Why Does the 25 Year Rule STOP us from BUYING NEW MINI TRUCKS?
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- Опубликовано: 28 апр 2023
- This video is about the infamous 25 year rule that we get to abide by when importing vehicles from outside the good ole US of A. Yes, there are a ton of other things we have to abide by but i wish this was not one of them... have you seen the new models of the suzuki Jimny???? That alone could get me to move to Japan!
Nice to meet you! I'm JaxsawJeff and this channel is about everything Japanese mini- trucks, Kei Trucks and Right Hand Drive (RHD) Vehicles! I'm OBSESSED!
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My passion is RHD vehicles, kei trucks, and all types of mini trucks has gotten a little out of control...but that's okay for now. Join me as I explore the unique world of these compact and versatile vehicles, sharing my learned knowledge and crazy experiences with fellow enthusiasts like you.
From customization and maintenance tips to epic off-road adventures, I've got it all covered. So, buckle up and join me on this exciting ride!
First a little about me. I'm just your avg Joe. The house, two kids, a great marriage and a job that feels like work most days. I grew up hanging out with friends and always having some sort of used, albeit new to me, old truck or classic car around. My favorite was "Squeeky"...my 59 Ford F-150 Pick Up Truck. But I've also owned 56 Chevy Step side pick up, 71 Ford, 65 Pontiac GTO, 75 MG midget, 71 Dodge Power Wagon (my Monster truck), 51 Dodge pick up, 69 Ford Tarino , a 71 Buick GS and a 68 Mustang Fastback. I think that's all.
Now, I'm obsessed with little bite sized trucks! They're like bite-sized candy vehicles. So much so, to where they consume most of my thoughts lately. I'm still learning as I go, but I've learned a lot and want to teach it now. So let's get started!
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An EPA regulation prevents us from importing vehicles that haven't met US emissions standards to save the environment, but there's an exemption for vehicles over 21 years old, so I can't import a newer kei truck with electronic fuel injection and electronic ignition with much lower emissions but I can import an old kei truck with a carburetor and distributor cap that's less fuel efficient and more polluting.
DOT regulations prevent us from importing vehicles that haven't met US highway crash worthiness safety testing, but there's an exemption for vehicles over 25 years old, so I can't import a newer kei truck with an air bag and crumple zone with much better safety but I can import an old kei truck without air bags or crumple zones or any safety features beyond seat belts.
This is protectionism masquerading as a concern for fuel efficiency, clean air and safety.
In Indiana you just download and print the mini truck registration packet, take a picture of the car, get local law enforcement to do a vin check, send the packet back to the DMV. After a couple weeks they send you a title, and the license plate usually arrives a week after.
Oh my God… If everywhere was that easy
I’m in Indiana and does Ind have the 25 year rule for getting license plates for street use. ?
Awesome info
Your to kind thanks!!!
Subscribed! I just discovered your channel! I live in Daytona Beach but I really want a Kei truck! I don't even know where to start haha I have soo many questions 😅
Glad you’ve come along for the ride!!! Let’s get you rollin’ in a Kei truck - take a look at my guide that’ll get you a hood head start- happy trails ~shocker
@@jaxsawjeff sweet! Thank you! 🙏🏼
Here's the link to the guide....myminimatchmakerguide.ck.page/27ac27cb2d
Dude I enjoy your videos. Even though I am not from your country, this video definitely explained the 25 year old rule, and it definitely makes sense. Side note, your joke about dying like men, was hilarious!! Big up yourself from Jamaica.
Neil- thanks for the Words I appreciate it!!! Enjoy the warmer weather for me
Another quick question Jeff, where did you get your roof rack? Can you post a link? Thanks.
It was an Amazon purchase… And it looking back I don’t even think the same company is in business anymore… Which is OK because mine started rusting a lot down here in Florida… As the inside of the piping was not painted or treated🥸
Can I import a less-than 25 year old Kei truck, then title it a year later once it hits 25 years? I won’t be driving it until it’s fully registered.
