They're illegal because they're so cheap and affordable🤷🏻! All the companies can't sell their 80k luxury trucks if you're buying an old little Honda for less than 5k. That's why they want them illegal.
@slapshotjack9806 This is a fine example of the people they pay to discourage you from buying it😂. How much were you paid to say that buddy? Do motorcycles have all those safety features other than the speed????? You could just buy it for city use and stay off the freeway 🤷🏻. But that would require using your brain to much and thinking about it before going on the freeway. Or you could upgrade the engine because it's a Honda and make it go faster😉. You're an Imbecile. Shut your mouth. Go find a pool and look for the scratch and sniff sticker at the bottom 😂😂😂😂.
@@slapshotjack9806 highway speeds is understandable, but motorcycles do not have air bags, crumple zones, nor seat belts. Yet they are considered safer??
There should be a restriction on hood heights too, we banned pop-up headlights for pedestrian safety but it’s totally fine to have the hood of your dually be 5’ high
They're so worried about "safety". But not worried about rising hoodlines that obliterate and overrun pedestrians. Great to see politicians care about us.
@@ianhelyar6383 Very annoying how many of those stupid giant things are coming into Australia. Even here in Hobart where they must be a massive pain in the arse to navigate around the narrow roads!!
i own what used to be considered a large full size mercedes sedan in the 80s, with a high ride height too. you cant even see it if it’s in-front of you bumper to bumper at a stop light
The Kei pickups are a threat to domestic car manufacturers, because once the suburban homeowner realizes that this is what they need for those Lowe's and Home Depot runs, even the Maverick becomes less of a desirable purchase option.
don’t even get started about how popular these would be with college kids or high schoolers. these are perfect little hotrods or cheap EV swaps, the vans are the spiritual successors to the hippie vans of the 60s too.
I actually own a maverick hybrid and after researching it still will get better gas mileage than the kei. trucks But on the other hand I'd love to have a Kei truck too
@@pile_of_trash what SUV in the 2024 model year does not have to pass crash test safety standards? As far as I know the only vehicles sold in the United States currently that do not go through crash test ratings are low volume, low production vehicles and this was done to allow startup companies to make low production cars it is a good thing for the car hobby and it was recently implemented.
they do not want cheap, small, easy to work on vehicles in the marketplace. they want as much of our income as absolutely possible be required to go into our vehicles, and to strip as much freedom from us as they can.
@@agentrex_adventures Because the van is nowhere near as versatile as the truck. You watched the video right?.. Did you see how much space the truck bed had with all the sides down VS being stuck in the van which has an even smaller interior than a MINI-van....
@@JGreen-le8xx I'm not sure if you know this or if it will change your opinion of the vans versatility or not. But the seats in the back of the van can fold down to have just as much "bed" space as the truck. And I don't mean that the seats just fold the back part down and create some stupid hump in the back. The seats go into the floor to make a nice perfectly flat surface. Of course it doesn't have foldable sides like the truck, but on a good amount of the vans you can take the headrests off and fold the seats flat into a bed. Sorry about the giant text wall, I just really love the van versions of the kei trucks and not as many people talk about them.
@@commentman192 OMG....😞 I know all about vans..WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THIS VAN WHICH IS A KEI VAN ! IT LITERALLY HAS LESS STORAGE THAN A DECENT HATCHBACK CAR!!!
@@alanhinkel420 it was a statement? He wasn't asking a question, he ended the first part with a '?' and the second with a '.' meaning he was stating something he was questioning, not something he needed to be answered.
Exactly. The stupidity of current day America is baffling to me. Unfortunately, it's spreading over here to the UK too. Now every other car on the road over here is an SUV. There's also a lot of guys buying Ford Ranger T6's, which are noticeably larger and taller than any of the previous Ranger's. Another difference is I used to see loads of old Ranger's actually being used as work trucks with all the dents, scrapes and bed attachments you'd expect to see on a work truck, whereas I'm pretty sure guys are only buying the T6's to give off an "alpha" image because I've never seen so much as a speck of dust on any of them and it seems the only thing the owners of them use the bed for is to haul around their inflated egos.
As an Aussie, it sounds crazy to me hearing Americans talk about the situation over there, given that for a long time you could actually walk into a dealership here and drive out in a new Kei car, van or truck, most of which I recall were sold here by Suzuki and Daihatsu, and there’s little if any restrictions on importing them. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s less about “safety” and more about protecting the sales of freedom trucks
Yeah but Australia did ban full size pick-ups for decades if I'm not mistaken they just recently opened their markets to full size pick-ups and I hear all the snow flakes down under aren't to happy about it. But I think your right it's about protecting US small truck makers. Guess they don't want a repeat of the 70's and , when Asia took over the small car market in the US with fuel efficient economy cars.
@@johnshackford most places require additional licenses to drive full size pickups and SUVs that 16yr old learners permit holders or drivers who are too short to see over the dash have full access to here. Their system is better.
@@markcoopers1930 WTF does height have to do with anything ? Their system isn't better I live in Asia. They hand out drivers licenses like candy over here.
We do have restrictions here I think (not 100% sure) that we can import and register any of the Kei trucks up to 1997 and then 2014 onwards The 1998-2013 don’t meet our safety standards that were in place for those years I think it’s mainly airbag related
Many truck owners can't park their full-sized trucks in their garages. You could easily fit two of these kei trucks inside of one garage bay and still have room for your lawn mower, snow blower and a bunch of empty boxes that you "May need someday".
Kei trucks are death traps but motorcycles and scooters aren’t. Government logic at work. And before anyone starts, no I am not advocating for making two wheeled vehicles illegal.
the big difference is the term truck, the motorcycles and scooters aren't in the category of truck so that is the big difference also those kei trucks haven't airbags, have not esp, an crash with a larger SUV And your die immediately because doesn't even have a big weight and the doors aren't thicker but thin and also is dangerous for the rest of the users on the roads , if transport loads
@@megacap55 But we have motorcycles/scooters legal to road use with no metal between you and whatever hits you, your comparison isn't a great example. It's not a "truck" most of the early 1970's Japanese import "trucks" were as flimsily made as this cabover if not worse.
Fun fact Texas just classified these as cars back in April of this year, and they can be titled and registered and driven on public roads. Although I would advise staying off the highways. But the 25 year rule still applies to them
Louisiana as well allowed them as well during the Bobby Jindal era, in 2008 or so, but speeds are capped at 55 mph but most Highways in our state are that... No interstate driving and no highways that are partial or no access to emergency vehicles or something like that. 25 year rules are that as well... And also can get registered and titled as long as you have taillights, headlights, mirrors for the passenger and driver and the basic stuff like that as well. If Texas is similar to our state when it gets to that potentially, both are in common tbh.
@@f1champ551 there isn't a speed cap for them in texas right now but everything has to work on them just like any other car and highway speeds over here are 75mph
I would be very scared driving these in TX, here in TX they love their trucks big, and they drive fast. Even 18 wheelers fly down the road well beyond the max speed of these Kei cars.
Especially the cars and truck that are 3 stars of less in safety on the roads too and are made in the states and also by the main 3 automakers and also some foreign automakers too!
As kei vehicle owners and JDM enthusiasts, we need to band together and fight this on a country-wide level. We need big names helping us out to be taken more seriously. I would love to see TFL help take on this fight. Massachusetts just banned all JDM vehicles. Any JDM that doesn't have a 17-digit vin is in Jeopardy. We all need to fight!
Another thing to keep in mind is that, while Kei trucks are undeniably less safe for their drivers, they are vastly more safe for other vehicles and pedestrians around you. The people in the Kei truck are literally the only people adversely affected by the decreases safety standards of the Kei truck, as they aren't unsafe in any way that effects others, and due to their small size and great visibility, it's easier to see and stop for pedestrians, and you are less likely to harm anything you might hit in them. Compare this to a big American pickup, where you can line up a dozen kids in front of them and still see nothing over the hood, and which are big enough that you can entirely overrun something or completely crush a small vehicle.
Even more so when those trucks are modified - either lifted to where the bottom of the front bumper is level with the roof of a regular car, or squatted where the driver can only see the sky while driving. A lift to a kei truck by the same magnitude would probably only make it as tall as a Subaru Outback.
I posted a lengthy comment that explains this, but in short: You are incorrect. The safety aspect isn't about impact; it's about being a slow-moving blockade on a high-speed road.
@@Javelier But most of these vehicles can go 60 MPH, which means that, aside from very fast interstate highways, they are perfectly capable of keeping up with traffic.
I'm not going to go too deep into the details, but the reason states are cracking down on these is industry lobbying. And interestingly, if you do a little bit of digging, it's the same group of lobbyists who got states to change their old moped laws c. 2008 (in the recession) to have 50cc mopeds treated the same as full sized motorcycles (ie, registered as motorcycles, insured as motorcycles, motorcycle license required). The aim of which was IMO to keep people from "trading down" from a car to a scooter to save money (prior to this, most states let you drive a moped with a regular driver's license, and often with no insurance, so treating mopeds like full sized motorcycles made them more difficult and expensive for an average car person to get into). This group has been pushing these laws through under the guise of "standardization" - they claim they just want all states to have the same laws, but you don't have to squint to hard to see that the real aim is to try and force people to buy new cars.
The environmentalists at work. Make buying a smaller vehicle that is cheap to run and more realistically environmentally friendly as hard as possible so instead you leverage people into hybrids or better yet EV's to boost numbers to use as proof that environmentalists are on the right track and need more power in policy making.
Texas and North Carolina are two states where the kei trucks were banned, but the ban later got reversed as kei users fought back against the lobbyists.
Just bought my own 1998 Jimny 4x4 JB23. I believe it's going to be restricted from use on interstates (or highways over 55mph posted speed), classified as a mini-truck. Unless the DMV hooks me up & just lets me title it as an SUV/Pick-up!
I own a '96 Daihatsu HiJet Climber. In Indiana, there is a special title/license for mini trucks, which are legal everywhere, except interstate highways. Not sure I want to run mine on a 70 MPH road with tons of semi-trailers trucks anyway. It crises at 65-70 just fine, unless there is a headwind. At these speeds, I can take my hands off the wheel and it runs completely strr\aight and steady. The lobby groups most against these trucks are the side by side folks who don't want this competition. For a much lower cost, I have a vehicle with a plow that I can run on the street, and has an enclosed cab with heat, and some have A/C.
I drove my 1990 and 1991 bedford rascal/suzuki carry on motorways/interstate highways in uk no problem for years ... im also a motorcyclist..and the van is much much safer i think our fuel has a higher octane rating than the US so the engines had a bit more power over here...
We need this truck or something like it for America ! The US pickup manufacturers are certainly behind some of the laws against these. It's a perfect Hone Depot or Lowe's runner ! I'd like to buy one myself !
I have seen a Suzuki Carry van with three 200lb+ guys across the front seats come up to an intersection and the driver deliberately stood hard on the brakes, lifting the rear wheels off the ground.... and at the top of the arc... they all leaned to the left... and the truck fell over on it's side. They then climbed up out of the driver's door, lifted the van back on it's wheels.... and buzzed off into the night. Great party trick...
While the story sounds apocryphal, I have seen something very similar done on a construction site. When empty, the load on the back wheels on some models is not much at all.
I saw a big SUV and a monster truck kill people on the news. Just because someone uses it wrong way doesn't mean its unsafe or any car truck would be banned for that reasoing, I'm sure if a cop saw that they would have given them a ticket for reckless driving just as any person doing something reckless on the road
@@the_kombinator you be surprised. there are rich guys who just buy old cars just to destroy them. it's like a weird hobby to them. like their living a childish dream they can't grow out of.
