Little island!! Surely you jest
Here's a little bit of info re the import tariffs we had here in NZ
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Tariffs and import licensing
In 1907 the government introduced a 20% tariff (import tax) on cars that arrived in New Zealand already assembled, to protect local coachbuilders and car assemblers. During the First World War the tariff was reduced to 10%. From then until 1924 more cars were imported assembled than unassembled.
In the 1930s tariffs increased, and were higher for assembled than unassembled cars. British cars had a lower tariff than others – 5% for unassembled and 15% for assembled. Cars from the rest of Europe and from America had a 50% tariff for unassembled and 60% for assembled.
The government introduced import licensing in 1938, which restricted imports. Buying a car was no simple matter – people chose a model off a list, and then faced a long wait. People with overseas funds could import any car they liked, but then had to pay tariffs. This government intervention was designed to prevent the costs of imports skyrocketing, and to protect car assembly and related industries in New Zealand.
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So you can see how much the E9 would have been here in NZ in the early 70's
They were very very expensive as it was and then with a 60% tariff on top = mega bucks, you could buy a very nice house in NZ on 1000 sq meters of land back then for a lot less than the cost of the car, basically they were for the very very wealthy only
