you can visit the DOT and the Department of Commerce sites. Both sites
provide extensive information covering all automotive-related import
rules. Not that importing a car into the US is impossible, it is just
almost impossible and cost and hassle are so extraordianry, that the
reason why Peugeot would do it escapes me completely (may be there is no
reason).
When GM brings Vauxhall (which is Opel with the steering wheel on the wrong
side) or Opel in, it can rely on GM dealers and service network, it is
testing the vehicle(s) on its home turf and finally, there is a
possibility that the vehicle would make it to the US (as many GM Europe
vehicles did as Pontiac and lately as the German built Cadillac/Opel
thing). BMW/Rover also has a dealers network, Rovers are sold in the US
(at least the four by four ones) and I've read in the British press
some rumors of bringing new MG roadsters to the US. Who knows.
These things do not apply to the PSA. They have no service network to
speak of, no dealers, in fact no point except going through absurd
hassle and paying huge amounts of money for bonds and other foolishless,
as well as expense of shipping the vehicle(s) back to wherever they were
originally made. If the same vehicles are tested in Europe (and I have
no doubt that they test their vehicles in Europe despite that odd 806
apparition), they can be diagnosed and tested at almost any PSA's
facility from Sweden to Portugal and from Ireland to Greece and they
will be actually tested in the climates/countries these vehicles will be
sold and used. Because 806 minivan is a joint development of Peugeot,
Citroen and FIAT and because it is widely sold all over the place, I
have no idea why would the PSA people torture themselves with bringing
that thing into the United States.
Somebody talked of a theory that the Peugeot brought the minivan into
the US because they had some remote plans of selling something in the US
at some point in the future but then somebody decided to "pull the plug"
completely and they stopped whole operation (the fact that they stopped testing
the vehicle here possibly means that they were testing it for this market. If
they were testing it in the US for some different market, say New Guinea, why
would they stop doing it?). In any case, we can (and we do) only
speculate. The only people who know what is going on work for the PSA
and, apparently, they are not going to tell us anything.
Cheers,
Eugene