My concern? Too many people saying the van version is the same as the truck version, instead of it getting the truck unbanned, it'll just get the van banned instead.
Van versions are actually better balanced, they have more weight on the rear. That is one of the most dangerous things about these vehicles is if you do a panic stop from highway speed they will just flip on their nose. I owned one and put a lot of road miles on it and I totally understand the ban.
@@CarswithNashi dont, it should be the choice of the American people on whether we wanna drive a death trap or not, motorcycles suffer from this same issue you talk about, yet are still road legal at least if you do a stopping in the kei truck you have a cab to protect you, unlike motorcycles, also 3 wheelers are very dangerous on the road such as the reliant robin yet they aren’t banned to license, this is just a way for lobbiests to get a cheap vehicle banned that can be put into the hands of the masses and undercut the auto industry
@joelthorstensson2772 Don't get me wrong, I didn't say I agree with the ban, I'm against stifling freedoms... I just said I understand it, these vehicles don't belong on a fast moving road.
We've been importing KEI vehicles for almost 40 years now. Where are the statistics documenting all the fatal accidents involving them. I'll be waiting
Shhhh, don't ask for the data. Accept the governments decisions blindly. Now go buy your base model, 75k, 22ft long, "small", American made pickup truck that can barely handle hauling basic items.
@bradleyfried There are a lot of them here...they have to be at least 25 years old, but there are many places that are selling the little vans and pickups.
30 years ago I drove a Suzuki Carry, 850 cc van (in the Netherlands). It was my first car and it was great. The guy who I hired as mechanic was 2m and 10 cm's. That was a tall guy. When he had to test-drive my tiny van, designed for small people, he had to fold himself behind the wheel, and reach for the gear-shift under his knee, and could only set in in 2nd gear. I drove my van on highways and got more comfortable with that over time. But when I went to a car-dump to get spare parts, I'd see the wrecks and was reminded of how a car without crumple-zone looks after an accident. It made me more aware after such a sighting, for a while. I could transport anything with it, even an 8-person orchestra with instruments, including a contra-bass. I drove over 3000 kilometre on a holiday, and slept in the van, as a make-shift camper. Beste feature: because it was so small I could always find a parking-spot in a crowded parking garage, in between pillars that other cars would not fit. Seen from above it took up the same space as an original Mini Cooper, stationcar version. My Suzuki Carry was the size as a couch and a bed, and it was a great car.
LOL your right old VW micro busses were the same. But as long as you kept insane people away these vehicles did fine. back in the late 60's there were even double height VW ambulances but if you get trained drivers they did fine
@@ootdega Or own an Escalade as they are arrogant and/or too old where Cadilac was once a super Luxury brand but is more a mid level luxury brand on par with Lincoln or Lexus.
The reason they are so popular in Japan is because they are cheap. A special tax loophole allows for their existence, which is why they meet the dimensions and specifications that they do. Otherwise the taxes are much higher. Also useful for parking in congested Japanese cities.
@@TrinomCZ Do you actually know that to be true or are you just saying it? I mean look at the things, they're all cabover design but most don't even have an engine under the seat or under your feet - So there is literally no structural integrity or crumple zone, the new ones have a driver's airbag, there's no passenger airbag. Are the safety standards the same? Safety standards in 2024 require reverse cameras, ABS, ESC, lane keep assist, blind spot indicator, etc. These things obviously don't have any of that. Hey look, neither does my truck, I'm not saying these things are necessary I'm just saying you're talking trash.
@@elliotkane4443 Go watch a smart car being crashed.. size has nothing to do with safety. "safety standards in 2024 require x y z".. In the US... What about where they are made for? and you can't import new ones into the US.. same as importing rare / desireable cars like R34's... 25 yr rule. So your comparing a 25 yr old Kei truck to something that is brand new and 5-10 times the size (requireing cameras for you to see) @kevinbarry71 They don't exist "because of a loophole", it was entrirely intentional. These are built for the extremely narrow roads and lanes found around japanese towns and cities. The "loophole" is a tax break because thats the kind of vehicle they wanted most people in as they cause less issues and you can fit more on the roads.. Which is important when your population density is as high as theirs is.
Kei van owner here. The van have been in my family since it was new in 1993 and my mother have accidents were people crash into her into the driver door and nothing unusual happen only some whiplash and the last time i crash from the front nothing happen to me, my knees and legs were ok the car was a bit smashed but the nissan i crashed into was demolished, not even the front glass lamps were cracked, only the bumper and the plastic indicators.
You guys briefly mentioned some people blame it being right hand drive as why they should be banned, but basically all of the USPS mail trucks are right hand drive so they can deliver to mailboxes.
Funny how the big three benefit the most if all right hand drive cars get banned. Their lobbyists are hard at work trying to get the next government bailout
Well there's nothing stopping any other rhd vehicle that passes the 25 year rule from, being imported and registered. And yes mail carriers love factory rhd stuff. I wish we could get options newer than 25 years old because it sucks that I couldn't buy something newer than 1999. I bought a 97 MY Toyota Estima Lucida. But think about all the advancements made to vans since then. I would have much preferred to buy a newer one that had modern amenities like say.....a sliding door on BOTH sides. This whole crap is just the lobbying industry keeping laws in place that favor themselves by banning foreign options. It's almost like we aren't nearly the free market economy that people try to portray the US as.
A couple months ago I saw a Cybertruck in the wild for the first time. A few minutes later, I saw a Kei van in the wild for the first time. I was far more excited to see the Kei van.
They did not last long in the rust belt. BUT not a good idea to run them at Freeway speeds in the left lane. The engine was not made for that. But they did do well in the snow while they lasted.
if the states are concerned about these trucks being "unsafe" then they need to ban the Ford Model T or the Willy's Jeep as those are a lot more dangerous than that tiny pickup truck, the real reason is the car companies are afraid of competition
@@nermket4849 No. Of all the old subcompact cars of the same 1970 era, the Gremlin was likely the safest. A Gremlin is actually a compact Hornet with a chopped rear. Way safer than an old beetle and safer than a Pinto or a Vega.
Competition from used 30 year old compact trucks? We already have those here in the US just slightly bigger with an actually comfortable interior, they're called S10s, rangers & HiLux
These were sold brand new in the US. I used to buy the Daihatsu version for the military in the 90s. There was a limit on how many cars and trucks the military could buy, but these didn't count, so we bought a lot of them for travel on base. They were left hand drive and had plates but weren't legal for travel off base.
Thats how they should be used, on a military base or in a city. They should not be legal on any road with a speed limit above 40 mph, simply too slow and weak, hinderance to traffic.
That's really interesting...did they only sell the vans or also the trucks? Come to think of it I think I've seen them on university campuses as well, although that's still mostly sxs and increasingly EVs
@@chir0pterthe University of Wisconsin had a bunch of these ( Suzuki vans and trucks) they had a special license and a slow moving vehicle sign. I don't think they got them out on the hyway. I'm pretty sure the maintenance staff liked them...judging by the way they drove them...seeing them on a snow day in the fleet parking lot was certainly amusing.
@@chir0pter We only bought the truck versions. However, I did a quick search of GSA contracts and Vantage Vehicle International has a contract for various types on their website in EV and ICE variants. I won't link it, but a Google search will find it.
Let’s be clear, this is a money grab by insurance companies and the big automakers. I have a Subaru Sambar ks4 registered in NY. Still fighting for my title here. I ride motorcycles as well. Can’t tell me one is safer than the other. Maybe they should ban 8000 lbs Teslas that can take out almost any other car and not these. You are telling me those 3 wheeled T-Rex’s or Polaris slingshots are safer than these? Let’s also make it clear it’s not discriminatory to just the trucks, but all Kei vehicles, at least that’s the case for NY. I have taken mine on the interstate and parkways with no issues. No safety or emissions standards should apply to any imported vehicle over 25 years old. That’s what my paperwork says from the federal government when I imported my truck and paid all appropriate taxes and duties. I’ll give the state my plates back when they refund me all my money aka they aren’t getting the plates back any time soon 😂
You mention 3-wheelers; great analogy, manufacturers wanted to move on to 4 wheelers ( higher price) across the board since Honda had ( 3-wheeler) dimensions tied up in patents. Apparently there was an expiration date on the law but I have not seen the return of the 3whlr.
I don't think it's the big truck companies that are threatened. I think it's the companies that sell compact tractors and side by sides. For example there's the Kubota.
Eliminating traffic congestion in larger cities should be an incentive to make them road legal ,along with a major reduction in emissions, plus less wear, and tear on the roadways. Besides that,not many can afford a $70,000-$100,000 giant 4 door short bed pickup truck.
The van version, to me, are known as “bread vans”. Both because they are shaped like a loaf of bread, and because when I was growing up in the deep south of Ireland, these little bouncy Suzuki vans were literally the delivery vans for various bread companies, delivering their bread to shops in the early morning on our shitty little Irish roads 😂 They’re awesome things to drive, they’ve got such a fun wobble to them.
I've spent more than half my life traveling around in an Indonesian-built Suzuki Futura (a slightly larger Suzuki Carry with a bigger engine). Still not dead yet.
These should be legal everywhere, except on the interstate highways. They are likely safer in a crash than a motorcycle. What if you obtained an out-of-state vehicle registration? Just saying...
The Philippines imports these units too, but they do have a left side driving requirement for them. No right hand steering allowed. So they have refab shops that will retrofit them into left hand drive and rebuild them to factory new appearance. You can buy one for $3000-8000.00 depending on options, and you can even get crew cab configurations in the pickups. And they can also be imported to the U.S.
We can license and register them in the state of Texas. If i remember correctly, we just can't drive them on a road with a higher posted speed limit than 55mph because that's pretty much their max speed.
Same in Louisiana, allowed in highways that are 55 Mph or Less on the speed limit. Most Highways in Louisiana are such and can get you to major cites in Louisiana without being on the interstate and also they aren't allowed on highways with partial or no access to emergency vehicles or such.
About 15 years ago, when I was in Germany, the local municipality used these for yard work, garbage can cleanup, and general city works. It was all the functionality of an F-150, in the form factor of a kubota side by side.
Are you sure they had these trucks? I would rather expect something like a Multicar. But I have to admit, Daihatsus were officially imported to Germany, so it is possible.
In 1985 I used to work for a huge private residential development that had six golf courses. We used to drive those Daihatsu HiJets all over the property. If I remember they were governed down to about 20 mph but if you kept the accelerator depressed and flip the ignition switch constantly on and off you can bypass the governing switch.😂
In my state (idaho) it's completely legal to ride a motorcycle on the freeway with no helmet on. Yet if I fail to buckle my seat belt I'll get a ticket here.
@@CadgerChristmasLightShow You do not understand the logic..... The logic is about protecting innocent bystanders when you can, not protecting the operator of the vehicle. So: Wearing no helmet only poses more risk to the rider, it does NOT increase risk to anyone else (like innocent bystanders - pedestrians on sidewalks). Not wearing a seatbelt poses MORE RISK to innocent bystanders than if you wore a seatbelt. Because if you crash medium or higher speeds you'll likely be ejected flying out of the windshield or windows and could hit somebody, an innocent bystanders, a walking pedestrian on a sidewalk. Obviously motorcycle riders flying off their bike can happen too, BUT that is considered "acceptable risk" BECAUSE there is NO OTHER POSSIBLE way to reasonably prevent that happening with a motorcycle, unlike cars where it CAN be easily & reasonably prevented. And obviously we do not want to ban motorcycles to prevent the operator from being ejected & hurting an innocent bystander as the overall risk of this happening has been deemed "acceptable risk", especially considering motorcycles are significantly less popular than cars. TLDR: seatbelt laws are to protect innocent bystanders 1st & foremost, not to protect the driver. This is why no helmets are allowed on motorcycles, helmet or not, it does NOT change the risk of a motorcycle rider hurting an innocent bystander. And the odds of a innocent bystander being hit by an ejected motorcycle rider has been deemed an "acceptable risk" to continue allowing motorcycles on the road, especially supported by the fact motorcycles are significant less common the vehicles.
