[W126 Coupe] what is a gray mkt car?

[JR560SEC at aol.com]

A little on the 1980s history of European gray market cars.
 
In the late 1970s, and up until 1981, the German Mark was very strong,  
relative to the Dollar.  European cars were anything but a bargain, and  Volkswagen 
rushed to build an assembly plant in the US to make their cars more  
competitive.  Soldiers stationed in Germany were practically living in  poverty, as 
their wages were so weak on the German economy.
 
That situation quickly changed after 1981, and by 1983, the US Dollar was  
very strong, relative to the German Mark.  The prices of high-end European  cars 
had soared in the late 1970s, and suddenly those prices in the US were  
conspicuously higher than their prices in Europe, unsupported as their USA  prices 
were by the changing currency exchange rates.
 
Now, Euro cars couldn't be imported without first satisfying a myriad of US  
Government regulations, specifically EPA and DOT.  A subculture of  Registered 
Importers emerged to provide these conversion services.  The  quality of the 
conversions varied widely, and many cars seem to have been  imported while 
saving some of their non-Federalized, desirable attributes, most  notably Euro 
bumpers and headlights.  Additionally, some cars were imported  which were not 
50-state compliant, and EVEN TO THIS DAY cannot be practically  rendered 
compliant with emissions standards in California, and possibly other  states.
 
In my own case, my 1985 500SEC (Euro) was purchased for $33,000.00 USD in  
Germany, at the same time the car was selling for about $65,000.00 here in the  
US.  EPA- and DOT-compliant conversion cost less than $10,000.  The  net 
result was a savings of about one-third in the purchase price for a car  which MUCH 
better performance than its USA-spec counterpart.  It retains  its Euro 
bumpers and headlights, and even with catalysts, its performance is  clearly 
superior to its USA-spec counterpart.
 
After the 1985 model year, the automotive gray market was all-but shut  down, 
with more-stringent Federal regulation and less-lucrative margin in  the 
exchange rate.  By the mid-1990s, the features and performance of the  Euro-spec 
cars compared much more closely to the USA cars than was the case 10  to 20 
years before, as Euro-market cars received emissions controls similar to  the 
USA-spec cars, and DOT standards became more moderate in several key  areas.  
These days, the main disparity between USA and Euro cars is the  long wait USA 
customers sometimes experience for certain exotic models to reach  our shores.
 
Jim Rothrock
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