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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

#341

Post by fomine3 »

inferiorhuman wrote: post #186
nyx wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, that's completely right, but as you said in another comment, there's some real bullshit in the FMVSS that to me, a complete layperson, seems like it has the sole effect of blocking the certification of perfectly safe and clean modern vehicles from other advanced nations. Of course we shouldn't be allowing people to import some pollution-spewing deathtrap that doesn't have seatbelts--the FMVSS regulations do exi…

perfectly safe and clean modern vehicles from other advanced nations A lot of what's being discussed are neither perfectly safe nor clean by American standards. The UK, for instance, allows pretty much anything with wheels to be registered (e.g. the Peel). Euro NCAP is merely advisory, you can still sell/buy a death trap. Pollution as well. Want an early 90s Figaro or S-Cargo or a late 00s Hijet? Those were sold with…

Which pollutes more, Hijet or Hummer

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#343

Post by omneity »

This kind of minitrucks is basically the workhorse of the informal Moroccan economy, locally called just "Honda" or "Pickup".

It fell relatively out of favor with the introduction of cargo trikes[0], a.k.a. "triporteur" in the local parlance. Trikes are now used for everything from transportation to cargo, still mostly within small businesses in the informal economy.

[0]: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/9LsAAOSwJnxgO-sr/s-l500.jpg

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#344

Post by throwworhtthrow »

chrisco255 wrote: post #321
libraryatnight wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know a lot of people with those ridiculous big trucks, and 2 of them use them for utility, one has a boat and one has a 5th wheel. The others just...have them. So until there's zero people driving them for vanity or aggression reasons, it doesn't feel dishonest at all. Your response feels like a typical US response to social ills - turn a blind eye to a problem because a) the thing causing the problem is fun/popula…

I know a lot of people who drive big trucks, and all of them regularly use them for: hauling building materials, towing RVs, towing boats, towing four wheelers/dirt bikes/UTVs/snowmobiles, pulling utility trailers (for trash pickup, job site cleanup, lumber & metal, piping, furniture, landscaping, tree service, etc), tailgating parties, hunting, mudding, off-roading, barbecuing (towing a smoker), etc. Literally don't…

> Big trucks aren't causing social ills for anyone except people that have nothing better to do but complain about other people enjoying their own lives.

"These Stupid Trucks are Literally Killing Us" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35202168

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#345

Post by fomine3 »

porphyra wrote: post #37

One of the most highly upvoted Reddit posts on /r/fuckcars mocks large pickups compared to the utility of a kei truck. https://reddit.com/r/fuckcars/comments/sdrgv3/japanese_truck... A kei truck has about 90% the bed length of a pickup while being a lot more nimble. The lower bed is more ergonomic to load and unload too.

I know they have never ridden kei trucks. I'm a 175cm Japanese and its seat and space is obviously uncomfortable. It's fine for the purpose (carrying farm equipment and other stuff, drive max like 10km at 60km/s) but not comparable with richer trucks. Looks better to compare with 90s Hilux.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#346

Post by fomine3 »

rtpg wrote: post #199
nicbou wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me, European multipurpose vehicles (sprinter vans?) were a revelation. An old Renault Kangoo is cheap to buy, cheap to drive and cheap to maintain. It's a small, simple car that drives and parks like a small sedan, but carries as much as a small pickup truck. I can fit a bed, 3 months of luggage and a bicycle in mine. In a pinch, it's a brilliant microcamper. It's a big box on wheels. You can do what you want wit…

This made me realize why I see so many Kangoos in Japan, despite them not really being cheap here! A bit of a nicer version of a Kei truck, without being a full minivan!

Kangoo buyers in Japan also cares fashion. Japanese vans like Toyota Townace are too boring for them but Kangoo is cute.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#347

Post by pandaman »

derefr wrote: post #333
nostromo wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Kind of weird that car collectors in the US can't collect modern foreign cars, though. Why not instead just have "accredited collectors" like there are "accredited investors"? Wouldn't that be simpler? "Get the piece of paper waiving your right to car safety, and then you can buy whatever stupid cars you like, as long as you don't drive them very often."

Collectors are in luck and don't need an accreditation: "A vehicle may be permanently imported for show or display. Written approval from DOT is required and should be obtained before the vehicle is exported from the foreign country to the U.S."[1]

1. https://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import-export/importing-car

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#348

Post by lern_too_spel »

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).

Gas taxes are going to have to be replaced for funding road repairs. Might as well include a weight tax for vehicle registration.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#349

Post by jjoonathan »

llanowarelves wrote: post #319
jjoonathan wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's fascinating that you think this has to do with the spirit of the bill at the same time as you list off the forces holding that spirit captive. You didn't reason yourself into this position, so I don't think you'll be reasoned out of it.

Ok, without resorting to insulting you as you are me, according to you, is the 10th Amendment a loophole or not? More generally, are people doing things because they aren't stopped from doing so a loophole or not? Are loopholes a feature or a bug? Does it depend on intentions or how it's used to be called this, or not? More importantly, why don't judges tend to rule in the "spirit of the law" over what's actually the…

If you are an individual who has a vote but not enough vested interest to fund a lobbying effort for expected positive ROI, loopholes are definitely a bug. If you are a corporation that wants to undermine regulation by pulling purse-strings rather than by defeating regulation attempts in the arena of public opinion, loopholes are definitely a feature. However, a corporation that pulls the purse-strings to subvert a bill makes itself morally culpable in the bill's intentional inadequacy. You seem awfully sure that this isn't what happened with the car size loophole. Why?

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#350

Post by [deleted] »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #28
LinuxBender wrote: post #4

I've seriously contemplated getting one of these. Street legal, fuel efficient, simple, but when I started researching them I started to see a pattern. It's hard to find anyone in rural areas willing to work on them and not all mini trucks are equal. Some are not shipped correctly and have frame rust issues. There are YouTuber's that cover some of the models and the gotchas and things to inspect. I would never buy on…

SXS are overpriced and underdeliver compared to what you can get from a minitruck.

[deleted]
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