48708 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 179 / Tuesday, September 16, 1997 / Notices

12. Private operator’s plans (if known)

for development of general aviation.

B. The private operator’s acceptance

of the grant assurances contained in the

public sponsor’s grant agreements with

the FAA. Assurance 25 need not be

addressed. In addition, either (1) the

applicants’ agreement that the grant

assurances and the assurances required

for granting an exemption under section

47134 create third-party beneficiary

rights enforceable by the FAA in an

administrative or judicial legal

proceeding, or (2) a proposed tripartite

agreement among the FAA, the private

operator and the public sponsor

granting to the FAA the right to enforce

directly against the private operator the

grant assurances and the assurances

required for granting an exemption

under section 47134.

C. Provide a description of the parties’

efforts to consult with airport users

about the proposed transaction and of

the parties’ community outreach efforts.

Part VIII. Periodic Audits

Section 47134(k) provides that the

FAA may conduct periodic audits of the

financial records and operations of an

airport receiving an exemption under

the pilot program. Applicants should

indicate their express assent to this

provision in the application.

Issued in Washington, DC, on September 9,

1997.

Susan L. Kurland,

Associate Administrator for Airports.

[FR Doc. 97–24430 Filed 9–15–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

Research and Development Programs

Meeting Agenda

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This notice provides the

agenda for a public meeting at which

the National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration (NHTSA) will describe

and discuss specific research and

development projects.

DATES AND TIMES: As previously

announced, NHTSA will hold a public

meeting devoted primarily to

presentations of specific research and

development projects on September 17,

1997, beginning at 1:30 p.m. and ending

at approximately 5:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

the Tysons Westpark Hotel, 8401

Westpark Drive, McLean, Virginia.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

notice provides the agenda for the

eighteenth in a series of public meetings

to provide detailed information about

NHTSA’s research and development

programs. This meeting will be held on

September 17, 1997. The meeting was

announced on August 8, 1997 (62 FR

42852). For additional information

about the meeting consult that

announcement.

Starting at 1:30 p.m. and concluding

by 5:00 p.m., NHTSA’s Office of

Research and Development will discuss

the following topics:

Summary of Research Activity on 5thPercentile, 3-Year-Old, and 6-YearOld Dummies,

Status of Research on Restraint Systems

for Rollover Protection,

Improved Frontal Crash Protection—

Update on National Automotive

Sampling System (NASS) Analysis,

Vehicle Aggressivity and Fleet

Compatibility, and

Special Crash Investigations Studies of

Air Bag Cases.

NHTSA has based its decisions about

the agenda, in part, on the suggestions

it received by August 21, 1997, in

response to the announcement

published August 8, 1997.

As announced on August 8, 1997, in

the time remaining at the conclusion of

the presentations, NHTSA will provide

answers to questions on its research and

development programs, where those

questions have been submitted in

writing by September 3, 1997, to

Raymond P. Owings, Ph.D., Associate

Administrator for Research and

Development, NRD–01, National

Highway Traffic Safety Administration,

Washington, DC 20590. Fax number:

202–366–5930.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rita

I. Gibbons, Staff Assistant, Office of

Research and Development, 400

Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, DC

20590. Telephone: 202–366–4862. Fax

number: 202–366–5930.

Issued: September 11, 1997.

Raymond P. Owings,

Associate Administrator for Research and

Development.

[FR Doc. 97–24648 Filed 9–15–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

[Docket No. 97–058; Notice 1]

General Motors; Receipt of Application

for Decision of Inconsequential

Noncompliance

General Motors Corporation (GM) of

Warren, Michigan, has determined that

some of its 1997 model Chevrolet

Corvettes fail to meet the requirements

of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety

Standard (FMVSS) No. 124,

‘‘Accelerator Control Systems,’’ and has

filed an appropriate report pursuant to

49 CFR Part 573, ‘‘Defects and

Noncompliance Reports.’’ GM has also

applied to be exempted from the

notification and remedy requirements of

49 U.S.C. Chapter 301—‘‘Motor Vehicle

Safety’’ on the basis that the

noncompliance is inconsequential to

motor vehicle safety.

This notice of receipt of an

application 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 application.

In FMVSS No. 124, Paragraph S5.2

requires the throttle to return to idle

position within the time limits specified

in S5.3, whenever any component of the

accelerator control system is

disconnected or severed at a single

point. S5.3 requires return to idle within

3 seconds for any vehicle exposed to

temperatures of 0 degrees to ¥40

degrees F (¥18 degrees to ¥40 degrees

C).

During the 1997 model year, GM

produced 9,500 Chevrolet Corvettes

which may not comply with FMVSS No.

124. The vehicles’ accelerator pedal

module assembly may not return to idle

condition within the required time.

GM supports its application for

inconsequential noncompliance with

the following:

The Chevrolet Corvette employs an

electronic throttle control which adjusts

the throttle position based on input

from the accelerator pedal position. The

accelerator pedal is equipped with three

springs, any two of which are capable of

returning the pedal to rest position.

Once this occurs, the throttle returns to

idle position approximately 0.2 seconds

later. A test run in early May, however,

raised a question about the ability of the

pedal assembly to return at low

temperatures.

GM believes that the failure of the

pedal assembly to meet the throttle

closing time requirements of FMVSS

No. 124 at extremely low temperatures
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 179 / Tuesday, September 16, 1997 / Notices 48709

is inconsequential to motor vehicle

safety for the following reasons.

