No Huayra For You, Pagani Denied Airbag Exemption

Considering they would have probably sold about 3 of these per year in this country, and most of those will sit in museums, AND if they do get driven, the resulting crashes will be of the extremely devestating type that an airbag wouldn't do much for anyways, I say it's stupid. Frankly, I don't like having airbags or other safety features being forced onto me by law anyways. It's my life, and if I want to endanger it, than so be it. There are too many idiots in the world as is. Let's let a few of them self-correct the problem.

If the government nannies ever backed off, I'd still order my vehicles with seatbelts and airbags.

Funny, I must have passed thirty people on my way to work driving with no airbag, no seatbelt (and in my state) no helmet. Are motorcycles still legal?

I don't actually have a huge problem with this. Yes this is a VERY low volume car, so it's not like many lives would be risked by the exemption. And so if it had been approved I wouldn't have cared.

But at the same time, the reg's were in place long before Pagani started designing this one. There is no excuse for not including the airbag in the design if you plan to sell in the US.

Idiotic.

Think of the sales tax and registration fees our government just walked away from for the very few cars that would have actually been sold when all the gov't would have to do is have the actual buyers of the car sign a waiver.

Stupid.

whew, one less decision to make

"If I want to risk life and limb in a Huayra or an Ariel Atom, shouldn't I be able to?"

Yes, damnit. Yes!

Dumb. I guess I'll just have to be fine with an Aventador. It's a shame that a beautiful car like this won't be sold here for the foreseeable future.

I think that's completely reasonable. Why should a car that I spent over half a million on be less safe than a $11K Nissan Versa? It's just because they're Italian, they feel they're special.

Government idiocy at its finest.

I was more upset at first until I realized that $4.5 million is only either 4 or 5 individual vehicle sales. Still a bummer though.

Considering I'm wishing I could stretch my budget for a 5.0, I have no vested interest in people who want to buy this car. But I truly believe if I can afford a car like this, so long as it's not making the roads more dangerous for anyone else, I should be allowed to kill myself in whatever fashion possible. If you have the seven figures to dump on this car, you have every right to kill yourself the same way as someone who bought an 11K Versa did, who had to spend that much money on their new car due to the government requiring these airbags.

"If I want to risk life and limb in a Huayra or an Ariel Atom, shouldn't I be able to?"

Sorry, I don't have time to answer that. I have to go take my 38 year old car for a long drive, with it's wacky (somewhat recent at the time) invention of shoulder seat belts. Belts which have to be clipped into the lap belt, but only if you want to use them.
Oh, and crumple zones, shrumple zones.

Thank goodness I won't be driving something crazy dangerous like a Pagani.

" without advanced airbags"

Does that mean it has an airbag, just not an 'advanced' one or no airbag at all?

" Why should a car that I spent over half a million on be less safe than a $11K Nissan Versa?"

but is it really less safe? And I can buy a 15 year old car without airbags.

"I was more upset at first until I realized that $4.5 million is only either 4 or 5 individual vehicle sales."

I think the 4.5 million was over all the years it would take to redesign in the advanced airbags.

From another article on it:
"In February, Pagani said it hoped to sell five copies of the $1.1 million Huayra in the States this year. The company said it wouldn't sell cars in the United States until 2015 without a waiver. The denial of the petition would cost it $4.5 million in net income from 2011 to 2014, Pagani said."

"If the government nannies ever backed off, I'd still order my vehicles with seatbelts and airbags."

The only drawback there is you'd probably have to order the car. Ten years ago we had a heck of a time finding any of the cars we wanted with side airbags. The salespeople looked at me like I was crazy when I'd point out that based on the crash tests we'd have a 20% lower chance of dying in a side impact with them.

Exactly Mr. Magrath. Most safety features, especially on such exotic cars, should be an option IMO. Even on daily roadgoing cars it should be an option, as it would lower the bottom line by a huge margin. If I want to put my own life in danger, I should have the option, and if my passengers are willing to do the same they are welcome to ride shotgun. Maybe a higher risk of dying will possibly make people more attentive while driving since everyone value their lives so much.

I agree that low-volume cars should get a lower standard of regulation, but at present that's not the system we have in place. Under current law you need airbags, and under a waiver system the default answer is always going to be "no". Pagani can't claim to have been surprised.

I suspect it was denied because you could claim that the Pagani has the same level of refinement as some of the more common supercars, and the NHTSA doesn't want them to start asking the same question. At some point it would look like the super-rich were exempt from car regulations, which would be politically touchy. It's not nearly as politically touchy to exempt hardcore enthusiasts from them (e.g. Elise owners, classic car owners, kit car owners...).

All car makers should have the same standards applied equally, period. Dont want those standards? Drive on a track.....which cars like this should be on anyway. They are so stupidly powerful, they really have no place on the street. Look at that moron from "Jackass" that creamed himself and his passenger a few months back. (Yes, I know he was drunk) If you drive these cars like they were meant to be driven...and drive that way on the street....then you are just a big a moron as the "Jackass" dude. My heart pumps piss for the 2 or 3 people that cant buy this car now.....who cares?

Breaking news for the 15 guys on our forum intending to buy this beast:

Italian supercar maker says it will implement a smart air-bag system on the Huayra and still take the model to the U.S.

Our esteemed colleagues over at GTSpirit.com have seen fit to contact Pagani for a response to yesterday's news that the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had denied the Huayra an exemption on the country's advanced, or 'smart', air bag rules.

Pagani now says they will meet the requirement in time to begin U.S. deliveries of the Huayra by the first half of 2013.

Here's part of the statement from Pagani to GTSpirit.com:

"Obviously, the integration of the advanced airbag system is very much in our plans, and has been from the start. To prove this point, you need only to look at the hardware components that we fitted on the Huayra from the beginning, even on the European version. The airbag components, are compatible with advanced airbag management (airbag, advanced belt retainer, steering column). This shows our determination to design a car that will meet all requirements in our relative markets."

It seems Pagani was prepared for the contingency, even if they had hoped they could be spared the additional expense. Pagani says it will cost them €4 million to implement a smart air-bag system on the Huayra, which will add considerable costs to produce the 15 units slated for the United States. For a supercar which will sell for around €1 million ($1.4 million), that's an added €267,000 ($374,000) in production costs per vehicle.

Read more: http://www.worldcarfans.com/111081035605/pagani-says-huayra-will-meet-us-air-bag-regulations-for#ixzz1Ue8gK0vg

So a company that failed to include a very cheap widely available for decades feature in a million dollar car now wants an exception? Boo hoo.
As for motorcyclists, I think you can do what you want but if you fail to wear a helmet our insurance providers (vehicle and health) should be able to decline coverage if you are injured without wearing a helmet. So there is no nanny state coming after you cool rebels but my pooled insurance dollars don't have to pay for your stupidity. Win win.

You can get airbags on a Goldwing, and I believe that a system was recently introduced for racing where an airbag system in built into a frame that fits over the neck and shoulders of the racers.

So wearable airbags for motorcyclists is on the way.