Information is requested to determine the makes, models, styles and types of vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment which are available in the marketplace. Vehicle and equipment selection matrices are developed which include new entries into the marketplace, new designs, past failures, consumer complaints, etc. It is not possible to test the majority of vehicle makes and models or items of motor vehicle equipment due to budget limitations. However, an effort is made to select new entries and high volume items. Vehicles are purchased from new vehicle dealerships by obtaining competitive bids on vehicles which have the equipment as specified by the OVSC safety compliance engineer. Equipment items are selected at random from manufacturing plants, distribution centers or retail stores. This approach is used by OVSC to ensure that the test specimens selected are a true representation of the product which could be purchased by the consumer
