be subject to EPA and crash laws) and slapping the VIN's of older vehicles on them to get around EPA and NHTSA regs.  So "fraudulently aging" or making them seem older than they are.

My give a damn seems to be busted about the idea that folks might have snuck in a 2005 Land Rover as a 1985 one however.

[Jamisjockey]

Oops

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/44/4476.asp

http://blog.caranddriver.com/exclusive-feds-declare-war-on-black-market-land-rover-defenders/
Maybe not

Any reason to send heavily armed JBT's into someone's house, eh?

[Ben]

My give a damn seems to be busted about the idea that folks might have snuck in a 2005 Land Rover as a 1985 one however.

Yeah, seems like Wesley Mouch is the only guy that should care about that. More "money for the government" law enforcement versus actual law enforcement.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

Any reason to send heavily armed JBT's into someone's house, eh?

Do you have pictures?  I don't mean to question the ladies narrative but wearing vests covers a great deal of ground. In the rural area I live in they all wear vests all the time and all warrant service they usually heavy up. It's kinda odd on occasion they folks are not friendly and the warrant service is for something minor but look and behold when they arrive they find folks up to more serious shenanigans.
Did they go in someone's house? Or did they grab her car from driveway?  Shoot even the high sunblock folk like you take your rides serious. Might shoot to protect their whip.

[Boomhauer]

The claim is that folks are taking new Defenders (which WOULD be subject to EPA and crash laws) and slapping the VIN's of older vehicles on them to get around EPA and NHTSA regs

That's pretty much the gist of the issue, there is a whole cottage industry sprung up around taking a newer Defender, with the diesel and all the product improvements, and putting the VIN number of an old Defender on it.

That said, I think it's rediculous for it to be against the law to import a newer Land Rover and own it but that's government bureaucracy for ya. The EPA has run amok.

[Ben]

That's pretty much the gist of the issue, there is a whole cottage industry sprung up around taking a newer Defender, with the diesel and all the product improvements, and putting the VIN number of an old Defender on it.

That said, I think it's rediculous for it to be against the law to import a newer Land Rover and own it but that's government bureaucracy for ya. The EPA has run amok.

The whole EPA diesel hate thing is a big scam IMO. I don't know how they do it in other states, but in CA, we started having to get biannual smog inspections on diesels around five years ago. I've been in twice.

When I take my gasser in, they stick a sniffer in the tailpipe, measure various gases, check vacuum, and a bunch of other stuff with minimum standards to pass for gas outputs. When I take my diesel in, all they do is check the gas cap and look to see that I haven't disconnected anything. They take NO gas measurements and they're done in like five minutes. I take my vehicles to the same shop for smog. The charge for the diesel inspection is twice as much as for the gasser. If diesels are such evil polluters, why aren't they taking any gas readings?

[SADShooter]

Did you not read the article?

This lady was driving a British car manufactured in the '80's.  What more punishment can we give her, a Reliant Robin?

Thank you for the laugh of the day.