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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

#241

Post by pigsty »

nostromo wrote: post #210
deelowe wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That rule ain't changing unfortunately. Regulatory capture is STRONG with automotive and the US sees it as a matter of national security (car makers would be pivoted to other ares in times of war).

This isn't necessarily regulatory capture or protectionism. Half of all cars sold in the US are imported. Toyota, a Japanese company, is the most popular brand of car sold in the US. So, yes, you can import cars all you want, they just need to follow US safety and emissions standards. These cars do not meet those requirements, so you can't import them. If you didn't block them as imports, we'd have lots of people jus…

The interesting thing is Japanese companies generally manufacture cars they sell in America entirely in America, while “American” car companies manufacture their huge polluting machines in Mexico and maybe add one final part in the US so they can claim some work is done in the US. Japanese cars in the US aren’t imported while US cars are.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#242

Post by bagels »

jamestimmins wrote: post #109
bagels wrote: post #99

If you're in California, this isn't for you, sadly.

Why not? Are they illegal here?

California will not let you register anything that was not sold with California compliant smog equipment (with contemporaneous testing by the state)

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#243

Post by rco8786 »

ryukafalz wrote: post #9

New minitrucks should be legal here! If you don't need a huge truck, you should be able to buy something smaller.

It’s completely insane. A new Ford Ranger is considered a “compact” pickup truck. Nothing significantly smaller exists. But it is the exact same size as a 2004 F150.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#244

Post by seabird »

HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #45
pharmakom wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please buy a minivan if this is your situation.

Why? What do you care what he drives?

The American car market is flooded with shitty crossovers because people don't have the balls to just rock the minivan when they hit that point in their life. The entire SUV segment up until you reach 9-seaters doesn't have a great reason to exist at the market share it does, and the situation will continue until people grow out of the delusion that they're not uncool yet because they bought a specific class of bad vehicle.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#245

Post by IIAOPSW »

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 fraction of the space, and its so dirt cheap that even if its stolen or totaled or breaks its not a huge pain. It doesn't have trunk space but for an urban commute that doesn't matter much. There's just enough under-seat storage for a laptop and some stationary. Look into it, the import laws on cars probably don't apply, and if they do even with tariffs the vehicle is so dirt cheap to begin with you may as well eat the cost. It cost a low 3-digit US dollar value back when I bought one.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#246

Post by Symbiote »

bink wrote: post #235
porphyra wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vans are really much more practical. * protects your goods from weather * more cargo volume * better forward visibility without a long hood * easier to load and unload due to being lower * can park it without people being able to walk up to it and taking your tools and equipment out of the exposed truck bed

I think this is true unless you're hauling something that you really don't want in a closed space with you. Lawn equipment, motorcycle, fertilizer, that sort of thing.

In that case you have a dropside van, based on the same cab and chassis but with sides that fold down for easier loading and unloading.

In use: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bairon-FR-08-chantie...

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mercedes-Benz_Sprint...

(Can an American tell me what these vehicles are called in the USA?)

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#247

Post by _ea1k »

nostromo wrote: post #216
civilized wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You can import cars all you want, they just need to be safe and not pollute. These cars do not meet those requirements, so you can't import them. I don't understand. If this were the case, it seems like the rule wouldn't make an exception for 25+ year old cars.

That exemption exists for car collectors, who generally have a different set of safety expectations of their cars than you would buying a used car at a corner lot.

Exactly, and circumventing it for vehicles that get regularly used will create a real risk that the rule will get stricter.

I do think the rule is a little too strict, but its almost inevitable that something like it would exist.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#248

Post by paws »

deelowe wrote: post #52
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…

That rule ain't changing unfortunately. Regulatory capture is STRONG with automotive and the US sees it as a matter of national security (car makers would be pivoted to other ares in times of war).

Regulatory capture sucks and seems like one of those problems that's deeper and more prevalent than people realize.

I'm interested in learning where it was actually _curtailed_ in some measurable way e.g. due to the public pushing back, or other reasons. If you know of resources/studies on the pushback story, assuming there is one, would be appreciated.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#249

Post by anfilt »

I really do like the Kei Class of cars. Some people talking about the 25 year rule that does not apply if they imported as an off-road vhehicle and some things like governor installed.

However, in some states you can't use off-road vehicles on any roadways, and you would only be able to register such an import as off-road vheicle. Where as you could register 25+ year old on in quite a few states as a low speed vheicle which allows pretty much anything, but highway use.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#250

Post by cscurmudgeon »

joshspankit wrote: post #101
nostromo wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What would be the point of safety and emissions regulations if we let everyone bypass them by importing vehicles from abroad? The vehicles meeting the requirements wouldn't be competitive on price because they'd be playing by a different set of rules.

Seems better to just enforce the same emissions regulations on imported vehicles

What makes you believe otherwise? The parent comment is misleading.
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