The 900kg Elise is not imported as a "Kit". I disagree that the Noble would require "hundreds" of pounds of add'l safety equipment. It is primarily imported as a kit so that they don't need to get emissions certification on the engine and 5-mph bumpers. These changes don't require hundreds of pounds if required. The small sales numbers (100 per year) just don't make the changes economically feasible...

The Noble has a complete integrated roll cage and is far safer than many "legal" US cars...