USA Department of Homeland Security crushes Mini Cooper in "Operation Atlantic"

Importation rules regarding vehicles are very specific: Only those over 25 years in age may be brought into the United States without compliance to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). Bringing in vehicles less than 25 years old gets exponentially more complicated, which is why some importers bend the rules by swapping an earlier VIN on a later model automobile. Such was the case with this previous generation Mini Cooper, crushed in a New Jersey wrecking yard last week at the direction of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

As NJ.com reports, the Mini’s destruction was carried out as part of “Operation Atlantic,” a joint effort between the United States and the United Kingdom designed to rid the country of dangerous, illegal Minis and Land Rover Defenders built after 1988. The car seen in the video was likely built in the late 1990s, possibly as late as 2000 (making it one of the last “original” Minis), but was illegally labeled with a VIN pulled from a 1988 model to circumvent the 25-year rule.

- See more at: http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2014/12/16/score-this-department-of-homeland-security-1-previous-generation-mini-cooper-0/#sthash.UpBD86jR.dpuf

A government spokesperson exonerated the car’s buyer from blame, but clarified that the person would not be compensated by the government for their loss. Original Minis and Land Rover Defenders (the subjects of Operation Atlantic) command premium prices in the United States, making them a popular target for shops in the U.K. (and elsewhere) to modify with an older VIN, hoping that officials on either side of the Atlantic won’t notice the difference.

In the case of this Mini, several clues pointed to a VIN swap, with the most obvious being a right-hand-drive VIN on the left-hand-drive car. Its engine didn’t match the labeled 1988 build date, and the Mini carried an airbag warning light on the dash, something a 1988 model would not have had.

The instruction given the equipment operator was clear: No part of the car can be salvaged for any reason, meaning that nothing short of total destruction was permissible (though the same could have been accomplished, with far less ceremony, using a crusher). Wasteful or not, the DHS has a zero tolerance rule for illegal imports, and the video, though difficult to watch, makes this point perfectly clear.

-Original blog by BLOG HEMMINGS

 

Importation rules regarding vehicles are very specific: Only those over 25 years in age may be brought in to the USA without compilance to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).