mario laguna
The beginning of this new era of La Escudería It coincides with the beginning of the 2013 financial year that is predicted to be difficult, not only in terms of the economic, political and social situation, but also in terms of the legislative initiatives that regulate the important sector in strong development around historic vehicles. In light of these, it is possible that we legitimately worry about the future of our classics and all the immense activity generated around them.
The European Union is preparing to adopt legislation that poses a serious threat to the survival of classic cars.
We should make a purely terminological section since the notion of classic car, although it is the most frequently used in the colloquial and journalistic field, is not legally defined. Indeed, no legislator in any country in the world has dared to define what would be indefinable, at least without causing endless controversy. How to define or extract the term "classic" from what are really old, old, obsolete cars, ancestors and precursors of current technique and mechanics, veterans of all sports and social contests?
What is classic and what is not?
The most serious problem in introducing the notion of classic among cars of a certain age is that subjective notions and considerations would intervene in it, which would vary according to the different points of view of the protagonists involved in the elaboration of the applicable regulations. How to distinguish an old car from an old car? When is an old car: When is it 50, 70, 90? When is an old car: When is it 8, 5 or 3 years old? There are very well preserved cars that are like new 40 years after their first registration. However, there are battered cars that after 2 years are to be thrown away.
Does the owner's care therefore influence whether or not his car becomes a classic? Can a well-kept 600 Seat 1969 be a classic car, while a 57 Bugatti 1936 in dire condition, no? It is naturally an example to highlight the difficulty in establishing criteria that were accepted by all and reaching a consensus on the notion of "classic."
Should the notion of "classic" be reserved for cars that have represented an innovation in the technique and design of their time? So can a Citroën 2CV be considered classic over a Buick from the same period? Does the 2CV's air-cooled 2-cylinder boxer engine justify the consecration of classic versus the more conventional and not very innovative mechanics of the Buick? Where, then, would the design effort in the body, interior, elegance and comfort of the Buick be placed compared to the rudimentary construction and assembly of the fragile sheet metal parts of the 2CV?
Should the notion of "classic" be reserved for vehicles of limited production and almost artisanal manufacture, such as the Pegaso Z-102, as opposed to vehicles produced in large series with purely industrial or robotic procedures, such as current production cars mass? Could a mass-produced vehicle ever become a classic? Is a classic car defined by its high price compared to those that would never be classics because they are too cheap?
As we can see, the casuistry would be immense and we would never get to extract specific and inherent criteria to a classic car to differentiate it from the one that was not.
Legal definitions
To solve the problem, the laws and regulations of practically all the countries in the world where such notion or such categories of vehicles exist, focus on a purely chronological or temporal consideration, which only and exclusively attends to the passage of time. At the same time, the reference to any term that implies the notion of "classic" is voluntarily and deliberately avoided and instead the notion of historical vehicle is established, much less conflictive and which also has an evident simplicity of application.
Historic vehicle is one that is at least 30 years old.
The controversy is over: in a colloquial or journalistic way, the most diverse terms can be used, but as far as legality is concerned, we should not talk about old, antique or classic cars, but rather in what concerns us directly by the regulation applicable we must talk about historical vehicles.
The first international organization to use purely objective criteria and introduce reference terminology was FIVA, or "Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens", founded in 1966, terminology that has been followed by regulations, in what concerns us mainly and directly, by the countries of the European Union.
The FIVA International Technical Code establishes in its first article the notion of historic vehicle, as well as the necessary requirements to achieve such consideration, as follows (for those who deem it necessary, we provide a simple courtesy translation of the French original):
[su_quote] «- a véhicule routier à moteur,
- qui est âgé d'au moins 30 years,
- who is preserved and entertained in a historically correct statute,
- who is country used comme moyen de transport quotidien,
- et qui, consequently, fait partie de notre patrimoine technique et culturel ».
______________________________
(Free translation of FIVA Regulations):
- motor vehicle for use on public roads,
- who is at least 30 years old,
- that it is preserved and maintained in a historically adequate state,
- that is not used as a means of daily transport,
- and that, therefore, is part of our technical and cultural heritage ».
