Taking a very modified Camaro to France.

[Sh!ftHappens]

I lived in Germany and had a third generation Camaro. Going back about ten years ago. I can speak from personal experience that the French will not appreciate your fine machine. On a trip to Paris I had all kinds of things thrown at my car. I was afraid to park it and leave it so we left in a hurry. Also the roads are very small in most points inside the villages. If you don't want to ding her up then I wouldn't bring her. Keep in mind you will never pass the strict inspection either. Your car would be for track use only. If you bring it I strongly suggest taking a weekend and going to the Nuremburg Ring. Germany has a lot of places to race including drag racing. Not sure about the French.

[Sh!ftHappens]

Only exception would be if your in the military. You can more than likely get your car passed thru the American inspection station. Maybe!

[Gee]

Throw stock exhaust on there lower the boost when youre not tracking it. And have that beautiful car finish her days out with you in that beautiful country. Good luck, I am envious.

[PalmerGA]

I lived in Germany for two years, in the early 80s. Although I would love to get my Camaro on the Autobahn, there's no way I would take it over there. Those Europeans are (or were at the time) very aggressive drivers, not to mention the narrow streets and small parking spaces.

I guess if I was moving there permanently I would consider it but (again, back in the 80s) I doubt a heavily modded car would be able to pass their vehicle tests. I doubt today's standards are any less stringent. Probably more so.

[Camarolover85]

I have a bunch of friends that are French, from France and here for work. They're some of the nicest people I know! Not sure where the French get their reputation from.

[kevint]

Originally Posted by Camarolover85

I have a bunch of friends that are French, from France and here for work. They're some of the nicest people I know! Not sure where the French get their reputation from.

willful ignorance, mostly.

The French also have a pretty stunning military record.

[oldfriend]

Originally Posted by Chingón

Hey guys,

I wanna' take my Camaro to France with me, probably for the rest of my days. It is a ten second car now, and it may be a nine second car before I leave ( I may spray it before the blower)

Obviously, there are significant differences in this car from the original: built bottom end, stroked engine (416 these days), heads, Kenne Bell twin screw blower, cam, long tubes (no cats), methyl/water injection, multiple tunes available (for the last year it's been running on E-85 exclusively, but that can easily be changed). The other changes: cage, suspension, et cætera don't come into the calculation since they have nuthin' to do with the engine sound, power, nor its fumes of exhaust.

Does anyone of you guys know what the Frenchies may expect of my car upon its shipment to their country? There is no language problem, so leave that part out.



Chingón

Don't even thing about it
It will be your worst nightmare coming through
Sell it before you leave the States , period
But again , if you decided to not listen . Don't come back and say that no one told you about it

[Snidely Whiplash]

Originally Posted by oldfriend

Don't even thing about it
It will be your worst nightmare coming through
Sell it before you leave the States , period
But again , if you decided to not listen . Don't come back and say that no one told you about it

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This is the perfect reply.

If the stock exhaust has been removed, you MUST have an exhaust as quiet or MORE quiet than stock. Otherwise, you will NOT get to drive it.

I've driven Western Europe from Amsterdam to Switzerland and every country in between. I've driven all over Scandinavia. You WILL NOT DRIVE around a dozen countries as I have. Their laws are strict and there's no getting around it. Big trucks? They shut down at night/or after an 8 hour shift. They don't drive on weekends or holidays. The ONLY exception is driving government supplies or perishable food (the 8 hour shift still applies to that one).

All over Europe the are 200 year old very narrow streets with homes 3" from the curb. Those streets were built for a horse and buggy, not cars and 2 way traffic. You making noise outside someone window at 0300 will get you arrested and maybe the car taken away.

Europe doesn't play games with traffic enforcement. I was going to get with one of my Club Brothers and ride around Western Europe. I was told it was a no go without the factory exhaust. Oh yeah, many countries require you wear full leathers....even in July.

You had better make other arrangements. If you're gonna stay there, sell the car. The Netherlands fuel is about $8.50/gallon now. Can you dig it?

[Redslayer15821]

I currently live in northern Italy for the time being. Over all I would say Europeans respond very positively to the camaros they love mine! I'm sure if you brought that beast over here you would get nothing but compliments and stares. However I will caution you against the drivers (particularly italians) and the mountainous, winding, and often cramped roads. I made a few mods to my suspension ( sway bars, coil overs, bushings, connection rods) and now I'm good to go. France was amazing i often drive up to Monte Carlo and marvel at the vehicles, the French drive well enough but be mindful of the amount of attention your car draws in, while violence is lesser Europeans save maybe Germany tend to steal allot from my observations.
Good luck bro

[IOMCamaroSS]

Originally Posted by Spartan01

Please tell me you have cutouts,
and that at every stop light you will open them up and rev the engine, just so that all those whiney, cry baby, cheese eating surrender monkeys will lose their $hit,and fall off of their Vespa scooter as they choke on your exhaust fumes.

