[Federal Register: June 30, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 125)]
[Notices]
[Page 37893-37894]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30jn05-136]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2005-21675; Notice 1]
General Motors Corporation, Receipt of Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance
General Motors Corporation (General Motors) has determined that
certain model year 2005 vehicles that it
[[Page 37894]]
produced do not comply with S6 of 49 CFR 571.205, Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 205, ``Glazing materials.'' General Motors
has filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, ``Defect
and Noncompliance Reports.''
Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h), General Motors has
petitioned for an exemption from the notification and remedy
requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 on the basis that this
noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
This notice of receipt of General Motors' petition is published
under 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency
decision or other exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the
petition.
Affected are a total of approximately 7,326 model year 2005
Chevrolet Corvette coupes equipped with removable transparent Targa
roofs. S6, certification and marking, of FMVSS No. 205 and the
referenced Section 7 of ANSI/SAE Z26.1-1996 specify that the required
identification and certification markings must be located on the
glazing. On the subject vehicles, the required markings are present,
but they are located on the frame of the Targa roof assembly, rather
than on the glazing portion of the roof assembly.
General Motors believes that the noncompliance is inconsequential
to motor vehicle safety and that no corrective action is warranted. The
petitioner states:
--The subject glazing meets all applicable performance requirements
of FMVSS No. 205. There is no safety performance implication
associated with this technical noncompliance.
--The certifications markings required by FMVSS No. 205 are provided
on the frame of the subject Corvette Targa roof assemblies. This
noncompliance relates only to the location of the required markings,
not to their presence.
--Once assembled, the Targa roof frame and glazing are indivisible.
For in-service repair, the roof assembly (glazing mounted in frame)
is serviced as a unit. There is no service provision to replace only
the frame or only the glazing. As a practical matter, therefore,
marking the frame is functionally equivalent to marking the glazing.
--Given the small volume of service parts that will be needed and
the high investment cost required to manufacture the subject
Corvette roof assemblies, it is probable that all service parts will
be manufactured by the same supplier as the original equipment
parts. Accordingly, there is virtually no chance of uncertainty
about the manufacturer of the subject parts, should a need to
identify the manufacturer arise in the future.
--GM is not aware of any crashes, injuries, customer complaints or
field reports associated with this condition.
General Motors also states that NHTSA has previously granted
inconsequential noncompliance petitions involving the omission of FMVSS
No. 205 markings and provides the following examples: Western Star
Trucks (63 FR 66232, 12/1/1998), Ford Motor Company (64 FR 70116, 12/
15/1999), Toyota Motor Corporation (68 FR 10307, 3/4/2003), and
Freightliner LLC (68 FR 65991, 11/24/2003).
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments on the petition described above. Comments must refer to the
docket and notice number cited at the beginning of this notice and be
submitted by any of the following methods. Mail: Docket Management
Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, Nassif Building, Room PL-
401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001. Hand Delivery:
Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh
Street, SW., Washington, DC. It is requested, but not required, that
two copies of the comments be provided. The Docket Section is open on
weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except Federal Holidays. Comments may
be submitted electronically by logging onto the Docket Management
System Web site at http://dms.dot.gov. Click on ``Help'' to obtain
instructions for filing the document electronically. Comments may be
faxed to 1-202-493-2251, or may be submitted to the Federal eRulemaking
Portal: go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
The petition, supporting materials, and all comments received
before the close of business on the closing date indicated below will
be filed and will be considered. All comments and supporting materials
received after the closing date will also be filed and will be
considered to the extent possible. When the petition is granted or
denied, notice of the decision will be published in the Federal
Register pursuant to the authority indicated below.
Comment closing date: August 1, 2005.
Authority: (49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: delegations of authority at
CFR 1.50 and 501.8)
Issued on: June 23, 2005.
Ronald L. Medford,
Senior Associate Administrator for Vehicle Safety.
[FR Doc. 05-12876 Filed 6-29-05; 8:45 am]
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