After WWII, the value of the U.S. dollar soared, triggering an importation frenzy among Americans. After all, with the U.S. dollar trading so high in the global currency market, Americans had enough purchasing power to buy cars from foreign distributors. So much so that if you traveled back in time to the 1970s, you could easily spot Japanese compacts, European hatchbacks, and many other foreign car models on American roads.
For many Americans, it didn’t matter that the car model they wanted wasn’t available for sale in the U.S. They could simply have the foreign car shipped in from its country of production. For domestic carmakers and distributors, this importation frenzy had huge economic implications. Since Americans were buying cars directly from foreign distributors, domestic dealerships lost tons of sales. Moreover, the importation frenzy created major road safety concerns, as many of these foreign cars failed to pass crash tests, among other safety tests. All of this pushed the U.S. Senate to implement the Imported Vehicle Safety Compliance Act of 1988.
This act placed heavy restrictions on importing foreign vehicles to the U.S., so much so that, according to statistics from AutoShippers, foreign car imports fell by 99% in the years following its implementation. In 1998, the act was amended to include the 25-year import rule, which prevents car enthusiasts from importing cars that don’t meet U.S. safety standards for 25 years.