1. Vehicle Controllability—In the

unlikely event that all of the

prerequisites necessary for the

noncompliance occurred—that is, a

return spring was disconnected or

severed on a pedal assembly with

residual oil, and the vehicle soaked at

ambient temperatures below 32 degrees

C—the vehicle would continue to be

controllable both by the service brakes

and as a result of the Brake Torque

Management System.

2. Reliability of the Accelerator

Springs—The condition which is the

subject of GM’s noncompliance decision

can only occur if one of the return

springs is severed or disconnected. The

springs in the Corvette pedal assembly,

however, have extremely high reliability

and are not likely to fail in the real

world.

3. Condition Requires Extreme

Temperatures; Pedal Assembly Warms

Quickly—As mentioned above, the root

cause of the noncompliance condition is

the residual oil on the pedal assemblies

congealing below ¥32 degrees C.

Testing at temperatures above that level

resulted in full compliance with the

FMVSS No. 124 time limits for all pedal

assemblies tested. Therefore, the

ambient temperatures required for the

possibility of this noncompliance to

exist are severe. Even if a vehicle with

a disconnected return spring soaked

under the necessary harsh conditions

for a sufficient time to congeal the

residual oil, the potential for the

noncompliance to occur would exist for

only a short time, because the pedal

assembly would warm up quickly with

activation of the vehicle heating system.

4. Condition is Self-correcting—

Durability testing indicates that the

condition improves with wear. Bench

testing was conducted on five

production pedal assemblies with poor

return times. The pedals on these

assemblies were cycled at room

temperature. Since the vast majority of

driving is done with a only limited

pedal movement, each cycle consisted

of a 10% application of pedal travel.

Every 2,000 cycles the pedal return at

(¥40 degrees C) was checked. The

results, shown in Figure 5 [of the

application], indicate that most pedals

will return within the specified time

limit after 10,000 cycles, and all pedals

will easily meet the time limits after

15,000 cycles.

5. Warranty Data—GM has reviewed

recent warranty data for the 1997

Corvette, as well as complaint data. We

are unaware of any data suggesting the

subject condition is a real world safety

issue.

Interested persons are invited to

submit written data, views, and

arguments on the application of GM

described above. Comments should refer

to the docket number and be submitted

to: Docket Section, National Highway

Traffic Safety Administration, Room

5109, 400 Seventh Street, SW,

Washington, DC 20590. It is requested

but not required that six copies be

submitted.

All comments received before the

close of business on the closing date

indicated below will be considered. The

application and supporting materials,

and all comments received after the

closing date, will also be filed and will

be considered to the extent possible.

When the application is granted or

denied, the notice will be published in

the Federal Register pursuant to the

authority indicated below.

Comment closing date: October 16, 1997.

(49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120; delegations of

authority at 49 CFR 1.50 and 501.8)

Issued on: September 9, 1997.

L. Robert Shelton,

Associate Administrator for Safety

Performance Standards.

[FR Doc. 97–24568 Filed 9–15–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

[Docket No. 97–60; Notice 1]

Notice of Receipt of Petition for

Decision that Nonconforming 1991

through 1996 Lexus SC300 and SC400

Passenger Cars Are Eligible for

Importation

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of receipt of petition for

decision that nonconforming 1991

through 1996 Lexus SC300 and SC400

passenger cars are eligible for

importation.

SUMMARY: This notice announces receipt

by the National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration (NHTSA) of a petition

for a decision that 1991 through 1996

Lexus SC300 and SC400 passenger cars

that were not originally manufactured to

comply with all applicable Federal

motor vehicle safety standards are

eligible for importation into the United

States because (1) They are substantially

similar to vehicles that were originally

manufactured for importation into and

sale in the United States and that were

certified by their manufacturer as

complying with the safety standards,

and (2) they are capable of being readily

altered to conform to the standards.

DATES: The closing date for comments

on the petition is October 16, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to

the docket number and notice number,

and be submitted to: Docket Section,

Room 5109, National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration, 400 Seventh St.,

SW., Washington, DC 20590. [Docket

hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

George Entwistle, Office of Vehicle

Safety Compliance, NHTSA (202–366–

5306).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Under 49 U.S.C. 30141(a)(1)(A), a

motor vehicle that was not originally

manufactured to conform to all

applicable Federal motor vehicle safety

standards shall be refused admission

into the United States unless NHTSA

has decided that the motor vehicle is

substantially similar to a motor vehicle

originally manufactured for importation

into and sale in the United States,

certified under 49 U.S.C. 30115, and of

the same model year as the model of the

motor vehicle to be compared, and is

capable of being readily altered to

conform to all applicable Federal motor

vehicle safety standards.

Petitions for eligibility decisions may

be submitted by either manufacturers or

importers who have registered with

NHTSA pursuant to 49 CFR part 592. As

specified in 49 CFR 593.7, NHTSA

publishes notice in the Federal Register

of each petition that it receives, and

affords interested persons an

opportunity to comment on the petition.

At the close of the comment period,

NHTSA decides, on the basis of the

petition and any comments that it has

received, whether the vehicle is eligible

for importation. The agency then

publishes this decision in the Federal

Register.

G&K Automotive Conversion, Inc. of

Santa Ana, California (‘‘G&K’’)

(Registered Importer 90–007) has

petitioned NHTSA to decide whether

1991 through 1996 Lexus SC300 and

SC400 passenger cars are eligible for

importation into the United States. The

vehicles which G&K believes are

substantially similar are the 1991

through 1996 Lexus SC300 and SC400

passenger cars that were manufactured

for importation into, and sale in, the

United States and certified by their

manufacturer, Toyota Motor

Corporation, as conforming to all

applicable Federal motor vehicle safety

standards.