On Thu, 9 May 1996, Bill D wrote:
> On Thu, 9 May 1996 Wyngaarden@aol.com wrote:
>
> > Does anyone think that it is wrong, illegal or immoral to change the
> > letter designating the color?
> > Thanks for the input.
>
>
> Absolutely. First off, altering any component of the VIN# will get you
> into BIG BIG legal trouble in most parts of the US. If you live somewhere
> that issues titles, your title will no longer match the VIN... and you
> will be unable to sell or register the vehicle.
The color code is generally on a separate clearly identified line, and is
not part of the VIN. I doubt if it would be illegal to change the color
code. On the other hand, the only reason for altering the color is to
fool show judges, or to fool *somebody.* You can hardly argue your intent
is to fool yourself. To the extent that misrepresentation is immoral,
well... If, in a show, judges awarded points for original color (and I
think some do), you would gain an unfair advantage over someone who did
not change his id plate.
My Alpine has code 1 (black) on the body tag. I'm likely to paint it
black, largely because I think that would look classy, but partly so the
code will be right. If I wanted the car red, I would paint it red, but I
don't think I would alter the code.
Ray Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu (802) 656-8910
|