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Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

economist.com

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Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#351

Post by CrazyStat »

2muchcoffeeman wrote: post #197
klyrs wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We didn't use seatbelts or booster seats. We rode in the bed of the pickup, we rode sitting backwards in the trunk of a hatchback, we crammed in 5-wide in the bench seat in the back of a sedan. Also, there were proto-SUVs like the Chevy Suburban.

I never had a pickup truck, but I did have seat belts and booster seats. We just didn’t use them as much. But that’s not really relevant to having enough space in a vehicle. We had plenty of space in cars. There was nothing wrong with the size.

It absolutely is relevant. If you don't have to wear seatbelts you can fit four or five kids in the back seat of a sedan. If each kid needs a seatbelt then you have to buy a bigger vehicle.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#352

Post by llanowarelves »

jjoonathan wrote: post #349
llanowarelves wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, without resorting to insulting you as you are me, according to you, is the 10th Amendment a loophole or not? More generally, are people doing things because they aren't stopped from doing so a loophole or not? Are loopholes a feature or a bug? Does it depend on intentions or how it's used to be called this, or not? More importantly, why don't judges tend to rule in the "spirit of the law" over what's actually the…

If you are an individual who has a vote but not enough vested interest to fund a lobbying effort for expected positive ROI, loopholes are definitely a bug. If you are a corporation that wants to undermine regulation by pulling purse-strings rather than by defeating regulation attempts in the arena of public opinion, loopholes are definitely a feature. However, a corporation that pulls the purse-strings to subvert a b…

I am not awfully sure. Point is I threw you a bone in my first response to you, you know -- "opposite" sides to synthesize, which I now know I shouldn't have done, and you shat all over it. Which is why the conversation with you is over.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#354

Post by gramie »

Aeolun wrote: post #307
nyx wrote: post #29

The 25-year import rule here, which bans Americans from importing vehicles from other countries unless they're 25+ years old, is just awful for those of us who would be interested in driving small, efficient foreign cars. It would be great to live completely car-free, but absent major changes to how we plan our cities, it's just a sad reality that cars are a necessary ingredient to life in the vast majority of Americ…

If it’s legal for BMW to import it’s cars and sell them, then it should be legal for Toyota to import it’s kei cars and sell them in the US right? You just can’t do it as an individual.

I would suspect that Japanese kei cars would not pass the safety requirements. Road speeds really are much slower over there. IIRC, the warning alarm on my kei car in the 90s would go off if I exceeded 90 km/h (about 55 mph).

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#355

Post by Maursault »

munificent wrote: post #170
iancmceachern wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can get the Ford Maverick

A Maverick is just an open air hatchback. It's the same length as my 2002 Xtracab Tacoma, which is nice, but my Tacoma has a bed that's literally twenty inches longer.

> A Maverick is just an open air hatchback.

Not always. Sometimes it's a weird little muscle car platform.[1]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Maverick_(1970–1977)

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#356

Post by chrisco255 »

throwworhtthrow wrote: post #344
chrisco255 wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know a lot of people who drive big trucks, and all of them regularly use them for: hauling building materials, towing RVs, towing boats, towing four wheelers/dirt bikes/UTVs/snowmobiles, pulling utility trailers (for trash pickup, job site cleanup, lumber & metal, piping, furniture, landscaping, tree service, etc), tailgating parties, hunting, mudding, off-roading, barbecuing (towing a smoker), etc. Literally don't…

> Big trucks aren't causing social ills for anyone except people that have nothing better to do but complain about other people enjoying their own lives. "These Stupid Trucks are Literally Killing Us" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35202168

Oh cute, a thinkpiece for a hot button topic exists on the internet. Meanwhile Motor Vehicle Deaths have not changed significantly in 40+ years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_vehicle_fatality_rate_in...

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#357

Post by iambateman »

IIAOPSW wrote: post #245
nyx wrote: post #29

The 25-year import rule here, which bans Americans from importing vehicles from other countries unless they're 25+ years old, is just awful for those of us who would be interested in driving small, efficient foreign cars. It would be great to live completely car-free, but absent major changes to how we plan our cities, it's just a sad reality that cars are a necessary ingredient to life in the vast majority of Americ…

There's electric bikes in China that are more like a Vespa than anything. Commuting this way was pretty great when I owned one. The range is perfect for urban commuters, charging it at night is basically negligible in your power bill, it slips right past the cars so there's no such thing as traffic (whatever cars pass you, you pass them right back by the next red light), likewise parking is a non-issue as it takes a…

This is all true…and also American drivers are legitimately aggressive toward these kind of vehicles.

They have a terrible reputation, primarily because they get used a lot by people who can’t afford a car.

I wish it were different, but driving a moped/Vespa on American roads is a pretty big risk.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#358

Post by throwworhtthrow »

chrisco255 wrote: post #356
throwworhtthrow wrote: post #344

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Big trucks aren't causing social ills for anyone except people that have nothing better to do but complain about other people enjoying their own lives. "These Stupid Trucks are Literally Killing Us" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35202168

Oh cute, a thinkpiece for a hot button topic exists on the internet. Meanwhile Motor Vehicle Deaths have not changed significantly in 40+ years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_vehicle_fatality_rate_in...

"Effects of large vehicles on pedestrian and pedalcyclist injury severity" https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36031254/

Just one of many reports from the past 20 years documenting the correlation between vehicle size and deaths/injuries to those on the receiving end. You'll find similar conclusions from IIHS, NHTSA, etc.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#359

Post by markdown »

crazyjncsu wrote: post #324
LinuxBender wrote: post #4

I've seriously contemplated getting one of these. Street legal, fuel efficient, simple, but when I started researching them I started to see a pattern. It's hard to find anyone in rural areas willing to work on them and not all mini trucks are equal. Some are not shipped correctly and have frame rust issues. There are YouTuber's that cover some of the models and the gotchas and things to inspect. I would never buy on…

I’m Jake from the article. The trucks have all just gone through auction and have inspection reports. Mine I bought for $2k was grade 3.5 and what I’d consider pristine for a 25 year old truck. The Japanese are pretty trustworthy people to do business with, and they build great vehicles. One thing the author left out was the fascination I had with the whole process. Watching auctions, assignment to a ship, tracking i…

From a quick Google, these all seem to be cars from the 90s. Did you see any fpr sale that are less than a decade old?

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#360

Post by kaibee »

chrisco255 wrote: post #356
throwworhtthrow wrote: post #344

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Big trucks aren't causing social ills for anyone except people that have nothing better to do but complain about other people enjoying their own lives. "These Stupid Trucks are Literally Killing Us" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35202168

Oh cute, a thinkpiece for a hot button topic exists on the internet. Meanwhile Motor Vehicle Deaths have not changed significantly in 40+ years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_vehicle_fatality_rate_in...

> Meanwhile Motor Vehicle Deaths have not changed significantly in 40+ years.

This is not the win you think it is.

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