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[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 68 (Monday, April 10, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18164-18166]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-8763]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Petition for Exemption From the Vehicle Theft Protection 
Standard; Volkswagen of America, Inc.

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Grant of petition for exemption.

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SUMMARY: This notice grants in full the petition of Volkswagen of 
America, Inc. (VW) for an exemption from the parts-marking requirements 
of the vehicle theft protection standard for a high-theft car line 
whose nameplate and effective model year is confidential. This petition 
is granted because the agency has determined that the antitheft device 
to be placed on the car line as standard [[Page 18165]] equipment is 
likely to be as effective in reducing and deterring motor vehicle theft 
as compliance with the parts-marking requirements.

DATES: The exemption granted by this notice is effective beginning with 
(confidential) model year.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Barbara A. Gray, Office of Market 
Incentives, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590. Ms. 
Gray's telephone number is (202) 366-1740.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 13, 1994, the National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received a petition dated 
December 7, 1994, from Volkswagen of America, Inc. (VW) requesting an 
exemption from the theft protection standard for a car line for the 
(confidential) model year. The nameplate of the car line is 
confidential. The petition was submitted pursuant to 49 CFR part 543, 
Exemption From Vehicle Theft Protection Standard, and requested an 
exemption from parts marking based on the installation of a theft 
deterrent device as standard equipment for the car line. The petition 
filed by VW is complete, as required by 49 CFR 543.7, in that it met 
the general requirements contained in Sec. 543.5 and the specific 
content requirements of Sec. 543.6. In a letter dated January 12, 1995, 
NHTSA granted the petitioner's request for confidential treatment of 
certain information, including the identity of the nameplate of the car 
line.
    In its petition, VW provided a detailed description of the 
identity, design and location of the components of the antitheft device 
for the car line, including diagrams of the components and their 
location in the vehicle. VW stated that the system incorporates an 
alarm system that is comparable to other alarm systems for which NHTSA 
has granted exemptions. The system protects the hood, the trunk lid and 
all doors of the vehicle, and the radio. In addition, it includes an 
engine starter interrupt feature. VW stated that its antitheft system 
is similar to the one used as standard equipment on Toyota, Lexus, 
Nissan and Mazda car lines.
    The device is designed to facilitate or encourage its activation by 
motorists. The antitheft device control unit is activated by turning 
the key in either of the front door locks to the lock position and 
holding the key in the lock position for at least one-half second.
    The activated condition is indicated by a short ``beep'' signal 
from the alarm system horn. The device will be armed 0.2 seconds after 
activation if the hood, the vehicle doors and the trunk are properly 
closed. If a door, hood, or the trunk is left open when the door key is 
turned to the lock position, the starter interrupt feature is 
activated, but the alarm system will only be armed, and the short 
``beep'' on the alarm horn will only sound, when the door, hood or 
trunk that had been left open is closed. If an opened door, hood or 
trunk is not closed within one minute after the key is turned in either 
of the front door locks, the system will arm to protect all of the 
closed areas; and if the open area is subsequently closed, it will be 
protected as well.
    This line is equipped with a power door locking system. All the 
doors and the trunk lock will be locked automatically when the key is 
turned to the lock position in either front door. Once the vehicle 
antitheft system has been activated, entry into the vehicle is 
accomplished by turning the key in either front door lock to the 
spring-loaded open position once and releasing it. This will deactivate 
the alarm system and will unlock only the door being operated. Turning 
the key in either front door lock to the open position a second time 
within four seconds of the first turn will deactivate the alarm system 
and will unlock all the doors and the trunk. When the trunk ``unlocks'' 
the lid does not open until the lock cylinder is pressed.
    If any violation of protected areas occurs once the system has been 
activated, the alarm horn (mounted in the front hood area) will sound 
and the hazard warning flashers will actuate. Also, the starter 
interrupt feature will prevent the vehicle from starting.
    The sounding of the horn and the actuation of the hazard warning 
flashers continues for a duration of 165 seconds. A subsequent attempt 
will reactivate the system for another 165 seconds. The antitheft 
device sensors are located in the trunk key cylinder. Once the key has 
been inserted the antitheft device is deactivated. However, closing the 
trunk lid reactivates the system.
    The control module for the antitheft system is located in the 
instrument panel assembly and is accessible only from inside the 
vehicle after removal of the instrument panel components. The alarm 
system horn is located in the plenum area under the hood and is 
difficult to reach unless the plenum cover is removed. The vehicle hood 
latch may be released only from inside the vehicle. The door, trunk and 
engine hood contact switches are all inaccessible unless the door 
panels are removed or the hood or the trunk are opened.
    The power circuit to the starter motor is interrupted when the 
alarm system is armed. If the antitheft device is activated from any of 
the protected areas or if the ignition switch is turned on in an 
