Myth or Reality: Model Year Designation

[John]

I was always under the understanding that an OEM could not sell a model year designated car more than one year in advance, i.e., that on this New Year’s Eve, Monday, December 31, 2018, that a vehicle manufacturer may designate a new vehicle that they are selling that day as a 2018 or a 2019 ( or previous), but it could not designate a model sold as that day as a 2020 (or higher).

A very bright friend said to me last night, that this an urban legend, that there is no such state nor Federal regulation.

Can anyone please quote a Federal statute or admin law that confirms or denies what an OEM can or can not do about a vehicle’s model year designation?

[Bikerjulio]

Wiki thinks there is a regulation. Which makes sense since EPA regs are often based on "model year" so there needs to be a regulatory definition.

In the United States, for regulation purposes (such as VIN numbering and EPA emissions certification), government authorities allow cars of a given model year to be sold starting on January 1 of the previous calendar year. For example, this means that a 2019 model year vehicle can legally go on sale on January 1, 2018.^[3] This has resulted in a few cars in the following model year being introduced in advertisements during the NFL's Super Bowl in February. A notable example of an "early" model year launch would be the Ford Mustang, introduced as an early 1965 model (informally referred to as "1964½") in April 1964 at the World's Fair, several months before the usual start of the 1965 model year in August 1964.

(i)
The term “model year” with reference to any specific calendar yearmeans the manufacturer’s annual production period (as determined by the Administrator) which includes January 1 of such calendar year. If the manufacturer has no annual production period, the term “model year” shall mean the calendar year.
(ii)
For the purpose of assuring that vehicles and engines manufactured before the beginning of a model year were not manufactured for purposes of circumventing the effective date of a standard required to be prescribed by subsection (b), the Administrator may prescribe regulations defining “model year” otherwise than as provided in clause (i)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_year

[John]

Excellent. What I thought but my knowledgeable friend was adamant. Thank you Bikerjulio.

[Milliwatt Rob]

In the 1970s, American Honda updated the titles, in some bases by two years, on tens of thousands of unsold left over motorcycles. They were successfully sued in a class action suit for fraudulently representing old stock as current production

[John]

Thanks Milliwatt. Glad they got caught. I had sure not known about that particular fraud.

[Ssscooter66]

Here's what I found ..
https://www.chicagotribune.com/class...101-story.html

[John]

Thank you Ssscoooter66. I enjoy learning new things.

[tjmoneybags]

I dont care what year they call it....just release it and get one to me!