If Cars were treated like Guns

Found on a mailing list:

• Convicted felons could not own or drive a car.
• You'd pay for a car, register it, and then wait from 5 to 15 days to pick up your car.
• Purchasing a used car from a neighbor requires the same waiting period, and you would have to transact the sale through a licensed car dealer.
• If you trade in your old car for a newer model, you still have to wait 5 to 15 days to pick the new one up.
• You could buy a car and register it, but you'd need a special permit to take it on the streets.
• To get the above "street permit" you have to show good cause, and be of good moral character (as defined by the licensing authority).
• Persons convicted of "domestic violence" could not own or drive a car, even if that conviction occurred 30 years ago.
• Your car would have to be stored where no child could access it and hurt themselves playing with it.
• In some places (e.g. NYC or New Jersey) you would first need a permit from the police department to buy a car, which sometimes takes up to 2 years to obtain.
• If you buy a car, and then move to another state, you may have to leave the car behind since the other state may not accept the make and model you own.
• If a minor child stole your car and hurt himself or others with it, you'd be guilty of a felony.
• In some cities (e.g. Washington D.C.) you would have to store your car partially disassembled.
• Failure to register your car would be a federal felony (prevents you from ever owning another one, for the rest of your life).
• People under psychiatric care, or declared to be mentally incompetent, could not own or drive a car.
• Some models of automobiles might be banned after you buy them, and you'd have to turn them over to the government without compensation.
• "Assault vehicles" look evil and must be specially registered at extra cost. Hummers, 4x4 trucks, Suburbans, Dodge Vipers, Nissan NSX's, and Corvettes are likely targets.
• Cars under a certain size, or having certain features, could not be imported.
• You could not modify your car to allow more fuel, more performance, or better cornering.
• The government would allow some states or cities to not issue licenses at all, for any reason (or no reason at all).
• Cars could not be operated on city streets with gasoline in the tank. (Kinda defeats the whole purpose, doesn't it?)
• In some states (e.g. Virginia, California) you could only buy one car per month.
• There would be no traffic "infractions". Instead, all violations would be criminal misdemeanors or felonies.
• It would be illegal to directly buy a car from an out of state dealer or seller.
• Car dealers would have to allow government agents to review their records without a warrant and without notice.
• Car dealers who sell a car to someone prohibited would be charged with a federal felony.
• Car dealers would be subject to being shut down by the government, and charged with a felony, for failure to keep proper records. The government inspector defines what "proper records" means.
• The inventory of car dealers could be seized and destroyed before the dealer is ever charged in court.
• Your car could be declared to be one of the banned kind, even after you legally bought it, and you would be charged as a criminal, based solely on the word of a government auto inspector, who doesn't even have any written guidelines to what is required for a car to be banned.