Basically, they're "not safe" for the car companies that cannot compete with their prices. With the same lack of safety features, it's just like buying any usual old car, which is still legal, btw. In our country, it's super affordable, and most of it is sold in rural areas only because urban people like to buy only new stuff. All of them were converted into left-hand drives by the resellers, and the one thing I notice is that every one of them has the same engine that is manufactured by Suzuki, and all have the same parts and body except for the brand. The most prominent one is the Suzuki Every Wagon and their carry-kei truck.
My ‘90 Suzuki “Super Multi Roof” has a/c, 4 wheel drive, if you hit the button, fuel injection and turbocharged. I put in a better stereo and ditched the Japanese a.m. radio. This little van is so much fun to drive around town. Here in Florida they are legal but you have to know which DMV to go to and who to see there to get it registered. I’ve had five people in it and still a lot of room for cargo. Insurance is cheap and it sips fuel. I won’t take it on the highway but if I did I suppose it would be….ok-ish. True, if I was hit by an Excursion they wouldn’t even find the ashes but with so much glass I can see one coming ahead of time to avoid it. I only wish we had a Suzuki mechanic around here.
El Paso county is like one of the least insane counties in all of CO, maybe along with Weld. The idiocy of Denver and Boulder counties is spreading fast. Larimer is going downhill fast. Of course, get anywhere outside of the front range and things are a bit more sane.
There's quite a few driving around in Mesa, Delta, Garfield, Pitkin and Eagle counties. The west slope is pretty relaxed with their vehicle registration compared to the Denver/Front Range area.
In PA, they're either banned or about to be. An interesting thing is that a few companies that make off road side by sides think that these Kei trucks are a threat to their market. So if these trucks are a safety issue, how 'bout older cars like antique vehicles, model T's or model A's. They're just as bad with safety, you think? A friend of mine has a Honda Activ and loves it. Some models even have A/C and are super charged. They even make vans. Parts are very available. I've even seen some with left hand drive. Keep up the pressure to keep these Kei trucks legal!
@@slapshotjack9806 I've seen more model Ts than Kei trucks in the past year here. Maybe anecdotal experiences aren't an objective way to evaluate the reality of something.
@@slapshotjack9806 oh, I guess every vehicle from about 1990 and back should be illegal to drive on the highway then! You could get Kei trucks with airbags if only Mercedes hadn’t made it illegal to import a car less than 25 years old. You think 2024 model kei vehicles have no occupant safety?
@@slapshotjack9806 The fact that you can't believe that someone has a different experience than you tells me all I need to know about your intent to actually discuss something.
@@slapshotjack9806 New cars and light trucks since 1998, sure. But you can still register and drive older vehicles without airbags with no problem, which I believe was the point in bringing up older vehicles.
Oklahoma and Arkansas allows them. Arkansas says they can't exceed speeds of 55 MPH, cannot be used on any highway that has a posted speed limit of 65 or higher, and cannot be placed on any limited access highway, or stretch of highway that has limited access. Oklahoma says there is no set top speed for them, but they cannot be driven on any limited access highway, or stretch of limited access, and cannot be driven on turnpikes (which are limited access anyway, so that rule is redundant) I did some looking into getting one since I live on state line in Oklahoma, but do all my errands in Arkansas, and at the time worked in Arkansas.
Red States. Colorado is a rich people woke party state. In Florida with some modifications you can drive little Japanese and Chinese trucks too on public roads. And no surprise: Red State.
How is it that I can drive a crazy fast motorcycle and be considered "safe", but driving a kei truck is considered dangerous. That makes no sense at all. Motorcycles do not have seat belts, kei trucks do...
they are hot items on the Big Island of Hawaii. they are a little underpowered for places that rely heavily on freeway traffic. top speed is something like 55 to 60 mph which makes them suitable for the Big Island because there is only one road that could be considered a freeway. most other roads are more like two lane highways.
I love my 97 Acty, I can drive it to Lowe’s and then bring it home and drive it around the back yard and deliver the materials directly where I need them. It’s fun to drive, gets lots of smiles, and has been a good project vehicle to work on with my boys. I do not take mine on the interstate.
I'm in idaho and it's commonplace to see rich dummies cruising the main roads in their 30k side by sides. Gotta justify blowing that cash on it somehow I guess.
Kei trucks are legal in NC. Check out Mayberry Mini Trucks near Mt Airy, they are responsible for getting the law passed where they can be driven anywhere, yes, even the Interstate.
@@A-OKEI9510 well, tell that to the person that has a mini fire truck driving on 40 in the Triangle. FYI, the minimum allowed speed on an Interstate is 40 mph. I know Tony got the law passed and I consulted several local PD and NCSHP and they said if it can do 40, it can be on the Interstate, remember school bus are limited to 45 mph and are still allowed on the Interstate.
Do any of you guys complaining consider people besides yourself? This thing is too slow for American roads. Nobody wants to sit behind you taking SIXTY seconds to get to 60 mph. Even 45 mph is like a 30-40 second wait. I'd say that's the reason, and slower cars like the Fiat they had just were overlooked. Id allow this thing in New York City and that's about it. You can not have this thing anywhere that has speed limits above 35-40 mph. It is too much of a hinderance to other drivers.
@@Cruor34then ban old people from driving. how about ban traffic and car accidents for causing people to move slow? just because the kei trucks are slow does not mean that that should just be banned.
Thank you guys. I am also a fan of KEI cars and trucks. Agree, how can it be any worse than a motorcycle, a micro car like the Aveo, Sprint, or Metro. Perspective: Chevy Spark 84hp, Scion iQ 94hp, Honda Insight 98hp (Motortrend Aug 4, 2012)
I drove one of the Suzuki vans for a job in Australia. They are really fun to drive, almost like a go-kart. Red line the engine every gear change, accelerator to the floor all the time, nips in and out of traffic and car bays. It's not fast, but it feels fast and it feels fun, which is a quality that is worth more than it's weight in gold.
If states were so concerned about safety, why aren't they banning motorcycles. Of course the reason why they are banning them has nothing to do with safety. It's more protectionist nonsense.
It might not be about safety for the driver but OTHER drivers. This thing is so slow it could cause people to rear end it or would cause people to drive unsafely in order to get around it. It's 0-60 time is stupidly slow. If I were stuck behind this thing on say a 45-60 mph road in a town, I'd take the risk of a ticket and drive on the shoulder/turning lane to get around it. I have things to do. This vehicle is ok for New York City where the speed limit is 25 mph (think they are trying to get it down to 20) but is simply not a reasonable vehicle for anywhere else in this country. Maybe Boston/Chicago.
@@Cruor34 that sounds like your problem, driving illegally and dangerously for no good reason. people drive 18 wheelers, tractors, and other equipment on roads all the time at speeds much lower than a kei truck. just slow down
I agree, one time a Kei truck killed me and my entire family. Then it went and stole from the homeless, sold crack to children, and smoked some of the devils lettuce. They are completely out of hand. Thank you local and federal governments for keeping these terrible, immoral, devil worshiping Kei trucks off our streets!
Your video came pretty close to my (external) experience with Kei trucks: I live in Kalispell, Montana. We are 2 hours from the nearest Interstate, for reference. Several years ago, for about 2 weeks, I almost daily was stuck behind a Kei truck driving up the 2-lane highway west of town. The lady driving this truck was holding up about 1/4 mile of traffic, as she was in a 60mph zone and would only top-out at about 42mph. During some small hills, she was lugged down to as far as 22mph. Most of the time, she was doing 33-38mph. So the safety aspect is primarily for THE REST OF THE WORLD. Imagine dozens of frustrated drivers stuck behind this p.o.s., unable to pass due to oncoming traffic, and therefore taking a chance to pass whenever they could get it, and taking risks by passing in too short of a clearance space. Lots of us were honking in protest as we passed this inconsiderate lady. Yes, I can understand that it's an efficient little truck and maybe fun or whatever. But it is a danger to everybody else. It is also a danger to you. Here in Montana, deer strikes are extremely common, sometimes involving elk or even a moose. I went 21 years driving in Colorado without ever hitting a deer, and was almost 50 years old when I first had an incident with a deer here in Montana. Since then, deer have now wrecked 2 of our cars, and we've had 5 total contacts with deer in the last 4 years. We're exceedingly lucky compared to seemingly everybody else here; deer strikes are indeed extremely common. Now, imagine you hit a 700-lb elk in a Kei truck at any speed. You'll be dead but the elk will be annoyed. As far as I've heard, the maximum speed limit anywhere in all of Japan is 100kmph / 62mph. When my sister lived there for 8 years, she only ever drove on roads that were a maximum of 60kmph / 36mph. So she was absolutely terrified to come home and ride on the L.A. highways. A Kei truck in a place where you rarely get above 36mph is just fine; that's what it's built for. But that's sure as heck not Montana. And I lived in Colorado long enough to know how dangerous the roads and traffic are, so I know that those underpowered suckers should not hit the big city roads nor Interstates. Go drive that sucker in downtown Denver (or worse: Colorado Springs) during rush hour and tell me how the opinion of it by people around you is. Follow-up to my above story: I researched what the legality of Kei trucks is for Montana. Apparently, the national standard is to say that they are only allowed on Federal highways (Interstates or US Highways) if the particular state explicitly passes a law that allows it. Montana has no such rule. I therefore called and complained to the local State Highway Patrol about this lady. I saw her on the highway once more the next day, then never again. I do see a handful of Kei trucks around the county once in a while, but never on the highways, where they are deadly threats for their occupants and the people desperately trying to get around them.
@HeckingLoser 19 hours ago One of the things about older kei vans is that they were a little heavy and pretty short geared. Going into the late 90s and early 00s the gearing often improved and you'd even start to see overdrive on other kinds of kei vehicles, as well as plenty of airbags. Watch this space in 5 years or so when newer models start rolling into the states - we're already enjoying them over in the UK.
The little Truck is very popular in Europe. If vou have to carry a sofa, or going camping this vehicles are great. Or for a small business -- a Café, a boutique, that's perfect. Great vídeo, Thank you
no we didn't, for example we voted No on same sex marriage bill and they rammed it down our throats anyway. We've been hoodwinked with rigged elections too, to force liberal policies. Coloradans are not aligned with Denver weirdos and are actually down to Earth and conservative.
The modern Kei vehicles in Japan are great. Airbags, good sound systems, nice fit & finish, etc. it’s a crime Americans can’t access them. There are a gazillion little trucks on farms in the countryside of Japan, a gazillion truck & delivery vans in the cities, and a gazillion mini-minivans in the cities. An impressive thing is how roomy the mini-minivans are. I’m 6’5”/196cm and can comfortably drive or be a passenger in our Honda kei minivan. The small size is great for urban driving.
Owned the Daihatsu van version when I was living in Japan. Great little van, very easy to work on, super mileage. In Hawaii these mini pickups and vans are legal and are proliferating.
I am retired in the Philippines and I own the Suzuki van version of this with turbo and 4WD, 660 cc motor. There is an entire industry here that converts these to left hand drive and they customize them. You can get the regular pickup, the crew cab pickup with a shorter bed, or the minivan version that I have. I paid $4,600 for mine and I am happy with it
The comparison of the Fiat & this K truck was perfect. I had a 1985 Isuzu pup truck, 2.2 non-turbo diesel & 55 mph is all it will do, that Honda k truck is just as safe if not even safer than the Isuzu.
