Driving to Sonora to become easier

Beginning early in December Mexico will no longer require an import
permit for foreign vehicles in most of Sonora Mexico. Temporary import
permits will still be required for the rest of Mexico south of the free zone
and you'll still need a tourist card if you're going to be staying south of
the "free zone" for over 72 hours. Apparently the free zone in Sonora will
remain at the 21km point for most of Sonora, dipping south to include Rocky
Point, as it does now.

This will eliminate some of the hassle of visiting Sonora. While not
the most beautiful, or the most interesting Mexican state, Sonora still has
a lot to offer visitors. Presumably, most travelers will still be stopping
at the 21km checkpoint to obtain tourist cards and people traveling further
south will still need to stop there for their temporary import permit, as
the new checkpoint near Sonora's southern border is a state facility rather
than a federal office.

The former "Sonora only free pass" has been very expensive for the
state of Sonora as the federal government has been requiring them to make up
the lost revenue from import permits that they might have otherwise sold and
insure that vehicles entering Mexico with this permit didn't enter the rest
of Mexico without a regular temporary import permit. Mexico being Mexico
they've "lost" quite a few vehicles that the federal government was
threatening to charge the state import duties for.

This change should also make it possible for solo motorhome drivers to
enter Sonora with their toad.

The rest of the story:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl...Wait08-ON.html

TB