Two R34's and R32 Seized in California : Kaizo Drama Increases : UPDATE

The Kaizo Story so far. Summary of Blog posts October 3,2009

UPDATE . Two R34's and an R32 were seized today. My information says that they are not done seizing cars. If you have a car, I would be on the look out.
I was just informed that a Kaizo R34, an individual owners vehicle was seized this morning by ICE agents. The agents in full Kevlar served a seizure warrant to an owner in the LA area. I know the owner and the car. Again, they came to the owners residence, and seized the car from there. Details are sketchy right now, but as far as we know this is the first "owner" vehicle seized. Still no charges against Kaizo, but it seems like the government is seizing cars. The car in California was an SB100 car, so this could be one of the focuses.
SB100 is a specialty constructed vehicle exemption in California. It allows for up to 500 cars per year to be registered with no smog checks if the car is accepted as a 1960 or does not resemble any other vehicle.

Per California Vehicle Code §4750.1, the first 500 program applicants in each calendar year may choose whether the inspection is based on the model-year of the engine used in the vehicle or the vehicle model-year. If the engine or the vehicle does not sufficiently resemble one previously manufactured, the referee will assign 1960 as the model-year.

Its a good program for specialty vehicles. Cars that are driven very little, and mostly just used to go to shows.

580. A "specially constructed vehicle" is a vehicle which is built for private use, not for resale, and is not constructed by a licensed manufacturer or remanufacturer. A specially constructed vehicle may be built from (1) a kit; (2) new or used, or a combination of new and used, parts; or (3) a vehicle reported for dismantling, as required by Section 5500 or 11520, which, when reconstructed, does not resemble the original make of the vehicle dismantled. A specially constructed vehicle is not a vehicle which has been repaired or restored to its original design by replacing parts.

#1 SPCV can be a kit
#2 SPCV can be new or used parts (aka does not need to be a "kit")
#3 SPCV can be a vehicle reported for dismantling that does not resemble original car.
A SPCV can be any one of these three things. It does not need to meet all 3 requirements.
The last line is ambiguous and open to legal interpretation.



On another note, we heard that Ivy Wang is no longer the DA in charge of this case. We will be on the lookout for more information on seizures today.

More Kaizo Information :

Kaizo Updates – July 2
Kaizo Updates – August 2
US DOJ Letter – 60 days to surrender or export
Kaizo cars sitting in storage yard
The Kaizo Story so far. Summary of Blog posts October 3,2009