From what I’ve been able to determine K-trucks (also called Kei Trucks) are legal in all states EXCEPT Louisiana and Nebraska but most states require them to be licensed as an LSV (low speed vehicle) which is restricted to streets with speed limits of 35 mph or less.
Which makes them useless for their intended purpose, because most states have a default speed limit higher than that 55 is a pretty common default speed limit. There might be a few places where you can use an LSV on the roads, but in most places, you're going to have to go on at least a 45 MPH road to get to the grocery store or the hardware store. Kei vehicles are cars, not LSVs, LSVs are supposed to be stuff like 4x4s and golf carts, not 60+MPH capable fully enclosed vehicles with seatbelts and airbags.
@@bow-tiedengineer4453 That is all true. However, as stated in the video, K-trucks over a certain age are exempt as “historical vehicles”. Rather than discouraging people from buying them by saying they are illegal, people should be encouraged to buy them as a LSV now and convert them over as they get old enough. This will help the states to realize they are not the death traps they are made out to be and encourage them to change the laws concerning them.
@@Voyajer. Yes, in Ohio they are considered LSVs and can be imported as such. And at least in Summit county most roads have speed limits of 35 or less so they would be road legal in most of the county.
My friend got hit in his Sambar. He was very badly hurt, but he lived and is expected to make a full recovery. I think it's a terrible shame that we don't import more light duty and light-medium duty trucks like Townace, Elf, and Canter Guts. They're a little bigger, but still smaller than anything we can buy here. This was a few months ago. Last week another friend crashed her Harley, and is 4 rooms down in the same hospital. Her injuries are also bad, but she didn't get hit, just hit a guardrail and laid her bike down face arm and leg first.
The thing I love about these trucks is that for $5000-$10000, they’re basically “expendable”. I have no qualms about getting it scratched up while driving through narrow trails in the woods, putting all manner of crap in bed (literally that, if you’re a farmer), or chucking firewood into the bed. Would you do that in your $80k luxo truck??? Use the kei truck for the tough stuff and save your other vehicles.
@@awesomeferret That's literally the reason that people are trying to ban them. There are modern trucks being made and sold in the US that are twice as big with the same bed space, an unnecessarily large V-8, and completely block your view so that you can't see pedestrians. These trucks also cost more that $20,000 USED, while a BRAND NEW Kei truck costs less than half that once all is said and done. These trucks are more efficient, compact, useful, and cheaper than an F-150 could ever hope to be. TLDR: Shut the hell up.
@@cadetkohr5508 I can buy a used F-150 tomorrow morning with enough HP (from that mean old V8) to haul an entire mobile home with it's own space for my motorbikes & have a 8 foot bed for anything else I want AND I GET AIRBAGS, HIGHWAY SPEEDS, A/C & REAL SEATS NOT A REUSED BUS SEAT for $4,500, why would I want to spend months importing an even older slower uncomfortable utility vehicle? Btw The only company still making Kei trucks is Suzuki, everyone else stopped making them because their only market (old farmers) stopped buying them, they all use tractors & ATVs.
I thought these little trucks were cool until I got stuck behind one on a 45 MPH road (so 50 to 55 MPH commuting for most drivers). This mini-truck couldn't keep up with traffic, and had people blocked for about a mile back during rush hour traffic.
Would you have tried to push past a motorcyclist who is entitled to the whole road surface in his lane.... just like the Kei truck? Were there double no passing lines restricting ANYONE from overtaking ANY vehicle?
I can't imagine it would be too difficult to source anything you need from a number of import places or direct from Japan, they made so many after all; spare parts shouldn't be a hard ask for a long time
@@mikefletcher7181 add to that, japan laws kind of incentivize getting newer versions of them every at least few years vs keeping one for 10~15+ years, so the value of them there drop super fast so parts are relatively common especially for the more common Kei vehicles
It's funny to watch Americans amazed by kei trucks while here in Brazil we had a officially imported truck/van called "Towner" since the 90's up to 2015 which are essentially kei trucks, same size. Made by Asia (Kia brand) and later by Hafei (chinese). Back in the day was common to see the van version of the Towner being used as a Hot Dog stand.
This doesn't seem that hard to understand...all of the examples of non-compliant vehicles that are OK to drive are very old and therefore grandfathered in. The point of safety standards is to ensure vehicles being made today are up to current standards of safety. If they allow modern vehicles of actual utility (as opposed to old collector cars for recreation) to be driven without meeting standards then you're basically just opening a massive loophole to allow any POS from any country to get imported in and subvert the entire safety standard framework, hence rendering it ineffectual altogether.
I don't really get why nobody exports these vehicles from europe. Such vans and trucks are on sale in many european countries since almost forever. And they are usually left hand drive and have a bigger engine since europe has no K-car rules. A local plumber a few blocks away from my home used to have a whole fleet of Suzuki Super Carrys. Great vehicles for the narrow streets of medieval european town centers.
Same here. I live in Vancouver, BC and went to one of the larger JDM Kei importers here and asked if he'd import some LHD Kei's from Germany and he was baffled by the idea. A lot of people don't buy them to use them as practical vehicles, they buy them to have a JDM vehicle. Same reason people drive RHD versions of models already sold in north america.
@@Kevin-hp5fkwhy they dont imported them from latin america? Here in Costa Rica there are lhd models, we call them "ice scrapers" since they are common to see this kind of cars use by people that sell homemade slushies
![Buying a Mini Truck for My New Daily Driver [Subaru Sambar]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/X3U40oYiIow/mqdefault.jpg)
They're illegal because they're so cheap and affordable🤷🏻! All the companies can't sell their 80k luxury trucks if you're buying an old little Honda for less than 5k. That's why they want them illegal.
@slapshotjack9806 This is a fine example of the people they pay to discourage you from buying it😂. How much were you paid to say that buddy? Do motorcycles have all those safety features other than the speed????? You could just buy it for city use and stay off the freeway 🤷🏻. But that would require using your brain to much and thinking about it before going on the freeway.
Or you could upgrade the engine because it's a Honda and make it go faster😉. You're an Imbecile. Shut your mouth. Go find a pool and look for the scratch and sniff sticker at the bottom 😂😂😂😂.
@@slapshotjack9806 so ban them from highways? it's a common law in many countries.
@@slapshotjack9806
But motorcycles are??
@@slapshotjack9806 highway speeds is understandable, but motorcycles do not have air bags, crumple zones, nor seat belts. Yet they are considered safer??
@@slapshotjack9806 legally you only have to wear a helmet and that seems to be very lightly enforced where I’m at.
If the states are so concerned about safety they need to ban motorcycles.*
*Please don’t actually do that
Amen
There should be a restriction on hood heights too, we banned pop-up headlights for pedestrian safety but it’s totally fine to have the hood of your dually be 5’ high
these states need to ban politicians
@@Fhwgads11not only that, but so many SUVs are so high off the ground, that you are likely to get dragged under them.
Ehhhh, I've only seen douches on bikes, never anyone who knows the rules of the road. Odd times I do, they're in their sixties.
They're so worried about "safety". But not worried about rising hoodlines that obliterate and overrun pedestrians. Great to see politicians care about us.
Also, the Tesla Cybertruck with it's angular and razor sharp body panels that will cleanly bisect any pedestrian that it hits.
I have a Ford Falcon utility with a canopy on, and one time I couldn't find it. Yep, hidden behind a giant American truck!
@@CWINDOWSsystem32 It's amazing that the cyber truck is bad at every kind of safety
@@ianhelyar6383 Very annoying how many of those stupid giant things are coming into Australia. Even here in Hobart where they must be a massive pain in the arse to navigate around the narrow roads!!
i own what used to be considered a large full size mercedes sedan in the 80s, with a high ride height too.
you cant even see it if it’s in-front of you bumper to bumper at a stop light
The Kei pickups are a threat to domestic car manufacturers, because once the suburban homeowner realizes that this is what they need for those Lowe's and Home Depot runs, even the Maverick becomes less of a desirable purchase option.
bigger bed than a Maverick and better fuel economy.
don’t even get started about how popular these would be with college kids or high schoolers. these are perfect little hotrods or cheap EV swaps, the vans are the spiritual successors to the hippie vans of the 60s too.
Unfortunately suburbanites are too propagandized to realize kei trucks are good for them
Absolutely correct. 💯
I actually own a maverick hybrid and after researching it still will get better gas mileage than the kei. trucks But on the other hand I'd love to have a Kei truck too
The real irony of these being called "dangerous" is that they're so much safer than massive pickup trucks for anyone not in a vehicle too
Kei cars don't need to pass crash tests in Japan
@@Mofapilotsome SUVs don’t have to here.
@@pile_of_trash Didn't knew that!
@@pile_of_trash what SUV in the 2024 model year does not have to pass crash test safety standards?
As far as I know the only vehicles sold in the United States currently that do not go through crash test ratings are low volume, low production vehicles and this was done to allow startup companies to make low production cars it is a good thing for the car hobby and it was recently implemented.
The occupant of a vehicle is the priority for safety. Everyone else not in the vehicle is of no concern to manufacturers during a crash.
they do not want cheap, small, easy to work on vehicles in the marketplace. they want as much of our income as absolutely possible be required to go into our vehicles, and to strip as much freedom from us as they can.
They want people to buy f-150s for 100k and get 13 mpg.
@@agentrex_adventures a lot of places dont
@@agentrex_adventures Because the van is nowhere near as versatile as the truck. You watched the video right?..
Did you see how much space the truck bed had with all the sides down VS being stuck in the van which has an even smaller interior than a MINI-van....
@@JGreen-le8xx I'm not sure if you know this or if it will change your opinion of the vans versatility or not. But the seats in the back of the van can fold down to have just as much "bed" space as the truck. And I don't mean that the seats just fold the back part down and create some stupid hump in the back. The seats go into the floor to make a nice perfectly flat surface. Of course it doesn't have foldable sides like the truck, but on a good amount of the vans you can take the headrests off and fold the seats flat into a bed. Sorry about the giant text wall, I just really love the van versions of the kei trucks and not as many people talk about them.
@@commentman192 OMG....😞
I know all about vans..WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THIS VAN WHICH IS A KEI VAN ! IT LITERALLY HAS LESS STORAGE THAN A DECENT HATCHBACK CAR!!!
These get forbidden in the US but the cybertruck is allowed? Bonkers.
Dumb question
@@TheCoreBreakdownquestion? I think it was a statement. Unlike elons toy which is a disgrace.
@@jwalster9412If it was a statement, why use a question mark? This is not a good question. Tesla is way safer than these.
@@alanhinkel420 it was a statement? He wasn't asking a question, he ended the first part with a '?' and the second with a '.' meaning he was stating something he was questioning, not something he needed to be answered.
@@jwalster9412 well, it’s s dumb statement.
Worried about Americans figuring out that big is not better. They are popular world wide, and they are sold new all over the world.
They're too affordable and desirable that it'll threaten highly profitable SUVs
Nope that's not it.
Tiny engine cars are not good on wide stretch american roads
@@toyotaprius79 You actually think that the average American will even want one of these things? They're terrible for American roads.
@@bludclone True
The problem is they want to outlaw these vehicles and not the giant bro-dozers. The roads would be way safer without those on it.
Exactly. The stupidity of current day America is baffling to me. Unfortunately, it's spreading over here to the UK too. Now every other car on the road over here is an SUV. There's also a lot of guys buying Ford Ranger T6's, which are noticeably larger and taller than any of the previous Ranger's. Another difference is I used to see loads of old Ranger's actually being used as work trucks with all the dents, scrapes and bed attachments you'd expect to see on a work truck, whereas I'm pretty sure guys are only buying the T6's to give off an "alpha" image because I've never seen so much as a speck of dust on any of them and it seems the only thing the owners of them use the bed for is to haul around their inflated egos.
