Bring on the Niche Automakers

The US auto industry is known for big cars, and big car companies. Unlike the UK (where the big car companies went under due to unions and excessive government interference.... sound familiar?), the US has never had much of a tradition of niche car manufacturing. While we have long had volume tuners (Saleen, Shelby etc), they take cars which are already registered and tune them to within an inch of the law. We have never had the little production companies which characterize the nature of the UK car industry. 

Until now: (from autoblog)

"Low volume vehicle manufacturers may soon find it easier to have their products approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Congressman John Campbell (R-Calif.) has introduced the "Low Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturer's Act," which aims to introduce a regulatory system specifically designed for companies that build fewer than 1,000 vehicles per year. Currently, it's difficult for boutique carmakers to shoulder the burden of safety and emissions evaluations tied to bringing a new vehicle to market. The bill, which has bipartisan support, would make it possible for the Environmental Protection Agency greenlight low-volume cars and trucks that use engines that have already been EPA-certified in other vehicles.

That would allow small carmakers to skip the costly exercise of having their creations subjected to emissions evaluations. The legislation also has provisions for alternative-fuel powerplants, which would theoretically make it easier for green-car startups to take to the roads. The bill is also being advocated by the Specialty Equipment Market Association."

This means we can look forward to lots of little car companies building cool vehicles like expedition vehicles, funky British sports cars, and of course, mid-engined exotic monsters =)