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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

#281

Post by tehwebguy »

agloe_dreams wrote: post #175
matthavener wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

NHTSA has a 25-year rule that allows a car old than 25 years to be imported without those considerations. You can definitely import them legally in Texas. I find it funny that we disallow these new smaller trucks, but we allow folks to jack up the suspension on an already large American truck 24 inches, install a grille guard, and it's still considered legal.

In most places all of this is still illegal, but then again, is the person with this mindset who you want to pull over today?

They are also huge offenders! At least in Los Angeles.

A pet project of @FilmThePoliceLA is filming & posting videos of cops’ personal vehicles with illegal modifications. He calls them out directly if he sees them, they never have any reasonable response.

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#282

Post by Dalewyn »

____jes wrote: post #255
fragmede wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why frame it as a downgrade? Bigger isn't necessarily better. Cars are a highly regulated product, with lots of testing that happens, and there are evolving standards. In a crash, I'd much rather be in a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu and not a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air, watch this video for why: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB6oefRKWmY . Where the 2023 Honda Accord has a rating of "good"* from IIHS on the updated side impact…

Unfortunately weight _is_ generally a predictor of occupant safety. IIHS says: “Frontal crash test results can't be used to compare vehicle performance across weight classes.… Given equivalent frontal ratings, the heavier of two vehicles usually offers better protection in real-world crashes.” https://www.iihs.org/ratings/about-our-tests

I agree. My dad always told me that, in a hypothetical situation where I'm going to crash and I have a choice in the kind of car I'm driving, to always pick the bigger car than the other guy.

Bigger cars are safer, for better or worse. Those Ford F-350s will, in general, survive crashes and protect the occupants better than something like a Toyota Camry.

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#283

Post by Dalewyn »

criddell wrote: post #40
manuelabeledo wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You can do the job of a $50,000 pickup... I would say that a non insignificant portion of pickup truck owners, don't even need a pick up truck to begin with.

I think that’s why big shared fleets will never really take off. People don’t seem to mind spending a lot more on their vehicle than what they really need to. People spend $50k because they want that truck, not because they need it.

It's because, as the old saying goes, we fight wars with the army we have rather than the army we want.

We buy cars that provide more than our needs so we aren't left needing in case we come across something that goes beyond our expectations.

Always buying just what is necessary right now in a bid to be efficient leaves no margin for error and will end up being inefficient in the long run.

I don't deny that driving a Ford F-350 is great in its own right, though. That thing screams 'Murica, and all the better if it gets us out of an unexpected rut every so often.

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#285

Post by tehwebguy »

woodruffw wrote: post #230
thebigjewbowski wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 ;)

> why does anyone besides my family really care if I wear a seatbelt or not? I care for a basic and selfish reason beyond the "human missile" one: if I'm in a car crash with you and there's only one bed available in the ER, I don't want your lack of a seatbelt to be the source of a hard choice by the doctors operating on us.

Plus nobody should have to scrape you off asphalt

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#286

Post by smcl »

Dalewyn wrote: post #282
____jes wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately weight _is_ generally a predictor of occupant safety. IIHS says: “Frontal crash test results can't be used to compare vehicle performance across weight classes.… Given equivalent frontal ratings, the heavier of two vehicles usually offers better protection in real-world crashes.” https://www.iihs.org/ratings/about-our-tests

I agree. My dad always told me that, in a hypothetical situation where I'm going to crash and I have a choice in the kind of car I'm driving, to always pick the bigger car than the other guy. Bigger cars are safer, for better or worse. Those Ford F-350s will, in general, survive crashes and protect the occupants better than something like a Toyota Camry.

Hasn't this caused an arms race of sorts where these trucks get bigger and bigger to the point where now some models have worse visibility than enormous M1 Abrams tanks: https://carbuzz.com/news/the-abrams-m1-tank-has-better-visib...

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#287

Post by tehwebguy »

refurb wrote: post #201
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 one thing that opened my eyes about this view of safety is living in a developing country. Riding a motorcycle without helmets, kids on their laps, cars without seatbelts, makeshift trucks with cargo randomly stacked and not strapped down. They are completely oblivious to the safety risks. But you know what? 99% of the time it doesn't matter. They live long and healthy lives. I get the sense the West has progress…

One of the wildest examples of literal survivorship bias I’ve ever heard

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#288

Post by namdnay »

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #242
namdnay wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This also stops the subsidy from ratcheting up the cost of the thing, because if you can drive 30 minutes out of your way to save a thousand dollars you do it, but if the government is paying either way then you don't. If the government is paying, why would it be cheaper 30 minutes away? One of the main features of single payer systems is that the single payer can impose a price list, and control any “ratcheting of…

A price list is a price control. Then no one has any incentive to lower the price beyond that so there is no price competition. If they set the price too low, you get shortages or long queues or sacrifice quality and no one can do better because that would require charging more, which isn't allowed. If they set the price too high they're overpaying, which is what happens in any system where the providers have politic…

We're not talking about a controlled economy trying to set prices on an open market.

We're talking about a single purchaser using its power to impose prices on suppliers. It's hardly unique - how do you think Walmart keeps its prices as low as possible? By leveraging their power.

And all your aguments seem a bit moot when you look at countries with single-payer systems - they just work, at a per-person cost that is far lower than the US

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#289

Post by Eisenstein »

xsmasher wrote: post #262
1970-01-01 wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I feel like this sort of thing is a fantastic illustration of the irresponsible level Motorcycles are much less safe when compared to this truck. Would you also ban them, or do they receive an arbitrary exception?

I had a similar thought today about e-bikes and other micro vehicles; why do we allow e-bikes to ride on the road, but ban small trucks and tuk-tuks like this one? https://electrek.co/2021/10/25/i-actually-bought-a-cheap-ele...

Because e-bikes are hard to differentiate from pedal bikes legally and we haven't done it yet, and if you advocated banning bicycles on roads I wouldn't like you very much.

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#290

Post by danuker »

fragmede wrote: post #211
KRAKRISMOTT wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any bored billionaires here or NGOs willing to finance a suit?

Bill Gates already did, for his Porsche 959, which was made illegal by the 1988 Imported Vehicle Safety Compliance Act. His lobbying resulted in the 1999 Show or Display law, which allows such vehicles, though they are limited to 2,500 miles per year.

> Show or Display law

Dammit. Even with his money he barely managed to scratch his own itch.

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