unauthorized effort to start the vehicle, the system will prevent the 
engine from being started.
    The doors are protected through the interior light door contact 
switch. Should an attempt be made to enter the vehicle through one of 
the doors, the antitheft device is activated. The engine hood and trunk 
lid are protected through sensors located in the contact switch. Should 
these components be violated, the alarm will be activated. For VW-
installed radios, the alarm is activated if an attempt is made to 
separate the radio from the instrument panel while the alarm is 
activated.
    The starter interrupt is also activated when one of the protected 
areas is breached. Should a thief attempt to start the vehicle by any 
means other than a key, the engine will be immobilized.
    VW addressed the reliability and durability of the antitheft system 
by providing information on the tests that were conducted on the 
device. The system has been tested prior to production release for 
specifications which require compliance with VW standards for 
electrical and electronic assembly operating requirements, for 
durability, thermal and mechanical shock resistance and electromagnetic 
capability. The applicable test procedures are: VW 801 01--Electrical 
and Electronic Assemblies in Motor Vehicles, Standardized General Test 
Conditions; VW 820 66--Electromagnetic Compatibility of Electronic 
Components; and VW 821 66--Electromagnetic Compatibility of Electronic 
Components in Vehicles, Externally Radiated Interferences.
    In discussing why it believes that the antitheft device will be 
effective in reducing and deterring motor vehicle theft, VW noted that 
its antitheft device is comparable to that used on the Mazda RX-7, 
Mitsubishi Galant, Nissan 300ZX, and Toyota Cressida and Supra. It 
stated that all of these lines have experienced reduced theft rates 
since installing the system, and provided an analysis of the theft 
rates for these vehicles based on theft data published by NHTSA. That 
analysis showed that the Mazda RX-7 experienced a 74 per cent decrease 
in its theft rate from 1984 to 1989 and the Mitsubishi Galant 
experienced a 50 per cent decrease for the same period. It also showed 
a 53 per cent decrease for the Nissan 300ZX from 1983 to 1989, and a 10 
per cent decrease for the Toyota Cressida and a 74 per cent decrease 
for the Toyota Supra for that time period.
    The agency's review of the theft data for these vehicle lines shows 
results consistent with VW's analysis. The car [[Page 18166]] lines 
listed above have experienced an overall 63 per cent decline in theft 
rate from MY 1987 to MY 1992.
    NHTSA believes that there is substantial evidence that the 
antitheft device that will be installed on the car line that is the 
subject of this notice will likely be as effective in reducing motor 
vehicle theft as compliance with the theft prevention standard (49 CFR 
part 541). The VW system will provide all of the five types of 
performance listed in Section 543.6(a)(3): promoting activation; 
attracting attention to the efforts of an unauthorized person to enter 
or move a vehicle by means other than a key; preventing defeat or 
circumventing of the device by unauthorized persons; preventing 
operation of the vehicle by unauthorized entrants; and ensuring the 
reliability and durability of the device.
    As required by 49 U.S.C. section 33106(c)(2) and 49 CFR 
543.6(a)(4), the agency also finds that Volkswagen has provided 
adequate reasons for its belief that the antitheft device will reduce 
and deter theft. This conclusion is based on the information VW 
provided about its device. This information included a description of 
reliability and functional tests conducted by VW for the antitheft 
device and its components.
    For the foregoing reasons, the agency hereby exempts the car line 
that is the subject of this notice in whole from the requirements of 49 
CFR part 541.
    If VW decides not to use the exemption for this car line, it should 
formally notify the agency. If such a decision is made, the car line 
must be fully marked according to the requirements of 49 CFR 541.5 and 
541.6 (marking of major components and replacement parts).
    The agency notes that the limited and apparently conflicting data 
on the effectiveness of the pre-standard parts marking programs 
continue to make it difficult to compare the effectiveness of an 
antitheft device with the effectiveness of the theft prevention 
standard. The statute clearly invites such a comparison, which the 
agency has made on the basis of the limited data available. With 
implementation of the requirements of the ``Anti Car Theft Act of 
1992,'' NHTSA anticipates more probative data upon which comparisons 
may be made.
    NHTSA notes that if VW wishes in the future to modify the device on 
which this exemption is based, the company may have to submit a 
petition to modify the exemption. Section 543.7(d) states that a part 
543 exemption applies only to vehicles that belong to a line exempted 
under this part and equipped with the antitheft device upon which that 
lines exemption is based. Further, Sec. 543.9(c)(2) provides for the 
submission of petitions ``[t]o modify an exemption to permit the use of 
an antitheft device similar to but differing from the one specified in 
that exemption.''
    The agency wishes to minimize the administrative burden which 
Sec. 543.9(c)(2) could place on exempted vehicle manufacturers and 
itself. The agency did not intend in drafting part 543 to require the 
submission of a petition for every change to the components or design 
of an antitheft device. The significance of many such changes could be 
de minimis. Therefore, NHTSA suggests that if the manufacturer 
contemplates making any changes the effects of which might be 
characterized as de minimis, it should consult the agency before 
preparing and submitting a petition to modify.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 33106; delegation of authority at 49 CFR 
1.50.

    Dated: April 4, 1995.
Howard M. Smolkin,
Executive Director.
[FR Doc. 95-8763 Filed 4-7-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
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