Earlier quoted context omitted.
> American buyers who want Japanese kei trucks. It is crazy when I hear people say they want to drive a kei truck on American roads. American SUVs and trucks are enormous in both height and weight. The kei truck does not offer the necessary crash protection.
> The kei truck does not offer the necessary crash protection Eh, if you aren’t doing a lot of highway driving, I think this could be fine? Especially in a city where collisions should be low speed. Put another way—and this is a genuine question—is the person who wants a Kei truck better off spending tens of thousands of dollars more for safety rather than investing that in their health, happiness or education?
You raise some interesting points. A different way to look at safety: Why do car companies bother at all? Why isn't it a race to the bottom for car crash safety? "Oh, it's expensive to have cars with crash safety. Let's reduce our materials cost."