Ford Gets Bit by the Chicken Tax Bradley Brownell/Jalopninik

[ach60]

Long term VW guys know about the Chicken Tax, and why after 1963 VW Single Cabs, Double Cabs, Windowless Buses are more rare,
because the US Gov. imposed a 25% Tariff on imported Commercial Vehicles.
Well we've all seen a Ford Transit Connect, and you may or may not know that they are imported as a passenger car.
Then once received into the United States Ford "converts" them into Commercial Vehicles.
They do this by throwing away the rear seats.
After doing this Ford Faces Potential $1.3 Billion Fine
For Skirting 'Chicken Tax' Regulations With Transit Connect Imports from 2010 to the present time.
In 2013, US Customs told Ford that they must stop this practice of importing vans disguised as passenger cars.
The Case went all the way to the Supreme Court, where hearing of the case was refused, meaning lower court verdict against Ford will stand.
It’s possible that this massive fine will negate Ford’s entire profit strategy for this vehicle,
and prevent the company from attempting to import any of its small vans or trucks in the future.
The writer at Jalopnik (Bradley Brownell) supposes that’s the point of the fine.
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Good Luck
Al

[Abscate]

Looks like a bad time to cross the road. Feather in the cap of US Customs.

I always thought the Transit import was such a blatant attempt to circumvent the tax it would get called out. If they had been smarter, they should have had their dealer network buy these and do the conversions.
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.ssS!

[mark tucker]

no they should of left the seat in.

[Lind]

Oh the irony....
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[EverettB]

It's a Ford, why isn't it built in the USA?!?

Build it in the USA... Boom, no import tax
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[EverettB]

[ToolBox]

The $1.3B is just the proposed fine on top of the tax difference that was already paid.

Automakers play this game all the time. Benz by bringing in Sprinters that need a few parts installed, Toyota made, painted and installed the beds on it's early pickups.

[cbeck]

What Everett said. Greedy corporate bean counters. Serves them right.
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My cut in half and rebuild thread
www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=647779

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[Zundfolge1432]

Another older example same game different day. The seats https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_BRAT

[cdennisg]

[Pez]

[EverettB]

[Pruneman99]

Idk. It looks pretty similar to a bunch of other minivans on the market to me.

[Abscate]

[ach60]

[Chickensoup]

looks like im gittin green now. thanks ford.

its like ford landed on the go to jail square in monopoly. but the house rule is you pay 1.3 billion
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[mark tucker]

oh somany corporations do this stuff.and other stuff like it. I remember when yamaha and mercury were building a 9.9 hp outboard...built hear shiped over seas to have some more parts installed then shiped back to be finished...or was it built in japan then shiped hear then shiped back for final assy then shiped back hear....somethen like that. how the fuck do you make $$ on stuff like that.. ? most everything these days are global sourced. my roadster is hadn assembled from parts sorced all over the world.and yes it's a production car, assembled in USA by hand.and even welded by hand. most parts you can see say made in germany. head light assys korea...engine case casting mexico. the defective child air bag sensors that NHTSA let GM use duct tape on for a patch that go bad and cost the owner$1000 to fix since gm patched them....made in mexiaco. if you pay you get the new upgraded made in china sensors.what a recall. the diferential assy german...and it's junk in the early na cars,I got the lator turbo unit. transmission...made in japan.

[mark tucker]

I wonder what kind of tax the car makers pay the NHTSA for temporary patch fixes so they get to charge you out the ass and nose to fix it right.????Im thinken I might see about a class action suit agnist both the nhtsa and the car maker for a temp duct tape fix of child restraint air bag sensor repair...any body know a good lawer?