Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Mini imported Japanese vehicles may soon be banned on Massachusetts roads

wgbh.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 88 posts

Re: Mini imported Japanese vehicles may soon be banned on Massachusetts roads

#31

Post by Tuna-Fish »

khafra wrote: post #6
sidewndr46 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fuel economy standards, emissions standards, safety standards, & profit margins. If you want to sell cars and make money, compacts are not where it is at.

Compacts, subcompacts, and microcompacts are very popular in Europe. Is this because Europe has fewer and less restrictive standards for fuel economy, emissions, and safety? I am not an automotive policy expert, but I feel like Europe tends to regulate more than the US does.

Regulations are not just a more/less choice. They can also be better or worse.

This usually comes up when arguing about about FDA, which is uniquely bad at its job. When I try to point that out, people come out of the woodwork and argue as if I'm a nutcase libertarian who wants to abolish all regulations. No, there are countries with drug regulations that are generally tighter, and also the population has had access to UVA-blocking sunscreen for a decade.

The regulations that matter here are terribly written regulations that are more lax if your vehicle is bigger. EU has more regulations, but wouldn't ever make that mistake.

Re: Mini imported Japanese vehicles may soon be banned on Massachusetts roads

#32

Post by Amezarak »

loloquwowndueo wrote: post #16
petesergeant wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I assume governance is the art of the possible, and banning motorbikes is impossible for political reasons, where banning hobby vehicles looks pretty straight-forward.

Motorbikes are hobby vehicles.

The point is that motorcycles are well-established cultural icons. While road safety folks would likely be delighted to ban them, there would be a huge political backlash. Kei cars are not, there's very few people that even know what they are compared to motorcycles, let alone want to drive them on the road.

Re: Mini imported Japanese vehicles may soon be banned on Massachusetts roads

#33

Post by tsuru »

Japan has different standards and driving environment around kei cars (I'm going to use K-car going forward).

- Their top speed limit even on highways is 100kmh / 60mph

- K-cars have yellow license plates and yellow license plates are not allowed on highways

I have a memory of seeing one of the infamous white K-trucks on an interstate in Nashville and was gobsmacked. These cars are not rated for highway / interstates in Japan, let alone the U.S.

I'm not sure if the U.S. has a similar visible markings for farm vehicles to allow K-cars city road travel and deny interstate travel. If not, I agree they should be banned until some sort of classification is made and driver culture / knowledge is propagated.

Re: Mini imported Japanese vehicles may soon be banned on Massachusetts roads

#34

Post by [deleted] »

short_sells_poo wrote: post #27
loloquwowndueo wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Motorbikes are hobby vehicles.

Not in a city they aren't. They are an excellent commuting tool that offers much of the flexibility of a car for a fraction of the cost and much better commute time.

[deleted]

Re: Mini imported Japanese vehicles may soon be banned on Massachusetts roads

#36

Post by jszymborski »

infecto wrote: post #14
jszymborski wrote: post #3

I really don't get the NA car market. There is a demand for small kei car/trucks as is natural with cities growing and parking dwindling. Yet even compacts are disappearing. My kingdom for an EV compact that is compact. Even the Fiat 500s and Mini Coops feel like they get bigger each year.

Would love to see data otherwise but I don't believe this is the case. I hear this argument a lot for kei vehicles but its still a niche compared to the broader truck market. 2023 units sold, ford ranger 40k, f-series 760k. The kei market is vastly smaller than the ranger market. I am sure that profit margin/advertising plays a mix into the decisions but I also think the consumer largely does not want small cars. Edi…

Im not denying that demand for trucks/SUVs is probably has the largest demand of any segment.

I guess im more just wondering if the lack of demand for small cars is just that after being absent from the market and seeing the least innovation over the last X years, whether there is some sort of collective amnesia that such a segment exists.

Car companies know what they're doing, so im probably just coping. I should stop wishing the free market to do what's right rather than profitable :P

Re: Mini imported Japanese vehicles may soon be banned on Massachusetts roads

#37

Post by olalonde »

EligibleDecoy wrote: post #8

The hypocrisy is that if safety was the overall concern, then motorcycles would have been banned a long time ago (and I say this as someone who enjoys riding my motorcycle). I think the actual problem is that when compared to other cars in their category these kei trucks do have abysmal safety standards such as no airbags or crumple zones. Which is because there isn’t a mini truck category in the US. Basically all pi…

But those Japanese vehicle owners are unknowingly risking their safety by driving them. The government is actually doing them a favor by banning them. /s

Re: Mini imported Japanese vehicles may soon be banned on Massachusetts roads

#38

Post by olalonde »

infecto wrote: post #15
reedf1 wrote: post #7

Many Japanese vehicles are banned, especially light trucks, because they are too competitive. They are often banned for trumped up reasons, mostly to protect local competition.

This sounds like a massive conspiracy if I have ever heard one. Evidence would be helpful. Foreign markets are often very different and those vehicles don't pass safety in the US. My favorite was the death traps that Toyota Mexico made up until a couple years ago. Brand new vehicle but absolute death trap.

It doesn't require a conspiracy to be the case, simply a bit of "safety" lobbying by domestic manufacturers. Lobbying for regulations that favor and protect market incumbents happens all the time. I'd go as far to say that it's the primary source of regulations.

Re: Mini imported Japanese vehicles may soon be banned on Massachusetts roads

#39

Post by nkrisc »

tourmalinetaco wrote: post #23
spdgg wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it funny that the safety standards are for the drivers, not everyone around them. Small trucks = not safe Massive modern trucks killing cyclists and pedestrians = very safe! (For the driver)

A small truck has just as much possibility to kill as a big truck, and in fact due to the smaller application of similar forces its more likely to seriously cripple you, even if said hit was non-fatal. While I’m all for reducing the size of cars in USA, pretending that ”massive modern trucks” are the only ones that kill is just wrong.

You’ve simply got it backwards. More massive trucks with higher top speeds are more dangerous. An F-150 at 30mph is more dangerous than a Honda Fit at 30 mph.

Re: Mini imported Japanese vehicles may soon be banned on Massachusetts roads

#40

Post by walthamstow »

loloquwowndueo wrote: post #16
petesergeant wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I assume governance is the art of the possible, and banning motorbikes is impossible for political reasons, where banning hobby vehicles looks pretty straight-forward.

Motorbikes are hobby vehicles.

Motorbikes as a category includes scooters/mopeds which are utility and commuting vehicles anywhere from Italy to Indonesia.
Post reply on HN