E9 USA version built 12/74 shouldn't that be a 1975 model in reality?

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execmalibu

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My E9 was built in December 1974 and first sold in May 1975...

Every car company on the planet introduces their next years model by Mid Year or in Germany immediately after the August Factory Vacations... So all German cars built in Sept are always the next model year...

IE... My 1973 Porsche 911S was built 9/72

How is it possible that an E9 built in December 1974 could still be a 1974 model? Shouldn't this car be a 1975 model?

What is also very interesting is that the BMW 530i (E12) built in August 1974 was a 1975 model... So why is an E9 built after the E12 and earlier model year?
 
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Maybe this has something to do with the way the cars were imported into the US? I wonder about this as well, since my car was either a late 71 or 72 build (apparently) delivered originally to Italy, but my US title reads 1974.
 
Sure someone will correct this if I'm wrong.

In Italy and England, from what I've been told, the year depends when the car was/is first registered. So a '72 build date, could be first registered in '74, making it a '74, though it's really a '73 in manufacturer model year.

A 12/74 build being registered as a '74, could be a simple clerical error.

Vern, built 3/73, is a '73
Athena, built 6/72 is a '73
 
RB1971 The Gray Market cars always had interesting year models!

Back in the 1970s-1990s there was a huge market for "GRAY MARKET" European cars... At the time the Dollar was around 3X the value of the DM or BP resulting in a huge savings if you bought a Gray Market car and imported it... So literally thousands of great used cars were brought to the US at that time...

The Feds at the DOT were not on the ball about the model year or did not care much about the Gray Market cars until the mid 1980s when both Mercedes USA and BMW USA started to complain loudly to Washington because their new car sales were being dramatically reduced.

What was interesting was that the 1967 and earlier cars needed a lot less effort to "Federalize" and make them legal so it was not unusual to see a 1969 Porsche or Mercedes titled as a 1967... Going the other direction a 1974 was newer and worth more then a 1972 so many of the gray market cars were titled as newer cars which was basically just fraud!

adawil2002 ...

I cannot say for sure but that does not make sense... I know for a fact that numerous Ferraris were kept on the MSO (Manufactures Statement of Origin) and not actually titled for many years. A 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO if titled first in 1992 was still always considered a 1985 even in Europe... I believe that this is true throughout Europe unless someone was trying to pull a move?
I guess if this were the case all you would need to do is buy a few cars hold them on the MSO a few years and then sell them as new current model year... This would work because in most cases the price is raised for each newer year because a newer model is often better... This might be better then the Wall Street because even if the Value went down you would have the cars...
 
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UK registration

Gents,

I cant talk for the US, but all that is written below seems to make sense on what happened there at the time.

In the UK, it was (and may still be??) the case as mentioned by adawil2002. Many people were sold cars "out of year" as they used to be called. Manufacture date never changes, but the UK car market tend to rely more on date of registration, and so often would call a car "new" on the date it was registered not on the date it was built. This worked on UK and European cars because they changed aesthetics so infrequently, unlike the US with model changes every year.

It was not uncommon for a dealer to have a car on his lot for more than a year and sell it - therefore registering it as a new car on the day it was purchased.

I understand on certain cars you could fight to get the correct "number plate" which defined the year ( Ferrari explanation) and now you can in fact buy a number plate to reflect a year, as long as it is not done to defraud.

No doubt this explanation is getting messy, so a little help understanding why people would put up with this when buying a new car might be helpful.

In the UK the number plate/licenses plate is the most obvious outwardly indication on the "date" of a car. So if you bought a car in July 1973, your car would have an "L" at the end of the licenses plate, but if you purchased on the 1st August it would be an "M" indicating it was a brand new (registered) car, this "M" designation would continue until the end of July 74 and then on the 1st Aug 74 it would be an "N" registration.

If any of this makes sense, you will start to understand it was vanity/ego that allowed this to happen and sadly in some cases people did get scammed.

I don't know if I would be as bold as to describe it as a cultural anomaly, but definitely was a different way of doing things to certain other countries.

If I have confused anybody, my apologies.

Pete
 
Jeff,

For North America and the US in particlular, you are correct that production for the next model year began around the european vacation break. The first 4 speed `72 coupes were built in July of `71, automatics began in October of `71. Same with `73 models but a little later, 4 speeds and automatics both began in October of `72. The `74 models also began in October of `73. I think that because the coupe was discontinued for the US with the `74 models that they continued to build them through December as mentioned under the existing EPA/DOT requirements/rules. The last 4 speed was 12/27/74 and the last automatic was 12/20/74 from my records (165 3.0CS US build dates), these were not the last VINs however, the factory did skip around a bit but usually were within one month by build date. It wouldn't have made sense to call them `75 models as each year the emissions requirements got worse.

What I think is interesting is that the first 192 3.0 coupes built in 1971 are considered by many of their owners to be `71 models as they were sold and registered in 1971 but I would like to see a picture of the EPA/DOT decal that says they comply with 1971 emission requirements in the US. I believe they are actually considered 1971 models by BMW and the EPA and the decal would confirm this.

The e12 was a new model for the US in `75 so it had to meet the tougher emission laws as a `75 model, they would not introduce a `74 so late in the year either.

Mercedes Benz followed this same process for US delivery cars beginning around August of 1959 (I have a 1960 190b built in late 1959) and the same debate ensues. I think the Brits would call me an anorak for obsessing over build dates and model years!
 
With some cars there are HUGE differences made for the next year...

BMWPete,

A car could still be sold as "NEW" but it should be a new year of model and sold as a leftover... Some motorcycle shops still have brand new 2010 models on the floor because they get sold in 2012 they are not sold as 2012 models...


Many Euro cars may look like the previous model but there are sometimes HUGE mechanical differences for one year to the next...

IE a 1971 911S is a 2.2 Liter with a 901 Trans(reversed pattern shift)... The 1972 911S is totally different mechanically with numerous upgrades... The engine is a 2.4 Liter, with the new amazing 915 Trans... The car has the oil tank moved forward, a steel spoiler bumper and several other upgrades...

If I paid for a 1972 911S and got a 1971 911S that was a leftover and titled as a 1972 I would be pissed!

Same with the Mercedes 280SE Convertible... A 1970 has the 6 cylinder and the 1971 has the 3.5 liter V8... The two different year cars are absolutely identical externally except the ONLY external difference is the small 3.5 badge on the trunk...

Today a 1971 280SE 3.5 Convertible is worth $150-$200K and a 1970 280SE is worth $85K... Which would you rather have a 1970 titled as a 71 or the real deal??
 
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