Such a good video … if I say so myself
You funny
I love that we don’t like men great quote
Some times in pursuit of great adventure we must throw caution to the winds-
Waiting and waiting for the list of states where you can't tag a mini truck
It's hard to say, because there are states where mini trucks are prohibited by state legislation but certain counties will title and register them. There's a large gray area. Other states won't title and register a kei truck but will allow them to be transferred if titled and registered in another state. There's a mile wide gray zone, and most kei truck owners are reluctant to detail the specific loopholes because that will result in regulators closing those loopholes.
It's not that people who struggled with a difficult process don't want to help make it easier for you. It's that they don't want to make it more difficult for everyone.
Maybe join the Mini Truck Talk forum and ask some questions over there in a less public forum.
@@Liberty4Ever Thank you for sharing your thoughts. You raised some things that I need to look into and i appreciate that.
Hi Jeff, can you recommend a good minitruck dealer in Jacksonville? Thanks.
Bwaaah, I don’t know..any specific… but I may be myself.. soon- I’ll tell it to the world when I do!
@@jaxsawjeff Thanks and please let us know if you think of or learn of any.
don't need a title to register in Connecticut FYI
For highway/ road driviNg? Sweet
@@jaxsawjeff yeah registered as a passenger vehicle. i personally never drive mine on the highway but i could if i wanted to
I heard if a certified dealer imports a newer model you can drive the newer ones on the road. Is that true?
Odd .. the dealer has to adhere by the same rule (25 year rule) as us non dealers… they could certainly import a new one… But there’s no way they could legally title it in the states… Due to it, not being able to adhere to the stringent EPA/safety Regs
@@jaxsawjeff thank you for your straight answer! I plan on buying a daihatsu hijet jumbo and rebuilding/ suping it up. Love the look and style of the new ones but i just turned 25 so a 25yo truck would be really cool
@@jaccobpeterson9735 - Many importers are selling newer kei trucks but they're selling them for farm or ranch use, or for hunting - not for road use. They sell for less than a side-by-side, they'll go most places a side-by-side will go (and a few places they can't go!) but the kei trucks cost less and are completely enclosed with a good heater, A/C, roll up windows, windshield wipers, a full size pickup bed....
If you can wait a year to import a 1999 model, you can get a 9th generation 210P Jumbo Hijet with nicer amenities. I think all of them were fuel injected with electronic ignition. My TwinCam 110P 1994 Hijet mini truck uses the EF-GS engine with a carburetor and distributor cap ignition. I'd like to import a Hijet firetruck with low miles, good maintenance and hopefully HI/LO transfer case, locking rear differential and A/C.
Still don’t really get why it has to be 25 years…wouldn’t something like 5 to 10 years be sufficient to protect the „new car market“?🤔
I think the 25 year part of it was negotiated by you guessed it lawyers of the affected automobile makers in Europe… I guess you could say it just made it so at the time the cars that you were importing 25 years prior were not as up-to-date as what the people would have normally wanted… Just what I surmised from some information, cheers
Hey Connecticut allows it for road use nos
THE HELL WITH IT. BUY A USED MANUAL TRUCK. $ 21K RESTORES ANYONE NICELEY.
If Japanese light (Kei)cars and light(Kei) trucks were to be sold in the US and European markets as usual, some people would undoubtedly drive them at high speeds on public roads, just like large-displacement regular cars.
Light(Kei) cars and light (Kei) trucks are intentionally built with limited functionality from the design stage for their intended use.
Therefore, if light (Kei) vehicles are used in the same way as other vehicles on public roads, it will affect the operation of other regular vehicles.
In Japan, it is unlikely that anyone would use a functionally restricted kei car to drive at high speeds on expressways, etc., against regular cars. If they wanted to do so, they would switch to a more capable car.
(This is because Kei cars and Kei trucks are basically designed for town use in the suburbs or for field work in agriculture, factories, etc., where the main purpose is low-speed use)
* Japan, with its small land area and well-developed train network, has a different environment from the continent.
The real reason why Japanese manufacturers did not dare to export Kei cars and Kei trucks to overseas markets in earnest may be due to the cultural concerns that foreign users with different living environments cannot expect to be able to switch from one use to another and control themselves as they can in Japan.
