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........any '74 Motion built car would be fairly scarce...wasn't that the 'end of the line'....
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It was an article about the 454 Motion Super Vega in Car Craft, ‘King Kong Lives On Long Island,' that set off alarms at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1974 and forever changed the nature of Joel Rosen’s business. Joel Rosen was presented with a Cease and Desist order from the EPA (to halt the building of new cars with powertrains not available from the factory), executed by the Department of Justice. The bottom-line: If Motion did not cease production of its specialty vehicles, it would be fined $10,000 per emission device removed in the build process. This translated to $50,000 in fines for each V-8 Vega!
Rosen settled with Uncle Sam in 1975, paying a $500 fine and agreeing to the terms outlined in the EPA and DOJ documents. While this put a major crimp in business, Motion did continue building and marketing ultra-high-performance specialty Chevrolets. However, all vehicles were special-ordered (and invoiced) “For Export” or “For Off Road Use Only.”
“For Off Road Use Only.” - yeah, sure we understand!
