It might surprise you to know that some of the world's most famous and influential cars have never been officially sold in the United States, or have been banned. While it can seem perplexing that these desirable, fast, or iconic cars aren't legally allowed to roam free on American streets, there are good reasons for it. In most cases, safety regulations, emissions standards, and other bureaucratic barriers have prevented these cars from reaching U.S. dealerships, much to the chagrin of enthusiasts everywhere.
Toyota Century
Take the Toyota Century, for example. An ultra-luxury limousine to rival Rolls-Royce and Bentley. But this luxury car is subtle, in a way befitting a car for bigwigs everywhere. Instead of being a loud and obnoxious European supercar, it doesn’t need to shout its excellence to the world – it simply quietly demands it. With wool upholstery, rear-seat massage functions, and a ride quality smoother than a glass of 30-year-old single malt, the Century is the height of elegance and quiet luxury.
Although it’s a masterpiece in its own right, the Toyota Century never got sold in the United States. The Century didn’t have U.S. certification for safety and emissions standards, and Toyota knew that the sedan was too niche and ultra-luxurious for there to be enough market demand to warrant the administrative cost to become certified. In other words, it was too quiet, too luxurious, and too Japanese for the U.S. market at the time, and the Century continues to cruise quietly through Tokyo.
Porsche 959
Yet another famous car held back from the U.S. is the Porsche 959. Produced in the 1980s, the 959 was engineered using the latest technology Porsche had to offer at the time. As such, it was a desirable machine to car enthusiasts across the globe. This included Bill Gates, but because of the new stringent U.S. import laws, it would be expensive and difficult to get the car into the country. Porsche was also not interested in crash testing such a low-volume vehicle, making it effectively impossible for the 959 to be sold in the States.
Land Rover Defender
The Land Rover Defender is a famously rugged British off-roader. The new L663 Defender is legal in the U.S., but its predecessor was banned in 1998. Federal safety standards changed, and older Defenders lacked airbags as a standard feature, so they became illegal in the U.S. Americans could drool over it in magazines or on trips overseas, but you never got to put your classic Defender on an official U.S. license plate, at least, not without some modification.
Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle
Best-selling U.S. car for decades, the Volkswagen Type 1, commonly known as the Beetle, was officially discontinued in 1977. Beetle production continued in Mexico until 2004, where the model's continued availability there permits aficionados to import later version models into the U.S. Convenience has been increased in modernized interiors, more powerful upgraded engines, and electronic fuel injection on later versions, while still retaining the classic Beetle personality. While legal Mexican importation is possible, the 2004-built final Beetle Última Edición remains prohibited from U.S. roads without additional government sanction.
Japan's quietly elegant Toyota Century, the high-tech Porsche 959, the Beetle design classic, and the rough-riding Defender represent one era of automotive ambition and aspiration. For a variety of reasons, mostly to do with U.S. safety, emissions, and import laws, these cars have been denied to the American market. For some, their unavailability only increases the mystique of these banned cars, some of the most desirable in the world.
