Import

No part of the car was left untouched.

Developing cars for different markets is very costly, and finding a way to unify regulations could dramatically reduce those costs.

Dig the sleek lines of the Nissan Silvia that was never officially sold in the US? Try not to like it too much, as this guy from Mississippi did, because he's looking at a $250,000 fine and as much as 20 years in jail for smuggling one into the country.

Fair warning for any classic car fans that suffer from high blood pressure: this story might not be good for your health. US Customs and Border Protection is teaming up with British law enforcement to keep unsafe, imported vehicles off the road here – like this Mini. In the government's view, the only way to make things right is to crush the cars, apparently.

The Iron Curtain may be lowering on Russia again, at least when it comes to the country's auto industry. The government there is reportedly considering a ban on imported cars as a response if the West puts more sanctions in place. However, even if the restrictions materialize, domestically built vehicles from foreign automakers would likely still receive an exemption.

For an automaker to manufacture locally, two elements need to be in effect: for one, the market needs to be large enough to justify it, and for another, importing has to be too expensive to make it worthwhile. Many automakers have found both those elements in place in Russia, but may not for very much longer. According to Ward's, changing conditions in Russia could spell the end of local production in the world's largest country. O

Iceland's first importer of Tesla Model S electric vehicles said his first seven sales were made to buyers who'd never seen the car. With the vehicles now in the country, he now says he hopes to have 25 sold by the end of the year, according to Plug In Cars.

One California-based consultant just got busted for double-dipping on four-wheelers. Chi Zheng, whose Los Angeles-based companies MotorScience Inc. and MotorScience Enterprise Inc. specialized as a consultant for all-terrain vehicle imports from China, had his companies fined $3.6 million for violating emissions requirements, according to the US Department of Justice, US Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board (CARB). The companies were hit with a $3.55 million fin

Automotive News China reports the United States is set to file a complaint with the World Trade Organization against China for tariffs on American-built vehicles. The duties cover around 80-percent of the vehicles imported from the U.S. and are expected to cost U.S. automakers $3.3 billion. Interestingly enough, Zach Bowman

Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. But most of all, give us your supercars.

Local manufacturing has become the watchword (or words) when it comes to foreign automakers entering the Chinese market, and for a number of reasons. For one, the market is plenty large enough to make sense out of manufacturing locally instead of importing from overseas. For another, joint ventures with local automakers have been encouraged by the still tightly regulated economy. And now there's another reason: imported vehicles are about to

Automotive News reports that domestic automakers are gaining market share thanks in part to the weak dollar. Import vehicles are currently selling at the highest price premium in 12 years compared to their domestic counterparts.

The importation of the Nissan Skyline GT-R to the United States has been a Hollywood-sized epic spanning ten years. For a while, the only game in town was to go through Motorex for a crash-tested, USDOT and EPA-approved Godzilla. Unfortunately, the company owner let his fondness of Japanese hostess clubs take precedence over delivering cars. Since Motorex shut its doors in 2005, enthu

A new study by RL Polk & Co. shows that the kind of car you drive is tied to the state you live in, and whether that state is traditionally Republican or Democrat-leaning. The study shows that 36 of the 50 United States tie closely to political lines. Red states (Republican) typically buy domestic, while blue states (Democrat) typically skew import.

Poor countries usually don't have enough resources, and people who earn the median income often can't afford new cars. Instead, they rely on getting used imports. This is the case in Peru, where the government has just authorized importing used cars until 2010. However, this authorization has a serious drawback: while Peruvian citizens will continue to have cheap cars available, they'll miss out on many of the latest anti-pollution technologies. Therefore, the Minister of Ecologic Affairs, Anton

According to a report by Reuters, the Chinese government has suspended the importation of Hyundai and Kia products from South Korea. The importation ban allegedly stems from complaints filed by dealers that the automaker violated anti-trust laws in China by throwing more support behind its own dealers and thus limiting the support offered to independent retailers.

Click image for a hi-res gallery of VW Polos

We wonder if this thing tells you "Now go away, or I shall taunt you a second time!" whenever you shut it off. Hilarity aside, this long-wheelbase CX Prestige looks like it's made out of the same material that fashioned Darth Vader's mask. Maybe the hydro-pneumatic suspension even makes the same kinds of breathy noises. Probably not, as the seller claims the spheres are in good shape. Citroëns are pretty rare in the US, and the CX's are funk-tastic executive expresses.