@@Kenobi-vu9mb Soccer Tanks
@@LifeofBrad1 Also spreading in Australia. Ergh....
The full size trucks meet DOT standards. The light trucks from Japan do not.
For the right, abortion is only meant to be after the kids have been alive for years.
As an Aussie, it sounds crazy to me hearing Americans talk about the situation over there, given that for a long time you could actually walk into a dealership here and drive out in a new Kei car, van or truck, most of which I recall were sold here by Suzuki and Daihatsu, and there’s little if any restrictions on importing them. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s less about “safety” and more about protecting the sales of freedom trucks
GOTTA BUY LOTSA FUEL SO OUR BIG GUY GETS HIS 10%
Yeah but Australia did ban full size pick-ups for decades if I'm not mistaken they just recently opened their markets to full size pick-ups and I hear all the snow flakes down under aren't to happy about it. But I think your right it's about protecting US small truck makers. Guess they don't want a repeat of the 70's and , when Asia took over the small car market in the US with fuel efficient economy cars.
@@johnshackford most places require additional licenses to drive full size pickups and SUVs that 16yr old learners permit holders or drivers who are too short to see over the dash have full access to here. Their system is better.
@@markcoopers1930 WTF does height have to do with anything ? Their system isn't better I live in Asia. They hand out drivers licenses like candy over here.
We do have restrictions here
I think (not 100% sure) that we can import and register any of the Kei trucks up to 1997 and then 2014 onwards
The 1998-2013 don’t meet our safety standards that were in place for those years
I think it’s mainly airbag related
Many truck owners can't park their full-sized trucks in their garages. You could easily fit two of these kei trucks inside of one garage bay and still have room for your lawn mower, snow blower and a bunch of empty boxes that you "May need someday".
the truck is the box that they "may use someday" 🤣 they just carry those boxes with them everyday!
you can park these on your porch.
Kei trucks are death traps but motorcycles and scooters aren’t.
Government logic at work.
And before anyone starts, no I am not advocating for making two wheeled vehicles illegal.
Political correctness is not at all correct. It is almost always corrupt. Our nation is a lot less free than it was in 1945.
Motorbikes CAN be risky if handled by a poor rider. Pickups and SUVs, however, are the real death traps. They're too massive to be functional.
the big difference is the term truck, the motorcycles and scooters aren't in the category of truck so that is the big difference also those kei trucks haven't airbags, have not esp, an crash with a larger SUV And your die immediately because doesn't even have a big weight and the doors aren't thicker but thin and also is dangerous for the rest of the users on the roads , if transport loads
@@megacap55 But we have motorcycles/scooters legal to road use with no metal between you and whatever hits you, your comparison isn't a great example. It's not a "truck" most of the early 1970's Japanese import "trucks" were as flimsily made as this cabover if not worse.
@@tauncfester3022 but are not in the cars or trucks vehicles of 2 to 4 passengers or under CAFE
Fun fact Texas just classified these as cars back in April of this year, and they can be titled and registered and driven on public roads. Although I would advise staying off the highways. But the 25 year rule still applies to them
Louisiana as well allowed them as well during the Bobby Jindal era, in 2008 or so, but speeds are capped at 55 mph but most Highways in our state are that... No interstate driving and no highways that are partial or no access to emergency vehicles or something like that. 25 year rules are that as well...
And also can get registered and titled as long as you have taillights, headlights, mirrors for the passenger and driver and the basic stuff like that as well.
If Texas is similar to our state when it gets to that potentially, both are in common tbh.
It was also thanks to the Kei truck community in Texas They worked with law makers to make them legal
@@f1champ551 there isn't a speed cap for them in texas right now but everything has to work on them just like any other car and highway speeds over here are 75mph
@UCJfwWR2jYSkaiFPTPorI9gA yep I was one of the guys that signed the petition to get them legal!
I would be very scared driving these in TX, here in TX they love their trucks big, and they drive fast. Even 18 wheelers fly down the road well beyond the max speed of these Kei cars.
Totally agree it makes no sense for K trucks to be illegal to register in the States when so many less safe vehicles are ok.
Especially the cars and truck that are 3 stars of less in safety on the roads too and are made in the states and also by the main 3 automakers and also some foreign automakers too!
As kei vehicle owners and JDM enthusiasts, we need to band together and fight this on a country-wide level. We need big names helping us out to be taken more seriously. I would love to see TFL help take on this fight. Massachusetts just banned all JDM vehicles. Any JDM that doesn't have a 17-digit vin is in Jeopardy. We all need to fight!
Another thing to keep in mind is that, while Kei trucks are undeniably less safe for their drivers, they are vastly more safe for other vehicles and pedestrians around you. The people in the Kei truck are literally the only people adversely affected by the decreases safety standards of the Kei truck, as they aren't unsafe in any way that effects others, and due to their small size and great visibility, it's easier to see and stop for pedestrians, and you are less likely to harm anything you might hit in them. Compare this to a big American pickup, where you can line up a dozen kids in front of them and still see nothing over the hood, and which are big enough that you can entirely overrun something or completely crush a small vehicle.
Even more so when those trucks are modified - either lifted to where the bottom of the front bumper is level with the roof of a regular car, or squatted where the driver can only see the sky while driving. A lift to a kei truck by the same magnitude would probably only make it as tall as a Subaru Outback.
I posted a lengthy comment that explains this, but in short: You are incorrect. The safety aspect isn't about impact; it's about being a slow-moving blockade on a high-speed road.
@@Javelier But most of these vehicles can go 60 MPH, which means that, aside from very fast interstate highways, they are perfectly capable of keeping up with traffic.
@@Javelier say that as if any other kei car isn't legal either. man has a street legal model T so if you want to talk about blocking traffic😭
@@bow-tiedengineer4453 A zero-to-zixty time of 75 seconds says otherwise.
I'm not going to go too deep into the details, but the reason states are cracking down on these is industry lobbying. And interestingly, if you do a little bit of digging, it's the same group of lobbyists who got states to change their old moped laws c. 2008 (in the recession) to have 50cc mopeds treated the same as full sized motorcycles (ie, registered as motorcycles, insured as motorcycles, motorcycle license required). The aim of which was IMO to keep people from "trading down" from a car to a scooter to save money (prior to this, most states let you drive a moped with a regular driver's license, and often with no insurance, so treating mopeds like full sized motorcycles made them more difficult and expensive for an average car person to get into). This group has been pushing these laws through under the guise of "standardization" - they claim they just want all states to have the same laws, but you don't have to squint to hard to see that the real aim is to try and force people to buy new cars.
i dunno how a system with lobbyists started but holy hell its evil
Our freedoms are an illusion.
Just about done wit dc💩🤷🏿♂️
The environmentalists at work. Make buying a smaller vehicle that is cheap to run and more realistically environmentally friendly as hard as possible so instead you leverage people into hybrids or better yet EV's to boost numbers to use as proof that environmentalists are on the right track and need more power in policy making.
@@Hybris51129 I would think enviromentalists would want smaller vehicles in general, electric or not, no?
Texas and North Carolina are two states where the kei trucks were banned, but the ban later got reversed as kei users fought back against the lobbyists.
NC here: Yep, not going back now, we have dealerships everywhere and I see them all over the triangle. If they tried again, it’d be a waste of money.
@@kennygaming208AlexMartini explains who it is that's making these policy suggestions to the states.
Just bought my own 1998 Jimny 4x4 JB23. I believe it's going to be restricted from use on interstates (or highways over 55mph posted speed), classified as a mini-truck. Unless the DMV hooks me up & just lets me title it as an SUV/Pick-up!
I own a '96 Daihatsu HiJet Climber. In Indiana, there is a special title/license for mini trucks, which are legal everywhere, except interstate highways. Not sure I want to run mine on a 70 MPH road with tons of semi-trailers trucks anyway. It crises at 65-70 just fine, unless there is a headwind. At these speeds, I can take my hands off the wheel and it runs completely strr\aight and steady. The lobby groups most against these trucks are the side by side folks who don't want this competition. For a much lower cost, I have a vehicle with a plow that I can run on the street, and has an enclosed cab with heat, and some have A/C.
Also some have selectable 4 wheel drive and some have tipping tray options also, remember !
I drove my 1990 and 1991 bedford rascal/suzuki carry on motorways/interstate highways in uk no problem for years ... im also a motorcyclist..and the van is much much safer i think our fuel has a higher octane rating than the US so the engines had a bit more power over here...
Ive had 85 mph (indicated) in my uk spec suzuki carry (on a closed road of course ;) ...) with a piano in the back (true story)
We need this truck or something like it for America ! The US pickup manufacturers are certainly behind some of the laws against these. It's a perfect Hone Depot or Lowe's runner ! I'd like to buy one myself !
I have seen a Suzuki Carry van with three 200lb+ guys across the front seats come up to an intersection and the driver deliberately stood hard on the brakes, lifting the rear wheels off the ground....
and at the top of the arc...
they all leaned to the left...
and the truck fell over on it's side.
They then climbed up out of the driver's door, lifted the van back on it's wheels....
and buzzed off into the night.
Great party trick...
While the story sounds apocryphal, I have seen something very similar done on a construction site. When empty, the load on the back wheels on some models is not much at all.
I don't think anyone is dropping their car and wrinkling up the tinfoil door panels and destroying mirrors on purpose.
I saw a big SUV and a monster truck kill people on the news. Just because someone uses it wrong way doesn't mean its unsafe or any car truck would be banned for that reasoing, I'm sure if a cop saw that they would have given them a ticket for reckless driving just as any person doing something reckless on the road
@@the_kombinator you be surprised. there are rich guys who just buy old cars just to destroy them. it's like a weird hobby to them. like their living a childish dream they can't grow out of.
My concern? Too many people saying the van version is the same as the truck version, instead of it getting the truck unbanned, it'll just get the van banned instead.
Van versions are actually better balanced, they have more weight on the rear. That is one of the most dangerous things about these vehicles is if you do a panic stop from highway speed they will just flip on their nose. I owned one and put a lot of road miles on it and I totally understand the ban.
@@CarswithNashi dont, it should be the choice of the American people on whether we wanna drive a death trap or not, motorcycles suffer from this same issue you talk about, yet are still road legal at least if you do a stopping in the kei truck you have a cab to protect you, unlike motorcycles, also 3 wheelers are very dangerous on the road such as the reliant robin yet they aren’t banned to license, this is just a way for lobbiests to get a cheap vehicle banned that can be put into the hands of the masses and undercut the auto industry
@@CarswithNash If a person wants to drive a supposed "death-trap", by god let them drive the supposed death-trap.
@joelthorstensson2772 Don't get me wrong, I didn't say I agree with the ban, I'm against stifling freedoms... I just said I understand it, these vehicles don't belong on a fast moving road.
@@CarswithNashthen let's legislate them to 50 mph max and enforce it stringently
We've been importing KEI vehicles for almost 40 years now.
Where are the statistics documenting all the fatal accidents involving them. I'll be waiting
Same thing, wanted that question to be answered as well.
Shhhh, don't ask for the data. Accept the governments decisions blindly. Now go buy your base model, 75k, 22ft long, "small", American made pickup truck that can barely handle hauling basic items.
Given that they are not and have never been imported or sold into the United States, I doubt there is a significant sample size.
@bradleyfried
There are a lot of them here...they have to be at least 25 years old, but there are many places that are selling the little vans and pickups.
30 years ago I drove a Suzuki Carry, 850 cc van (in the Netherlands). It was my first car and it was great.
The guy who I hired as mechanic was 2m and 10 cm's. That was a tall guy. When he had to test-drive my tiny van, designed for small people, he had to fold himself behind the wheel, and reach for the gear-shift under his knee, and could only set in in 2nd gear.
