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How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

danwilkerson.com

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Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#181

Post by dragonwriter »

asdfigandfiono wrote: post #3

This goes to show just how superficial and backwards the American car industry is. You can do the job of a $50,000 pickup using a machine that is half the size of a Honda Civic, costs $10,000 new, gets 40 MPG, fits in any parking spot, is easy to load, and sells for around $10,000 new. But they look weak and girly . Vanitas vanitatum, omnia vanitas.

> You can do the job of a $50,000 pickup using a machine that is half the size of a Honda Civic

You can't, though: “half-ton” pickups start much lower than $50k and near universally have a 1,500+ lb cargo capacity (the half-ton designation is historical and almost never actually meant what it seems to, quater-ton is even worse.)

Seems more competitive with the $27K Hyundai Santa Cruz, with similar cargo capacity (by weight), 40 MPG mileage, US new vehicle standards compliance, but trading off a shorter bed length for a second row of seating.

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#182

Post by Auracle »

jdietrich wrote: post #150
avidiax wrote: post #12

The difficulties inherent in this and the simplicity of the product itself make me wonder if there's some car equivalent of the "80% lower" of the weapons industry. Some kind of partially assembled new Kei truck that counts as "car parts" during import, and can then be assembled to create a "kit car". The kit car process is almost equally onerous, but at least you could get a new car on the other end.

US restrictions on vehicle imports seem very odd from a British perspective. Over here, we can freely import pretty much anything. If it's more than 10 years old, you just register it. If it's less than 10 years old, you can still bring it in as a personal import, but it'll need to pass a slightly enhanced version of the normal annual inspection. It's a point of principle that any vehicle that passes inspection shoul…

A quick Google shows that only 15 states have vehicle inspections. The concept seems completely foreign (and a waste of time?) to me.

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#183

Post by habosa »

thebigjewbowski wrote: post #163
willcipriano wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand the anger and disdain from people about others potentially hurting themselves. The only thing I can think of is they are jealous of someone who doesn't have these sort of intrusive thoughts about safety all the time and how they get to do something cool like the OP every now and then.

I was thinking about something similar the other day — why does anyone besides my family really care if I wear a seatbelt or not? You know what vehicle I see all the time that doesn’t require a license or minimum age, doesn’t have any safety features and can go 15-20 mph alongside traffic and often on a city sidewalk amongst pedestrians? A bicycle ;)

I’d really prefer not to kill anybody else I’m sharing the road with, all else equal. It would be quite traumatic for that persons family and for me too.

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#184

Post by habosa »

kelnos wrote: post #158

I went back and forth on the idea of sharing such a negative take here, but... here goes. > You'll need to find a truck that is at least 25 years old. In the US, cars more youthful than that must comply with FMVSS (safety standards). > No air bags, [...] power steering, or crumple zones. I feel like this sort of thing is a fantastic illustration of the irresponsible level which most drivers (in the US at least; can't…

Driving in the US is such a nightmare because everyone seems to think it’s their own video game and where they are the main character avoiding cops and NPCs.

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#186

Post by dragonwriter »

p1necone wrote: post #125
rootusrootus wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not even remotely as capable as a full size truck. Or a compact one for that matter. Edit: Don't be grouchy and just downvote. If you really think a Kei truck with a 1000 pound payload and 60mph [optimistic] top speed is comparable to a full size pickup, explain why. It's the same payload as a Corolla, not a full size body-on-frame pickup. And even then, that completely ignores towing, which is a very common use…

Yeah but the point is that the vast majority of people buying full sized pickup trucks aren't actually using them for practical purposes, and it turns out that when something becomes a status symbol like that for so long the capabilities diverge from what people that aren't just buying it as a status symbol want.

> Yeah but the point is that the vast majority of people buying full sized pickup trucks aren't actually using them for practical purposes,

If they aren't, you can replace them with a cheaper, safer, more fuel efficient vehicle that meets US safety standards and is easier to maintain and register than a Kei, and probably at a comparable or far cheaper initial price than the Kei.

If they are using it for a practical purpose, you can't replace it with a Kei.

Either way, a Kei is probably the wrong choice for most US buyers.

(There are newer import-legal minitrucks that don't have the registration hassles, like Nissan Clipper, which makes the range of situations where the Kei makes a lot of sense outside of particular brand attachment even narrower.)

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#187

Post by eyegor »

Auracle wrote: post #182
jdietrich wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US restrictions on vehicle imports seem very odd from a British perspective. Over here, we can freely import pretty much anything. If it's more than 10 years old, you just register it. If it's less than 10 years old, you can still bring it in as a personal import, but it'll need to pass a slightly enhanced version of the normal annual inspection. It's a point of principle that any vehicle that passes inspection shoul…

A quick Google shows that only 15 states have vehicle inspections. The concept seems completely foreign (and a waste of time?) to me.

Living in Ohio (no inspection "rust belt" state), I saw a minivan's axle pop loose ahead of me on the highway, which sent it into the concrete barrier pretty much instantly. Perhaps you don't have rust issues where you live, but requiring some minimum mechanical function to register a car should be everywhere in my opinion. Generally inspections are either mechanical/safety or emissions. Emissions are based on the car model in every state I've lived in, so as long as you don't modify your car to blow smoke it'll pass. Mechanical inspections are to make sure there's no major rust, the brakes work, the lights work, tires aren't bald, etc.

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#188

Post by nateberkopec »

kelnos wrote: post #158

I went back and forth on the idea of sharing such a negative take here, but... here goes. > You'll need to find a truck that is at least 25 years old. In the US, cars more youthful than that must comply with FMVSS (safety standards). > No air bags, [...] power steering, or crumple zones. I feel like this sort of thing is a fantastic illustration of the irresponsible level which most drivers (in the US at least; can't…

All your points about 25-year-old safety standards is perfectly valid.

However, re: "crumple zones":

The streets of the USA are basically an arms race. Bigger and bigger and bigger because "it's safer". Safer for you, maybe. This is how we ended up with pickup trucks that have hoods as high as your shoulders.

Kei trucks and cars are great, and in Japan they're quite safe (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24499113/) but the context is completely different. Cars weigh half as much, the drivers are twice as careful and traveling at half the speed.

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#189

Post by rhaway84773 »

kelnos wrote: post #158

I went back and forth on the idea of sharing such a negative take here, but... here goes. > You'll need to find a truck that is at least 25 years old. In the US, cars more youthful than that must comply with FMVSS (safety standards). > No air bags, [...] power steering, or crumple zones. I feel like this sort of thing is a fantastic illustration of the irresponsible level which most drivers (in the US at least; can't…

The 25 year thing is a loophole intended to allow for the import of vintage cars.

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#190

Post by Someone1234 »

habosa wrote: post #185

This truck seems to have most of the desirable Kei truck qualities (besides price) but it’s an EV with modern features. https://www.telotrucks.com/

> Base Price: $49,999

I think you've missed a major component of Kei Truck popularity. You can literally get 10x Kei Trucks for that cost.

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