The Cal-look Lounge

You travel all this way, queue along with all the Labour Day people LA County Fair bound only to admit defeat in the traffic and retreat back to the motel.
Then, a few days later try again only to be refused enterance.
Finally, for a third time, you persist.... get granted enterance.... you look around all wide eyed.... only to find.... nothing!?!






(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/1967vw/Temp%20file/IMG_5387Large.jpg)

On it's way back to Scotland I've been told!

I sure hope that is not true! Russell, can you enlighten us?

I'm sure Russell and or Richie UK will tell all but, from what I understand, US Customs suddenly turned round and demanded that Tar Babe and Underdog be returned to the UK by October, revoking their previous decision that the cars could stay until the new year.

US Customs stinks…

Don't the Mexicans and Canadians drive back and forth over the border and deal with US Customs all the time? What makes shipping the car different from driving it over the border?

From what we were told at Wallys' the cars were moved around to accommadate other exhibitions for the LA County Fair, but one of the workers there said that she would try and track them down.
She thought that they could have gone to Petersens'- apparentley they're gonna have an NHRA exhibition soon.... but the phone call she received after enquiring said that the cars had been 'deported'...(!?!).
I thought it sounded a bit dramatic at first.... but maybe not....

Maybe it's gone back to Mexico....    :o

 :-X

We had exactly the same problem dude.We turned up at the museum on the friday before labor day only to find Tar babe and the Underdog gone!
The woman on reception knew nothing about it,however one of the old boys that works there told us that the cars had left a couple of days before.
 We weren't to impressed.But the museum is still an awesome day out,so all was not lost.
We sent Jo Clifford a message in the hope that the cars were still in So Cal,she told us that customs had only granted the cars a 6 month stay,rather than the 12 month one that had originally been promised.
I think KS might be right about US customs.
Looks like we've got to wait until EBI to see the cars now,I know it will be worth it!

Sadly, I am. >:(

Is this situation not the most rediculous think you've ever heard.  Heck, we allow people into our country who park and stay for years and take advantage of everything that should not be allowed to them and our CUSTOMS gets yanked over a couple cars sitting idle for others to enjoy?

Only in America.  What a screwed up state we've arrived at.

RM

no more screwed up than here, a policeman was shot a few months ago and is now blind, he is now entitled to £20 per week in support!  WTF if you get shot doing a job that nobody wants to do but we need, you must be entitled to more than that.

Guys this is very very restrained reply....  >:(

Yes its true the cars are on the way back I was given 21 days notice to have them exported or face a duty bill of $106k, they have already fined the importers.... for some paperwork error !!
However they have changed the time period from 12 months to 6 months because and i quote " the show they were sent over for must be past, so return them now or pay duty and fine or they get crushed......."

The guys up at Wally parks have been excellent and allowed us to remove them with in 5 days, Able cargo have been great and got them packed and sent to customs for inspection.... this took 7 days, container now on vessel and heading south.....

I do business in the USA and don't want to rock the boat BUT I am totally dumb founded by the way the system is currently working, first Keith and Jo on import, then BP and now me.

Only 2 weeks ago a Oil Platform in the GOM Blew up and what have we seen on the news NOTHING, however BP still get it the neck..... somethings not right.......

New Slogan " America needs you unless you are British"

So for anyone who made the effort to go and see them, sorry.

Sometimes I wonder if america needs americans ! We let everybody that hates it here and we get rid of the people and things that love it here, Does not make sense.

I'll just say that for anyone who remembers, as do I, watching these cars run in the early days, it was a genuine treat to again see them in present day incarnation.
Thanks again to Russell, and to each and everyone who brought them alive again so they could make their American visit, short though it was.
That the cars were forced to retun home is a shame, yet at some point those on the European continent want to get to have the same pleasure of viewing history in person.

Well I am glad I got to see the legendary Tar Babe in person at Nick's and the classic, but now I wish I would have looked it over much closer. Any chance that these cars will ever make it to the US again, Russell? Sorry about your misfortune, that truly sucks!

A sad state of affairs... sorry to hear about this.

Crazy but, to my mind, i think that Russell made a beautiful present to show this mythic car to America for 6 months.
Hope that american (and other countries) owners will do the same thing for the next EBI in Belgium.

Weirder still - the car was in California when those US Customs officers were in diapers. Bunch of ass!

Hadn't seen the news?? Come to Texas and watch the news. Till this day their still talking about the Deepwater Horizon explosion

(http://i430.photobucket.com/albums/qq27/TxProMod/Deepwater_Horizon_offshore_drilling_unit_on_fire_2010.jpg)




Oh BP in the news again with the Texas City plant.  I lost count on how many time something happens there...

http://www.khou.com/news/local/Safety-review-at-Texas-City-BP-plant-after-steam-accident-103638114.html

i do realise that some of the rules in the US are a bit funny during my stay in Texas. that's what i heard from the taxi drivers and some colleagues over there.

1. they allow and help many foreigners who come and live in the USA. tax exemption for a number of period, loan to do business etc. a lot of folks have taken great advantage of this.

2. if u have insurance, u are allowed to ride a bike without helmet, but if you dont have insurance, you must wear helmet????  ???

not sure how true those are, there are more that i cant remember.

Yes the helmet deal is true, but to ride without a helmet you have to be covered with a minimum of $10,000 in health insurance for injuries incurred in a motorcycle accident to be eligible for an exception for the offense of operating or riding a motorcycle without a helmet.  Also they give you a DPS issued sticker to put on the license plate so that cops can see if you are covered or not. You would be suprised alot of people that ride and don't no about the law.  :o