A space for enthusiasts and owners of Kei vehicles, Japan's iconic mini trucks and cars. Share your ride, get advice, and explore all things kei – from mods and restorations to the latest trends and import news!
Had a coworker looking into importing these. He could make a fair profit and make people very happy, plus he had the capital to get going just off his salary. No idea where he left off on that, but I'd buy one quick.
Now I'm looking at how to get one. A 4WD would replace almost everything I use my 2WD 2004 F150 for, and a trailer hitch would get the rest.
Maybe those car manufacturers should get with the kei truck program instead of fighting it.
Nonsense! They want to sell you an $80,000 car. Not a $10,000 car.
They get insane margins on those big payment princesses. For a lot of US automakers that’s what’s keeping them above water.
The market shifting towards small affordable utility vehicles is their worst nightmare.
Sounds like they need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.
Could you imagine if the US made kei truck production a utility?
Utility, in the context of the automobile market, is a class of vehicles, hence why Australians call pickups “utes”.
Kai trucks count as utility vehicles, as do american pickup trucks.
Although, realistically, most pickup trucks sold In the US would better be described as “premium” or “luxury” vehicles given that most people buying them are not using them for off roading, hauling or towing, but rather as “life style” vehicles and status symbols.
These things get used everywhere in the world. Used to have a yellow one on a farm. Tough, super cheap, and reliable hauler around the property. It got used more than the main 4×4s which were more for long distance off-roading in remote parts of the property where terrain gets nuts.
You could get a fleet of these for the price of an American "truck". And that means US car companies start losing profit from their useless overpriced can+trays.
The university in my town has a fleet of them.
I would guess it's hard to break parts on them since they're so light?
Yep, exactly. Plus the mechanical simplicity means much fewer things fail anyway. Common repairs take minutes (suspension, servicing, electrics, etc.), are very simple, and very cheap. It's exactly what you want out of a workhorse vehicle. They've been so cleverly thought out because Japanese manufacturers had to be with KEI designs. Plus plemty come 4×4 and are very capable on soft terrain due to the lightness.
They're just so insanely practical and affordable. Everyone loves them. Everyone loves a big V8 turbo diesel that never gets stuck and can haul anything, but they're inferior mechanically and economically for most day-to-day run around jobs around the property.
I'm sure these will start flooding into the US agriculture industry if they're able to.
Truck size growth is driven at least partially, if not mainly, by gas mileage regulations, where you can have lower gas mileage on larger vehicles, an allowance that was made to accommodate work vehicles. So people who want a powerful vehicle are forced to go bigger. If these regulations were relaxed or eliminated, we would have much smaller but still powerful trucks. I'd be interested in something like that...
Or we could just tighten the regulations on large vehicles, rather than removing the whole system which is a net good over all.
Best not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Your reasoning is lacking.
You're "forced" to go bigger, because car manufacturers are too greedy. The big pickups and SUVs are basically classified as commercial trucks, so the regulations are much looser when it comes to emissions and safety. Which make them cheaper to produce.
Car companies are more than capable of making powerful small cars under current regulations and even stricter ones, but that has a smaller profit margin. That's why they are fighting this, they want to keep their margins and not have to compete with these cars.
Not sure I see the connection between margin and truck size.
Just make those who want to get lower taxes for driving "commercial use" vehicles bring clear evidence of commercial use.
I love living in a country where businesses make the rules.
We already drive Japanese cars on the roads. Why can’t we drive small ones?
tHeYrE uNsAfE
It's the child-slayer emotional support trucks that can't see the damn road ahead of themselves that are broadly unsafe vehicles. I had an arrogant boss tell me "maybe unsafe for you, but I'll crush the other guy and be fine!"
Thus, in the future, all cars will be ten tons minimum, and you drive by feeling the impacts as you hit stuff bumping around the neighborhood.
Cause its piracy against cuck trucks. Having a small, effecient vehicle that is more practical, has more cargo space and capacity and is cheaper is simply unamerican.
The guys on the YouTube channel MightyCarMods love these little trucks
I was thinking about importing something like that back when I had money
One day, me too.