[Chingón]

Thanks for your helpful words, guys.

Still, I am still not sufficiently informed as to what action I should take regarding exporting my Camaro to France.

I am going to retire to France in Spring 2015. My life shall be there; I speak French and know the country well.

My Camaro means a great deal to me, I have no intention of ever selling it. So the question remains: what to do? Taking it to France would not be for the purpose of being a daily driver. The French are excellent drivers and so polite that most other peoples of the world could well learn a lesson from them, yet I also realize that Paris, where I shall be living out my days, is not the best place to park a Camaro, nor would be the gendarmerie amenable to the sounds my 10 second car makes, especially under load (long tube headers, Borla exhaust). And it hasn't had cats since the first week I owned it. I could probably find a decent garage outside of the city in which to keep it for special outings; there is drag racing in several locations in France, mostly converted disused airstrips. It is NOT going to be an off-road only trailer queen. I want to drive it wherever, just not in Paris itself.

I have it tuned to run on E-85, of which there is plenty in France (cheaper than gasoline too), so the emissions ought to be fairly low, right? It may be possible to find some sort of muffling system to weld onto the pipes to quieten the roar, since I have electronic cut-outs available those sources of back pressure may be deleted with the touch of a button when I feel like getting' on it.

So apart from the minor changes of exterior lighting and license plates, what more need I do? I do not want to take it there and then find it impossible to keep.

I have already checked the import taxes, and there are none, if one intends to become a resident of France, which I do. So that's not an issue. It's only passing the tech...

How do I do it successfully?

Chingón

[Mortious]

Originally Posted by Camarolover85

I have a bunch of friends that are French, from France and here for work. They're some of the nicest people I know! Not sure where the French get their reputation from.

For me it was first hand experience. Stationed in Germany, wife and I decide to head into France for the day, it was Sunday so there were really no places I could get money changed.

Get to Metz and start looking for a place to exchange some dollars to francs, had to leave my wife with my car because I didn't have any francs to pay for the meter, and didnt' want it towed. Wander around for 30 min before a very nice Irish gentlemen and his wife help me out. Get back to the car, pay the parking and off to the city center we go.

Our first stop was at a chocolate store, always heard great things about French chocolate wanted to partake in it, girl walked up to me spoke to me in French, me not knowing a word of French say "Im sorry do you speak English", she looks at me and says in a very disgusted tone "Are you American?" I nodded, she actually stuck her nose up in the air, turned around and walked away from me.

At no time was I rude, or high on my self (Military pounded it into you that you were a representative of the Military and the US, and to act accordingly). I was stunned, this happened to me 3 more times at different stores.

The only place I got "good" service was at McDonalds, the girl behind the counter smiled and in her best broken English took my order, and exchanged my 20 dollars for a bunch of francs.

In all of my travels over Europe, I have never hated a place as much as I hated France. Ireland, England, Denmark, Luxembourg, Germany, anywhere else I went the locals would try to help, France not so much.

[BaylorCamaro]

Originally Posted by Chingón

I have already checked the import taxes, and there are none, if one intends to become a resident of France, which I do. So that's not an issue. It's only passing the tech...

How do I do it successfully?

Chingón

Just like anyone moving to a new state or country. You're going to need to research the emissions laws in France. I doubt you will get many definitive answers here.

[Mr Jos]

As you stated, you will pay no import taxes.
But, you will have to get it according to all rules like;
- Adding a rear fog light (my shop changed the driver side clear reverse glass to red one and wired it with an extra button.)
- The red lights on the side of the rear quarter panels need to be covered with ducktape so they don't shine (can be removed after checkup, only need to be put back at the yearly checking).
- Rear indicator lights need to be orange (They added nice orange LED strips on mine wich are invisible when off, but it can be changed back to US spec in 1minute).
- Emissions, this might be a hard one or maybe not.. You will be above 300g CO2/km anyway so you will be in the highest class for yearly tax.
- While we are there, the tax you will pay to get it registered will be 7K € (In Belgium it is 10.5K for an SS), but this is just once. You alse will need to pay yearly taxes, but I don't know how they are calculated in France, expect 1K + aswell (I pay 1.5K for a 2LT in Belgium).

Maybe it's better to first contact a shop who imports Camaro's in France and ask them about the rules.

I think you will be able to do it (I've seen severall US Spec SS/1LE/ZL1 with EU plates). But you will pay for it.

If you do get it, I'll def. wanna see (hear ) it. Belgium ain't that far from Paris.