Imagine building or buying a kit car, such as a Meyers Manx dune buggy, driving it legally for years, only to have the government tell you it's no longer legal and demand that you turn in your title and plates. It's an enthusiast's worst nightmare. Yet that's exactly what's happening right now in Texas, Hemmings reports.

Over the past few years, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles has cracked down on dune buggies, ostensibly for safety reasons. In 2013 the DMV stopped issuing new titles and registrations for dune buggies but reasonably grandfathered existing ones. But earlier this year the DMV began sending letters to grandfathered owners, saying that their vehicles are "designed for off-road usage and may not be legally operated for use on Texas streets or public roadways."

This is despite the fact that many dune buggies, such as the Meyers Manx that basically invented the dune buggy, are based on street-legal vehicles such as the Volkswagen Beetle. Adam Shaivitz, a spokesman for the Texas DMV, told Hemmings that "These vehicles, as modified from previously manufactured vehicles, also do not keep their on-road qualities." Yet that is often not the case, as buggies frequently keep all of the lights, seat belts, and other equipment necessary for the street. That's part of the fun of them.

Although Texas does require vehicle safety inspections, the official inspection criteria specify nothing beyond the most basic equipment, such as lights, horn, mirror, and seatbelts. There are no criteria for ride height or bodywork modifications, unlike other states such as Massachusetts. If such a vehicle would pass the state safety inspection, why should it not be legal for the street?