I drove my van on highways and got more comfortable with that over time. But when I went to a car-dump to get spare parts, I'd see the wrecks and was reminded of how a car without crumple-zone looks after an accident. It made me more aware after such a sighting, for a while.
I could transport anything with it, even an 8-person orchestra with instruments, including a contra-bass. I drove over 3000 kilometre on a holiday, and slept in the van, as a make-shift camper.
Beste feature: because it was so small I could always find a parking-spot in a crowded parking garage, in between pillars that other cars would not fit.
Seen from above it took up the same space as an original Mini Cooper, stationcar version.
My Suzuki Carry was the size as a couch and a bed, and it was a great car.
LOL your right old VW micro busses were the same. But as long as you kept insane people away these vehicles did fine. back in the late 60's there were even double height VW ambulances but if you get trained drivers they did fine
Well. The highest amount of motor vehicle fatalities in the US occur in..................Silverados......
I would have thought Cadilac Escalade or modern big Chevy Suburban would have been biggest killer as drivers of vehicles are poor drivers.
@@caseysmith544 Bad drivers are not as dangerous as arrogant ones, which is what 90% of TRUGHCK owners are. Especially if they own a Ram.
@@ootdega Or own an Escalade as they are arrogant and/or too old where Cadilac was once a super Luxury brand but is more a mid level luxury brand on par with Lincoln or Lexus.
The reason they are so popular in Japan is because they are cheap. A special tax loophole allows for their existence, which is why they meet the dimensions and specifications that they do. Otherwise the taxes are much higher. Also useful for parking in congested Japanese cities.
not to mention its a perfect all around use vehicle outside in country sides
@@Area_man115 That's not entirely true. The safety standards are the same for these small vehicles, as they are for regular cars and trucks.
Aww, other countries dont have sprawling suburbs? American mad @@Area_man115
@@TrinomCZ Do you actually know that to be true or are you just saying it?
I mean look at the things, they're all cabover design but most don't even have an engine under the seat or under your feet - So there is literally no structural integrity or crumple zone, the new ones have a driver's airbag, there's no passenger airbag.
Are the safety standards the same?
Safety standards in 2024 require reverse cameras, ABS, ESC, lane keep assist, blind spot indicator, etc. These things obviously don't have any of that.
Hey look, neither does my truck, I'm not saying these things are necessary I'm just saying you're talking trash.
@@elliotkane4443 Go watch a smart car being crashed.. size has nothing to do with safety.
"safety standards in 2024 require x y z".. In the US... What about where they are made for?
and you can't import new ones into the US.. same as importing rare / desireable cars like R34's... 25 yr rule.
So your comparing a 25 yr old Kei truck to something that is brand new and 5-10 times the size (requireing cameras for you to see)
@kevinbarry71 They don't exist "because of a loophole", it was entrirely intentional.
These are built for the extremely narrow roads and lanes found around japanese towns and cities. The "loophole" is a tax break because thats the kind of vehicle they wanted most people in as they cause less issues and you can fit more on the roads.. Which is important when your population density is as high as theirs is.
Kei van owner here. The van have been in my family since it was new in 1993 and my mother have accidents were people crash into her into the driver door and nothing unusual happen only some whiplash and the last time i crash from the front nothing happen to me, my knees and legs were ok the car was a bit smashed but the nissan i crashed into was demolished, not even the front glass lamps were cracked, only the bumper and the plastic indicators.
I guess Nissans are just as fragile in Japan as they are here.
You should be legally required to notify potential passengers that you’re a terrible driver and you’re from a family with bad luck.
@@keithb6717 the dude that side fly by a stop sign ,and the front colition was because a grandpa take a corner to wide and fast .
@@ramonponce4539
So you agree. Bad luck in family.
@@keithb6717 i guess 2 accidents in 28 years are bad luck
You guys briefly mentioned some people blame it being right hand drive as why they should be banned, but basically all of the USPS mail trucks are right hand drive so they can deliver to mailboxes.
They have the left hand drive models in the Philippines.
Funny how the big three benefit the most if all right hand drive cars get banned. Their lobbyists are hard at work trying to get the next government bailout
Well there's nothing stopping any other rhd vehicle that passes the 25 year rule from, being imported and registered. And yes mail carriers love factory rhd stuff. I wish we could get options newer than 25 years old because it sucks that I couldn't buy something newer than 1999. I bought a 97 MY Toyota Estima Lucida. But think about all the advancements made to vans since then. I would have much preferred to buy a newer one that had modern amenities like say.....a sliding door on BOTH sides. This whole crap is just the lobbying industry keeping laws in place that favor themselves by banning foreign options. It's almost like we aren't nearly the free market economy that people try to portray the US as.
RHD is not an issue. People import and drive LHD American cars into Japan for the novelty.
A couple months ago I saw a Cybertruck in the wild for the first time. A few minutes later, I saw a Kei van in the wild for the first time. I was far more excited to see the Kei van.
Same exact reason why they put a hit piece on the Suzuki samurai.
They did not last long in the rust belt. BUT not a good idea to run them at Freeway speeds in the left lane. The engine was not made for that.
But they did do well in the snow while they lasted.
if the states are concerned about these trucks being "unsafe" then they need to ban the Ford Model T or the Willy's Jeep as those are a lot more dangerous than that tiny pickup truck, the real reason is the car companies are afraid of competition
or the beetle or the gremlin. I bet old mustangs are just as bad too
@@nermket4849
No. Of all the old subcompact cars of the same 1970 era, the Gremlin was likely the safest. A Gremlin is actually a compact Hornet with a chopped rear. Way safer than an old beetle and safer than a Pinto or a Vega.
c90 adventure fan i see!
Competition from used 30 year old compact trucks? We already have those here in the US just slightly bigger with an actually comfortable interior, they're called S10s, rangers & HiLux
@@SomeGuy_Somewhere I had a TOYOTA SE5 loved that truck
These were sold brand new in the US. I used to buy the Daihatsu version for the military in the 90s. There was a limit on how many cars and trucks the military could buy, but these didn't count, so we bought a lot of them for travel on base. They were left hand drive and had plates but weren't legal for travel off base.
Thats how they should be used, on a military base or in a city. They should not be legal on any road with a speed limit above 40 mph, simply too slow and weak, hinderance to traffic.
That's really interesting...did they only sell the vans or also the trucks? Come to think of it I think I've seen them on university campuses as well, although that's still mostly sxs and increasingly EVs
@@chir0pterthe University of Wisconsin had a bunch of these ( Suzuki vans and trucks) they had a special license and a slow moving vehicle sign. I don't think they got them out on the hyway. I'm pretty sure the maintenance staff liked them...judging by the way they drove them...seeing them on a snow day in the fleet parking lot was certainly amusing.
@@chir0pter We only bought the truck versions. However, I did a quick search of GSA contracts and Vantage Vehicle International has a contract for various types on their website in EV and ICE variants. I won't link it, but a Google search will find it.
Let’s be clear, this is a money grab by insurance companies and the big automakers. I have a Subaru Sambar ks4 registered in NY. Still fighting for my title here. I ride motorcycles as well. Can’t tell me one is safer than the other. Maybe they should ban 8000 lbs Teslas that can take out almost any other car and not these. You are telling me those 3 wheeled T-Rex’s or Polaris slingshots are safer than these? Let’s also make it clear it’s not discriminatory to just the trucks, but all Kei vehicles, at least that’s the case for NY. I have taken mine on the interstate and parkways with no issues. No safety or emissions standards should apply to any imported vehicle over 25 years old. That’s what my paperwork says from the federal government when I imported my truck and paid all appropriate taxes and duties. I’ll give the state my plates back when they refund me all my money aka they aren’t getting the plates back any time soon 😂
If you've already registered it, that's gonna be grandfathered in. I just wouldn't give my plates in lol.
The heaviest tesla is 6700lbs, lighter than a f250
You mention 3-wheelers; great analogy, manufacturers wanted to move on to 4 wheelers ( higher price) across the board since Honda had ( 3-wheeler) dimensions tied up in patents. Apparently there was an expiration date on the law but I have not seen the return of the 3whlr.
The new Ram pickup is 8800 lbs and the cybertruck is just under 7000. Trucks today are absolutely huge and unaffordable.
It's not a money grab. DOT safety standards and the reduction of vehicular fatalities in the US over the last 50 years is a major achievement.
I don't think it's the big truck companies that are threatened. I think it's the companies that sell compact tractors and side by sides. For example there's the Kubota.
Eliminating traffic congestion in larger cities should be an incentive to make them road legal ,along with a major reduction in emissions, plus less wear, and tear on the roadways. Besides that,not many can afford a $70,000-$100,000 giant 4 door short bed pickup truck.
On the Coast Guard base where I was stationed In the early 90s we had several tiny Daihatsu pickups They were fun to whip around.
You can actually buy surplus Kei trucks and vans from government auction sites along with Humvees.
i own a 1995 suzuki kei van, the laws banning that there are absurd. my van can't get to 60mph. so that's a safety feature 😂😂
Also a reason to keep them off any interstate highways.
I drove these, back in the 90's, when I was in the Coast Guard. These are hugely popular on military bases.
Safe as or safer than a motorcycle. Just got my Mitsubishi Gorilla and had no issues getting it registered in Washington State. 😊
The van version, to me, are known as “bread vans”.
Both because they are shaped like a loaf of bread, and because when I was growing up in the deep south of Ireland, these little bouncy Suzuki vans were literally the delivery vans for various bread companies, delivering their bread to shops in the early morning on our shitty little Irish roads 😂
They’re awesome things to drive, they’ve got such a fun wobble to them.
I've spent more than half my life traveling around in an Indonesian-built Suzuki Futura (a slightly larger Suzuki Carry with a bigger engine). Still not dead yet.
I drove a 1999 Matiz in Korea for 4 years, and in Canada for 9. I'm still here.
Dead people have trouble making comments on RUclips, I've found.
@@Andronicus2007 Found the F150 fan.
The EPA might even be among those lobbying against them, because of the stupid footprint rule.
Definitely are. It's all a scam.
These should be legal everywhere, except on the interstate highways. They are likely safer in a crash than a motorcycle. What if you obtained an out-of-state vehicle registration? Just saying...
Apparently registering the Truck in Montana is a popular option.
The Philippines imports these units too, but they do have a left side driving requirement for them. No right hand steering allowed. So they have refab shops that will retrofit them into left hand drive and rebuild them to factory new appearance. You can buy one for $3000-8000.00 depending on options, and you can even get crew cab configurations in the pickups. And they can also be imported to the U.S.
We can license and register them in the state of Texas. If i remember correctly, we just can't drive them on a road with a higher posted speed limit than 55mph because that's pretty much their max speed.
Same in Louisiana, allowed in highways that are 55 Mph or Less on the speed limit. Most Highways in Louisiana are such and can get you to major cites in Louisiana without being on the interstate and also they aren't allowed on highways with partial or no access to emergency vehicles or such.
And yet side by side and four wheelers with no license are permitted on roads where I live without inspection, insurance or restrictions on age.
Saw one in front of a grocery shop in Chinatown NYC! Great way to get your wholesale produce from hunts point to Manhattan.
About 15 years ago, when I was in Germany, the local municipality used these for yard work, garbage can cleanup, and general city works.
It was all the functionality of an F-150, in the form factor of a kubota side by side.
Are you sure they had these trucks? I would rather expect something like a Multicar. But I have to admit, Daihatsus were officially imported to Germany, so it is possible.
@@TrinomCZ 100% fold down sides and everything. It was amazing. Great for urban public works tasks.
the fact that the truck is not legal but the van is, makes me think it's all from truck manufacturers here lobbying for the outlaw of these vehicles.
