Need help with car modifications.

[mdfr at ix.netcom.com]

On 03/15/99 13:33:13 you wrote:
>
>Hi Richard,
>I was not aware mechanics had to be licensed for something as simple as
>installing a left foot gas pedal.  

are we sure this is a licensing issue, created by government, or a case
of the manufacturer only selling to authorized dealers, "trained" in
proper installation?

while this helps protect the manufacturer from lawsuit, and may provide an
additional level of safety to the consumer and other drivers that will encounter
this consumer, it also creates a mini-monopoly.  there are only a few 
dealers who carry the item and they can charge what they please, both for the
item itself, as well as for installation.

would u want an untrained, unqualified person working on the brakes of your car?
a left foot accelerator pedal that jambs in the GO position is a major health 
hazard to everyone in the vicinity.  improperly installed mechanical hand controls, 
or the newer, more sophisticated, "drive by wire" control systems are probably best 
installed by those with proper training, supervision, and the ability to call on the
manufacturer for assistance if necessary.  

as a former owner of two auto repair facilities and a reasonably competent mechanic, 
i would hesitate, and think long and hard prior to installing even the most simple 
of these devices, given todays litigious society.  particularly if i was not an 
"authorized" installer.


mike freedman
323 291 1244