In advance of their overseas sales, no matter how much Japanese manufacturers explain and inform users of the correct usage, they cannot stop the people from using light(Kei) cars and Kei trucks as if they were sports cars,
And when a breakdown or accident occurs because of this, they do not want foreign users to shift the blame to them, saying that the accident occurred not because of the way they drive, but because the light (Kei)car itself was imperfectly designed and weakly built to begin with.
Being driving them myself for forty years in the UK,just like any other vehicles.
@@keithhooper6123
If there are no people in the country or region where light(kei) vehicles are imported who can follow the manufacturer's instructions and follow the correct conditions of use and follow the manual for the proper application, the manufacturer will not feel comfortable exporting the vehicle to other countries. (It is not enough for a few to follow them.)
Unless a country allows users to properly and correctly use the product according to its intended use, light(kei) vehicles will not be sold because they are a cause of traffic accident outbreaks that can affect human lives, and they are afraid to do so.
Most Japanese people are culturally inclined to do as they are supposed to do, which is why most of them use their light(kei) vehicles within the limits of the vehicle and do not use them recklessly. That is why they are sold as limited edition cars.
The light(kei) car is the original gasoline-powered eco-car that was designed to achieve low fuel consumption and high fuel efficiency from the very beginning.
The advantage is that it is small and can turn in a small radius, which allows it to efficiently operate on narrow roads in cities with many narrow streets like in Japan, in areas with many houses, and in narrow corridors inside farms and factories.
They are lightweight, simplified vehicles with functions that are kept to the limits that do not interfere with their intended use.
Since they are not originally passenger cars designed for ordinary use, they must be used in different ways.
Therefore, when using a light(kei) car, the basic rule of thumb is to avoid long-distance travel and use on rough unpaved mountain roads. It should be used only as a means of transportation within a small area.
The basic premise of this car is that the user fully understands the purpose for which it was created, and that 100% of the people who use it comply with the directions for use.
It is dangerous to sell a light(kei) car to a market that is likely to try reckless driving and use it as if it were a regular passenger car, or to use it in a way that does not allow for self-control of one's curiosity and desires.
Japan is a special living environment where road widths and parking spaces are narrow because of the large number of people densely populated there, where there are many mountains and little flat land.
Cars made in continental countries, which are designed for use in places with large land areas, are difficult to use in Japan, a country with a small land area.
This, which was created as a project for Japanese use to meet the needs of these citizens, is also probably the reason for its limited release in Japan.
However, there are a lot of videos on RUclips that show how powerful a light(kei) car can be on such rugged mountain roads, even if it is a light(kei) car or kei-truck.
This is not a good thing to do, which is not the original intent at all.
If accidents are not the responsibility of the user, but the responsibility of the manufacturer, the manufacturer will not be able to survive.
The reason why the export of kei cars and kei trucks were limited to the domestic market in Japan for a long time was probably due to the concern about the difference in cultural behavior and awareness caused by the difference in the environment.
It still doesn't make any sense
These little Kei trucks don't have a performance envelope any less limited than the mini trucks of the 60s 70s and even the 80s.
It's ridiculous that someone could find and buy an old Datsun 521 pick up which for practical purposes, is about the same size as one of these Kai trucks and has per performance about the same. You can register one of those and drive them no problem because they were originally sold in the US.
Is perfectly understandable why these aren't sold new in the US,
But the idea that you can't buy a 25 year exempt one and register it but you could get a small car from the 50s 60s from Japan which again arguably is probably WORSE safety wise than one of his Kai trucks. It's all about money.
The big auto makers don't want the competition they want to be able to sell their stupid 50,000 $100,000 trucks
"Why cant we import brand new cars?"
Capitalism.
OF COURSE.
Good answer - it seems to cut both ways 😒
Everyone who criticizes capitalism is actually complaining about cronyism, which is nearly the opposite of capitalism. We can't import brand newer cars because cronies in government collude with corrupt businesses that don't want competition, creating anti-capitalist regulations. Capitalism is all about competition. Capitalism is two people agreeing to the mutually beneficial exchange of goods and/or services.