In 1985 I used to work for a huge private residential development that had six golf courses. We used to drive those Daihatsu HiJets all over the property. If I remember they were governed down to about 20 mph but if you kept the accelerator depressed and flip the ignition switch constantly on and off you can bypass the governing switch.😂
Kei is the Way!! You have the fun driving fast and not breaking the speed limit.
Crazy Colorado, where Kei trucks are illegal for safety issues but drug use is OK
First, I do not live in USA. So Kei truck is illegal in Colorado, but if you are 18 or older you can ride motorcycle without helmet? Logical?
In my state (idaho) it's completely legal to ride a motorcycle on the freeway with no helmet on. Yet if I fail to buckle my seat belt I'll get a ticket here.
Trying to apply logic to our laws is pointless
@@violetsteele350it's all random nonsense that has piled up over decades, and no one is doing anything to stop the pileup
@@CadgerChristmasLightShow You do not understand the logic..... The logic is about protecting innocent bystanders when you can, not protecting the operator of the vehicle. So: Wearing no helmet only poses more risk to the rider, it does NOT increase risk to anyone else (like innocent bystanders - pedestrians on sidewalks).
Not wearing a seatbelt poses MORE RISK to innocent bystanders than if you wore a seatbelt. Because if you crash medium or higher speeds you'll likely be ejected flying out of the windshield or windows and could hit somebody, an innocent bystanders, a walking pedestrian on a sidewalk.
Obviously motorcycle riders flying off their bike can happen too, BUT that is considered "acceptable risk" BECAUSE there is NO OTHER POSSIBLE way to reasonably prevent that happening with a motorcycle, unlike cars where it CAN be easily & reasonably prevented. And obviously we do not want to ban motorcycles to prevent the operator from being ejected & hurting an innocent bystander as the overall risk of this happening has been deemed "acceptable risk", especially considering motorcycles are significantly less popular than cars.
TLDR: seatbelt laws are to protect innocent bystanders 1st & foremost, not to protect the driver. This is why no helmets are allowed on motorcycles, helmet or not, it does NOT change the risk of a motorcycle rider hurting an innocent bystander. And the odds of a innocent bystander being hit by an ejected motorcycle rider has been deemed an "acceptable risk" to continue allowing motorcycles on the road, especially supported by the fact motorcycles are significant less common the vehicles.
You usually cannot ride a motorcycle without a helmet in the US. You get fines and may even be banned from riding or even driving a car.
It's bizarre if you think that the BIG 3 are being so afraid that a 25 year old, used, gray import mini trucks will affect their market share.
Basically, they're "not safe" for the car companies that cannot compete with their prices. With the same lack of safety features, it's just like buying any usual old car, which is still legal, btw. In our country, it's super affordable, and most of it is sold in rural areas only because urban people like to buy only new stuff. All of them were converted into left-hand drives by the resellers, and the one thing I notice is that every one of them has the same engine that is manufactured by Suzuki, and all have the same parts and body except for the brand. The most prominent one is the Suzuki Every Wagon and their carry-kei truck.
My ‘90 Suzuki “Super Multi Roof” has a/c, 4 wheel drive, if you hit the button, fuel injection and turbocharged. I put in a better stereo and ditched the Japanese a.m. radio. This little van is so much fun to drive around town. Here in Florida they are legal but you have to know which DMV to go to and who to see there to get it registered. I’ve had five people in it and still a lot of room for cargo. Insurance is cheap and it sips fuel. I won’t take it on the highway but if I did I suppose it would be….ok-ish. True, if I was hit by an Excursion they wouldn’t even find the ashes but with so much glass I can see one coming ahead of time to avoid it. I only wish we had a Suzuki mechanic around here.
I called last week and the El Paso county DMV says they are street legal and can be registered.
El Paso county is like one of the least insane counties in all of CO, maybe along with Weld. The idiocy of Denver and Boulder counties is spreading fast. Larimer is going downhill fast. Of course, get anywhere outside of the front range and things are a bit more sane.
@@WYO_Dirtbag It is crazy in Colorado. A big part of me wants to move back home to TN but my dumb ass had to start a business here.
There's quite a few driving around in Mesa, Delta, Garfield, Pitkin and Eagle counties. The west slope is pretty relaxed with their vehicle registration compared to the Denver/Front Range area.
In PA, they're either banned or about to be. An interesting thing is that a few companies that make off road side by sides think that these Kei trucks are a threat to their market. So if these trucks are a safety issue, how 'bout older cars like antique vehicles, model T's or model A's. They're just as bad with safety, you think? A friend of mine has a Honda Activ and loves it. Some models even have A/C and are super charged. They even make vans. Parts are very available. I've even seen some with left hand drive. Keep up the pressure to keep these Kei trucks legal!
@@slapshotjack9806 I've seen more model Ts than Kei trucks in the past year here. Maybe anecdotal experiences aren't an objective way to evaluate the reality of something.
@@slapshotjack9806 oh, I guess every vehicle from about 1990 and back should be illegal to drive on the highway then! You could get Kei trucks with airbags if only Mercedes hadn’t made it illegal to import a car less than 25 years old. You think 2024 model kei vehicles have no occupant safety?
@@slapshotjack9806 The fact that you can't believe that someone has a different experience than you tells me all I need to know about your intent to actually discuss something.
@@slapshotjack9806 New cars and light trucks since 1998, sure. But you can still register and drive older vehicles without airbags with no problem, which I believe was the point in bringing up older vehicles.
@@slapshotjack9806 😂😂😂
My hot rod brain is saying What would 1600cc of Gold Wing do for that
Hotter cam, turbo, pipes...
Hell even just a B series.
@@the_kombinatorIt's nice to start with a low output engine because anything mostly is an upgrade. Put an ej22 in it
people have done Hayabusa swaps.
It'd do great things.
Truck OEM’s lobbying to ban competition. Gotta keep selling those $80k + trucks.
indiana currently is legal with Mini Truck plates restricted to non-highway/interstate.
Oklahoma and Arkansas allows them.
Arkansas says they can't exceed speeds of 55 MPH, cannot be used on any highway that has a posted speed limit of 65 or higher, and cannot be placed on any limited access highway, or stretch of highway that has limited access.
Oklahoma says there is no set top speed for them, but they cannot be driven on any limited access highway, or stretch of limited access, and cannot be driven on turnpikes (which are limited access anyway, so that rule is redundant)
I did some looking into getting one since I live on state line in Oklahoma, but do all my errands in Arkansas, and at the time worked in Arkansas.
Red States. Colorado is a rich people woke party state. In Florida with some modifications you can drive little Japanese and Chinese trucks too on public roads. And no surprise: Red State.
How is it that I can drive a crazy fast motorcycle and be considered "safe", but driving a kei truck is considered dangerous. That makes no sense at all. Motorcycles do not have seat belts, kei trucks do...
they are hot items on the Big Island of Hawaii.
they are a little underpowered for places that rely heavily on freeway traffic. top speed is something like 55 to 60 mph which makes them suitable for the Big Island because there is only one road that could be considered a freeway. most other roads are more like two lane highways.
I love my 97 Acty, I can drive it to Lowe’s and then bring it home and drive it around the back yard and deliver the materials directly where I need them. It’s fun to drive, gets lots of smiles, and has been a good project vehicle to work on with my boys. I do not take mine on the interstate.
here in NC they're allowing people to drive side by sides on the road. The "safety" argument is no longer valid when they allow those.
I'm in idaho and it's commonplace to see rich dummies cruising the main roads in their 30k side by sides. Gotta justify blowing that cash on it somehow I guess.
Kei trucks are legal in NC. Check out Mayberry Mini Trucks near Mt Airy, they are responsible for getting the law passed where they can be driven anywhere, yes, even the Interstate.
@@A-OKEI9510 I'm in NC and I read the law and seen them on the Interstate. They are allowed on ALL roads, read the statute.
@@A-OKEI9510 well, tell that to the person that has a mini fire truck driving on 40 in the Triangle. FYI, the minimum allowed speed on an Interstate is 40 mph. I know Tony got the law passed and I consulted several local PD and NCSHP and they said if it can do 40, it can be on the Interstate, remember school bus are limited to 45 mph and are still allowed on the Interstate.
@@A-OKEI9510 ok, whatever you say boss. Bless you heart.
Cyber trucks shouldn't be allowed on the roads either, imagine that metal truck hitting a pedestrian? But k trucks are illegal in most states smh
Doesn't sound like land of the free at all.
hasn't been for a long time. When the Gov't says 'it's for your own good', you know we are getting screwed
Land of the coddled corporation.
Do any of you guys complaining consider people besides yourself? This thing is too slow for American roads. Nobody wants to sit behind you taking SIXTY seconds to get to 60 mph. Even 45 mph is like a 30-40 second wait. I'd say that's the reason, and slower cars like the Fiat they had just were overlooked. Id allow this thing in New York City and that's about it. You can not have this thing anywhere that has speed limits above 35-40 mph. It is too much of a hinderance to other drivers.
Land of the FEE
@@Cruor34then ban old people from driving. how about ban traffic and car accidents for causing people to move slow? just because the kei trucks are slow does not mean that that should just be banned.
Thank you guys. I am also a fan of KEI cars and trucks. Agree, how can it be any worse than a motorcycle, a micro car like the Aveo, Sprint, or Metro.
Perspective: Chevy Spark 84hp, Scion iQ 94hp, Honda Insight 98hp (Motortrend Aug 4, 2012)
I drove one of the Suzuki vans for a job in Australia. They are really fun to drive, almost like a go-kart. Red line the engine every gear change, accelerator to the floor all the time, nips in and out of traffic and car bays. It's not fast, but it feels fast and it feels fun, which is a quality that is worth more than it's weight in gold.
If states were so concerned about safety, why aren't they banning motorcycles. Of course the reason why they are banning them has nothing to do with safety. It's more protectionist nonsense.
Psst..these aren’t new vehicles, so they’re not exactly employing protectionist economics here.
@@Queensizemusic no, but new kei trucks are also banned. wonder why (its not for environmental or safety reasons)
It might not be about safety for the driver but OTHER drivers. This thing is so slow it could cause people to rear end it or would cause people to drive unsafely in order to get around it. It's 0-60 time is stupidly slow. If I were stuck behind this thing on say a 45-60 mph road in a town, I'd take the risk of a ticket and drive on the shoulder/turning lane to get around it. I have things to do. This vehicle is ok for New York City where the speed limit is 25 mph (think they are trying to get it down to 20) but is simply not a reasonable vehicle for anywhere else in this country. Maybe Boston/Chicago.
@@Cruor34 that sounds like your problem, driving illegally and dangerously for no good reason. people drive 18 wheelers, tractors, and other equipment on roads all the time at speeds much lower than a kei truck. just slow down
@@zachb9856 Sounds like your problem that you drive slow. I'll just go around you, and the tractor and the truck.
This one time a kei truck killed me. And punched my dog. Burned down my house. And spread rumors about me growing illegal plants in the backyard.
Dead men don't talk. I call B.S. And they weren't "rumors".. We've seen your backyard...
Snitches get stitches where is that Kei truck😡,,,,,,,,,,,,,🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂
@@dirtyharry5320 I never said what kind of plant…
@@poppyneese1811 I believe he has left the country.
I agree, one time a Kei truck killed me and my entire family. Then it went and stole from the homeless, sold crack to children, and smoked some of the devils lettuce. They are completely out of hand. Thank you local and federal governments for keeping these terrible, immoral, devil worshiping Kei trucks off our streets!
Is so BS, is the Lobby of Ford, GM, Stellantis etc are doing in the DMV.