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The notion of antiquity, "at least 30 years" is decisive, but other requirements are also contemplated, such as conservation in a "historically adequate state" and that the vehicle "is not used as a means of daily transport."
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In Spain
As far as we are concerned, the General Traffic Regulation for the application of the Traffic Law and, in particular, Royal Decree 1247/1995 of July 14, which approves the Historical Vehicles Regulation, establishes in article 1 that "those that are at least 25 years old" may be historical vehicles., thus lowering the general requirement of FIVA by five years. In other words, we will have historic vehicles in Spain that cannot be recognized internationally until five years later.
The third assumption of the same article 1 opens the door to "so-called collector vehicles" with a consideration of "a very outstanding special circumstance" that could be controversial since it lends itself to numerous subjective assessments.
Without it being necessary to go into all the details and considerations of the Spanish Historical Vehicle Regulations, for the present purpose we will refer in a general way to the notion of historical vehicles, whose main requirement to achieve such consideration is the passage of time, 30 or 25 years. To encompass the activity in an international context, we will consider that a historic vehicle with a FIVA identity card is one that is at least 30 years old.
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The debatable European initiative
What does the European Union legislation foresee and why is it a threat to historic vehicles?
For the moment, despite the British optimism described below, we are faced with a "proposal for a Regulation" (and not a Directive) from the European Parliament and the Council on the periodic technical inspection of motor vehicles, which will abolish the current directive 2009/40 / CE.
The most serious novelties provided for by the Regulation are the following:
[your_quote]
- The directive on technical inspection would not apply to "vehicles of historical interest".
- Member States may introduce specific national requirements relating to the technical inspection of historic vehicles registered in their territory.
The Regulation defines "vehicle of historical interest" as that vehicle that:
- has been manufactured at least 30 years ago;
- it has been maintained using spare parts that reproduce the historical components of the vehicle;
- it has not undergone any modification in the technical characteristics of its main components, such as the engine, brakes, steering or suspension;
- its appearance has not changed.
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In other words, the entry into force of the Regulation would automatically put out of circulation those vehicles that use parts that have modified the engine, brakes, steering or suspension. Some modern shock absorbers installed in a historic car, despite increasing its safety and improving its behavior, would make it an outlaw. The replacement of the original carburettors would outlaw the engines thus modified, disc brakes instead of the original drums deserve the greater penalty of exclusion. And so on.
Regarding the modification of its external appearance with remanufactured bodywork elements, replacement of closed bodies with convertibles, windshields, seats (it is not clear if the appearance also affects the interior, but presumably it does), it leaves it out of circulation to vehicles that have been modified in this way.
To face the threat of the European Union, the most active country and with the longest tradition in the preservation of historic vehicles and all the activities that take place around them, Great Britain has again mobilized to prevent Community legislation from having negative effects on its national heritage. Thus, on 14 December 2012, the British Transport Minister, Mr Stephen Hammond, met with members of the Parliamentary Group for Historic Vehicles to assure them that the British government will adopt comprehensive protectionist interpretation measures for historic vehicles in case of the legislation of the European Union coming into force.
The British are congratulated because they believe that the legislation, initially envisaged in the form of a Regulation, has been degraded into a Directive, which enables Member States to interpret and apply the legislation according to a general framework and not to the letter. For those who are not familiar with Community terminology, a European Union Regulation is a law directly applicable in all Member States, without the possibility of modification, while a Directive is a mandate to Member States to harmonize their national legislation to what is established in the directive. In other words, the Regulation is unique for all Member States, while the Directive favors the uneven application, albeit within a mandatory framework, of European legislation. The Directive leaves much more leeway to Member States when applying Community law than does the Regulation.
[su_spoiler title = 'Photo credits' show = 'true']
Main Image | MPD01605
Rest of images | Diego3336, exfordy, pedrosimoes7, rowan harrison, dave_7, stackahumanoid
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