Your video came pretty close to my (external) experience with Kei trucks:
I live in Kalispell, Montana. We are 2 hours from the nearest Interstate, for reference. Several years ago, for about 2 weeks, I almost daily was stuck behind a Kei truck driving up the 2-lane highway west of town. The lady driving this truck was holding up about 1/4 mile of traffic, as she was in a 60mph zone and would only top-out at about 42mph. During some small hills, she was lugged down to as far as 22mph. Most of the time, she was doing 33-38mph.
So the safety aspect is primarily for THE REST OF THE WORLD. Imagine dozens of frustrated drivers stuck behind this p.o.s., unable to pass due to oncoming traffic, and therefore taking a chance to pass whenever they could get it, and taking risks by passing in too short of a clearance space. Lots of us were honking in protest as we passed this inconsiderate lady.
Yes, I can understand that it's an efficient little truck and maybe fun or whatever. But it is a danger to everybody else.
It is also a danger to you. Here in Montana, deer strikes are extremely common, sometimes involving elk or even a moose. I went 21 years driving in Colorado without ever hitting a deer, and was almost 50 years old when I first had an incident with a deer here in Montana. Since then, deer have now wrecked 2 of our cars, and we've had 5 total contacts with deer in the last 4 years. We're exceedingly lucky compared to seemingly everybody else here; deer strikes are indeed extremely common.
Now, imagine you hit a 700-lb elk in a Kei truck at any speed. You'll be dead but the elk will be annoyed.
As far as I've heard, the maximum speed limit anywhere in all of Japan is 100kmph / 62mph. When my sister lived there for 8 years, she only ever drove on roads that were a maximum of 60kmph / 36mph. So she was absolutely terrified to come home and ride on the L.A. highways. A Kei truck in a place where you rarely get above 36mph is just fine; that's what it's built for.
But that's sure as heck not Montana. And I lived in Colorado long enough to know how dangerous the roads and traffic are, so I know that those underpowered suckers should not hit the big city roads nor Interstates. Go drive that sucker in downtown Denver (or worse: Colorado Springs) during rush hour and tell me how the opinion of it by people around you is.
Follow-up to my above story:
I researched what the legality of Kei trucks is for Montana. Apparently, the national standard is to say that they are only allowed on Federal highways (Interstates or US Highways) if the particular state explicitly passes a law that allows it. Montana has no such rule. I therefore called and complained to the local State Highway Patrol about this lady. I saw her on the highway once more the next day, then never again. I do see a handful of Kei trucks around the county once in a while, but never on the highways, where they are deadly threats for their occupants and the people desperately trying to get around them.
@HeckingLoser
19 hours ago
One of the things about older kei vans is that they were a little heavy and pretty short geared.
Going into the late 90s and early 00s the gearing often improved and you'd even start to see overdrive on other kinds of kei vehicles, as well as plenty of airbags.
Watch this space in 5 years or so when newer models start rolling into the states - we're already enjoying them over in the UK.
The little Truck is very popular in Europe.
If vou have to carry a sofa, or going camping this vehicles are great.
Or for a small business -- a Café, a boutique, that's perfect.
Great vídeo, Thank you
My state JUST started an effort to ban them. Gotta keep selling those $100k giant trucks!
They need to stop with the CAFE and other emissions regulations
Only if they're replaced with regulations that actually make sense instead of incentivizing the unending embiggening of cars.
Kei truck is hated because of the chicken tax . Your supposed to buy from the American three
Chicken tax doesn't apply to any vehicles over 25 years old, so that's not that case.
1970 to 1973, I owned 2, 1 Suzuki and 1 Honda. I was stationed in Japan at the time. I had a blast in both of those mini trucks. I wish I had one now.
Lol!!! We all know why they are trying to ban it... because it means less profit for those produced in house.
They are the new thing for sure. We have some in Miami. I went to the Hot Wheels show recently and saw the coolest one.
Ahhh classic stupid Colorado laws. A beautiful state ruined by stupid politicians. But hey they voted for it.
no we didn't, for example we voted No on same sex marriage bill and they rammed it down our throats anyway. We've been hoodwinked with rigged elections too, to force liberal policies. Coloradans are not aligned with Denver weirdos and are actually down to Earth and conservative.
The same with GA!!
Colorado didn't vote for it, Denver did
It has been Californicated.
The modern Kei vehicles in Japan are great. Airbags, good sound systems, nice fit & finish, etc. it’s a crime Americans can’t access them. There are a gazillion little trucks on farms in the countryside of Japan, a gazillion truck & delivery vans in the cities, and a gazillion mini-minivans in the cities. An impressive thing is how roomy the mini-minivans are. I’m 6’5”/196cm and can comfortably drive or be a passenger in our Honda kei minivan. The small size is great for urban driving.
Owned the Daihatsu van version when I was living in Japan. Great little van, very easy to work on, super mileage.
In Hawaii these mini pickups and vans are legal and are proliferating.
It’s more protection than a motorcycle. And motorcycles don’t have seatbelts!
The only reason these are "deathtraps" is because theres no laws banning 5000 pound suvs or 6000 pound electric cars or 10,000 pound pick up trucks
The k pickup truck has a south dakota plate on must be legal in sd
I am retired in the Philippines and I own the Suzuki van version of this with turbo and 4WD, 660 cc motor. There is an entire industry here that converts these to left hand drive and they customize them. You can get the regular pickup, the crew cab pickup with a shorter bed, or the minivan version that I have. I paid $4,600 for mine and I am happy with it
The comparison of the Fiat & this K truck was perfect.
I had a 1985 Isuzu pup truck, 2.2 non-turbo diesel & 55 mph is all it will do, that Honda k truck is just as safe if not even safer than the Isuzu.
Really enjoying the Tommy and Kase drive old vehicles series!😂
From what I’ve been able to determine K-trucks (also called Kei Trucks) are legal in all states EXCEPT Louisiana and Nebraska but most states require them to be licensed as an LSV (low speed vehicle) which is restricted to streets with speed limits of 35 mph or less.
Which makes them useless for their intended purpose, because most states have a default speed limit higher than that 55 is a pretty common default speed limit. There might be a few places where you can use an LSV on the roads, but in most places, you're going to have to go on at least a 45 MPH road to get to the grocery store or the hardware store. Kei vehicles are cars, not LSVs, LSVs are supposed to be stuff like 4x4s and golf carts, not 60+MPH capable fully enclosed vehicles with seatbelts and airbags.
@@bow-tiedengineer4453 That is all true. However, as stated in the video, K-trucks over a certain age are exempt as “historical vehicles”. Rather than discouraging people from buying them by saying they are illegal, people should be encouraged to buy them as a LSV now and convert them over as they get old enough. This will help the states to realize they are not the death traps they are made out to be and encourage them to change the laws concerning them.
@@bow-tiedengineer4453 for example in Summit County Ohio, other than interstates most roads have speed limits of 35 mph or less
Interesting, so you can import new Kei trucks as LSVs?
@@Voyajer. Yes, in Ohio they are considered LSVs and can be imported as such. And at least in Summit county most roads have speed limits of 35 or less so they would be road legal in most of the county.
I love the mini truck series. Keep up the fun guys nice work.
My friend got hit in his Sambar. He was very badly hurt, but he lived and is expected to make a full recovery. I think it's a terrible shame that we don't import more light duty and light-medium duty trucks like Townace, Elf, and Canter Guts. They're a little bigger, but still smaller than anything we can buy here. This was a few months ago. Last week another friend crashed her Harley, and is 4 rooms down in the same hospital. Her injuries are also bad, but she didn't get hit, just hit a guardrail and laid her bike down face arm and leg first.
The thing I love about these trucks is that for $5000-$10000, they’re basically “expendable”. I have no qualms about getting it scratched up while driving through narrow trails in the woods, putting all manner of crap in bed (literally that, if you’re a farmer), or chucking firewood into the bed. Would you do that in your $80k luxo truck??? Use the kei truck for the tough stuff and save your other vehicles.
That is total BS as Japanese Kei Cars, Vans and Trucks are way better than the massively oversized American Full Size SUV's, Vans, and Trucks.
Are you expecting to be taken seriously with that comment?
@@awesomeferret That's literally the reason that people are trying to ban them. There are modern trucks being made and sold in the US that are twice as big with the same bed space, an unnecessarily large V-8, and completely block your view so that you can't see pedestrians. These trucks also cost more that $20,000 USED, while a BRAND NEW Kei truck costs less than half that once all is said and done. These trucks are more efficient, compact, useful, and cheaper than an F-150 could ever hope to be.
TLDR: Shut the hell up.
@@cadetkohr5508 I can buy a used F-150 tomorrow morning with enough HP (from that mean old V8) to haul an entire mobile home with it's own space for my motorbikes & have a 8 foot bed for anything else I want AND I GET AIRBAGS, HIGHWAY SPEEDS, A/C & REAL SEATS NOT A REUSED BUS SEAT for $4,500, why would I want to spend months importing an even older slower uncomfortable utility vehicle?
Btw The only company still making Kei trucks is Suzuki, everyone else stopped making them because their only market (old farmers) stopped buying them, they all use tractors & ATVs.
I thought these little trucks were cool until I got stuck behind one on a 45 MPH road (so 50 to 55 MPH commuting for most drivers). This mini-truck couldn't keep up with traffic, and had people blocked for about a mile back during rush hour traffic.
Would you have tried to push past a motorcyclist who is entitled to the whole road surface in his lane....
just like the Kei truck?
Were there double no passing lines restricting ANYONE from overtaking ANY vehicle?
I used to drive these vans and trucks in the UK , they are capable of doing 60mph quite easily
How is repair part support for these trucks? I'd worry about being able to get a control arm years in the future if the suspension needed rebuilding.
Bingo 😊
I can't imagine it would be too difficult to source anything you need from a number of import places or direct from Japan, they made so many after all; spare parts shouldn't be a hard ask for a long time
@@rickreese5794explain?
@@mikefletcher7181 add to that, japan laws kind of incentivize getting newer versions of them every at least few years vs keeping one for 10~15+ years, so the value of them there drop super fast so parts are relatively common especially for the more common Kei vehicles
It's funny to watch Americans amazed by kei trucks while here in Brazil we had a officially imported truck/van called "Towner" since the 90's up to 2015 which are essentially kei trucks, same size. Made by Asia (Kia brand) and later by Hafei (chinese).
Back in the day was common to see the van version of the Towner being used as a Hot Dog stand.
This doesn't seem that hard to understand...all of the examples of non-compliant vehicles that are OK to drive are very old and therefore grandfathered in. The point of safety standards is to ensure vehicles being made today are up to current standards of safety. If they allow modern vehicles of actual utility (as opposed to old collector cars for recreation) to be driven without meeting standards then you're basically just opening a massive loophole to allow any POS from any country to get imported in and subvert the entire safety standard framework, hence rendering it ineffectual altogether.
I don't really get why nobody exports these vehicles from europe. Such vans and trucks are on sale in many european countries since almost forever. And they are usually left hand drive and have a bigger engine since europe has no K-car rules. A local plumber a few blocks away from my home used to have a whole fleet of Suzuki Super Carrys. Great vehicles for the narrow streets of medieval european town centers.
Same here. I live in Vancouver, BC and went to one of the larger JDM Kei importers here and asked if he'd import some LHD Kei's from Germany and he was baffled by the idea. A lot of people don't buy them to use them as practical vehicles, they buy them to have a JDM vehicle. Same reason people drive RHD versions of models already sold in north america.
They do, but nobody buys them but hipsters
@@Kevin-hp5fkwhy they dont imported them from latin america? Here in Costa Rica there are lhd models, we call them "ice scrapers" since they are common to see this kind of cars use by people that sell homemade slushies