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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

#411

Post by dcow »

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).

These days you’d think the US would do the same for compute power. I suspect microchip production will play a huge role in the next war.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#412

Post by quesera »

RoyGBivCap wrote: post #174
tgtweak wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think most people register them out of state for this reason - Minnesota and Arkansas being the two go-to (also for bypassing vehicle road-readiness inspections...).

I wish I'd known this. Oregon's bi-annual "emissions test" where they hook up the inspection machine to the ODB port and let the car lie to it is absurd. When I first heard about it I assumed they'd put some device on the exhaust. They do not.

> I assumed they'd put some device on the exhaust

They used to do it that way. Still do, for some cars, although the pre-ODBII set is now out of smog regs in most states.

Turns out the tailpipe breather machines are finicky and difficult to calibrate, causing false positives and false negatives (sometimes corruptly).

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#413

Post by baggy_trough »

oyashirochama wrote: post #402
worthless-trash wrote: post #368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you didn't block them as imports, we'd have > lots of people just go to Mexico and buy > highly-polluting vehicles to save money, and our > problem with smog in the border states would be > much worse. In Australia there are a set of guidelines required for vehicle imports, they even outline pollution and safety requirements that must be met before it can be registered or driven on public roads. On-road non impo…

US states control registration. Also older vehicles especially kei cars aren't nearly as polluting as one would think especially if only used for work rather than daily use, with mpg in the upper 50 to low 70s though fairly crap nox by comparison to modern 2020s cars. They also encourage lower speeds which could be a plus in every way.

It takes longer to get places at lower speeds.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#414

Post by kalleboo »

Kon-Peki wrote: post #32
pharmakom wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please buy a minivan if this is your situation.

You can buy Kei vans too. I've seen them, in the USA. Same import rules as the Kei trucks. When I lived in Chicago, a neighbor had one. It was 4x4 too, so great in the winter.

I have kids, we drive a Kei minivan. They only seat 4, so it wouldn't work for a family of 5-6 as in the example.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#415

Post by noobermin »

iambateman wrote: post #357
IIAOPSW wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

This is all true…and also American drivers are legitimately aggressive toward these kind of vehicles. They have a terrible reputation, primarily because they get used a lot by people who can’t afford a car. I wish it were different, but driving a moped/Vespa on American roads is a pretty big risk.

Ditto re bikes, but with widerspread usage attitudes will change.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#416

Post by [deleted] »

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF wrote: post #118
HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? What do you care what he drives?

https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/2020-traffic-crash-data... > The estimated number of police-reported crashes in 2020 decreased by 22% as compared to 2019, and the estimated number of people injured declined by 17%. > While the number of crashes and traffic injuries declined overall, fatal crashes increased by 6.8%. It's at least a somewhat common belief that the 6.8% increase of fatal crashes despite a decrease…

[deleted]

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#417

Post by Loocid »

chrisco255 wrote: post #336
wpm wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The vast majority of big-ass truck owners never haul anything , let alone something heavier than 1,300lbs.

The vast majority of large truck owners definitely do. 1300 pounds is nothing, and your ignorance is telling. Most people doing real work with trucks are hauling heavy duty construction trailers, or otherwise, but even if you wanted to move furniture you'd quickly exceed 1300 pounds. Even a tiny 4'x 8' U-Haul is 850 pounds empty: https://www.uhaul.com/Trailers/4x8-Cargo-Trailer-Rental/UV/

I would love to see some stats on "the vast majority". I have no evidence either but I strongly feel the opposite is true.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#418

Post by PaulDavisThe1st »

Dalewyn wrote: post #261
nostromo wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

>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. This really is the crux of the issue, those kei cars simply do not meet US car regulations by the very nature of their small size and light weight. Even in Japan, where they hail from, kei cars are a distinct category regulated separately from the rest of…

> Even in Japan, where they hail from, kei cars are a distinct category regulated separately from the rest of the car market with different build, safety, and emissions standards.

So, like farm vehicles in the USA?

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#419

Post by asmosoinio »

hytdstd wrote: post #329
iancmceachern wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you live in a tent? Would you make the same comparison about your house? We live in our RV for 3-6 months a year, in weather from -10 in Colorado blizzards and 120 degree California summers. In rain snow and sleet. I work remotely from it. A tent is not a home. An RV It is for many of us. Before you throw more stones, it's far more eco friendly and lower carbon Footprint to own an rv and travel and stay in it in v…

> it's far more eco friendly and lower carbon Footprint to own an rv and travel and stay in it in various places than to own several properties and fly between them. It's considered worse to drive (vs fly) unless you have more than 2 people-- and that's for a normal car. With a truck+trailer the break-even point would need more passengers. https://terrapass.com/blog/carbon-footprint-of-driving-vs-fl... https://yalecl…

That's per passager mile, right?

For the comparison parent post is making - leisure travel - I think there's a big difference in that flying enables much larger distances, thus much more emissions.

You can easily fly 1000 miles each way for a weekend trip. Not as easily with a car, the travel tends to be much shorter.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#420

Post by lmpdev »

ioseph wrote: post #260
asciimov wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I seriously miss compact trucks, like the Mazda B-series, Ford Courier, Ford Ranger (before it became a mid-size in 2019). These kinds of trucks might more to your liking. Sure they aren't as small and cute as the imports, but your local auto store can still get you parts for them. They are fun to drive, fairly fuel efficient, and are capable of hauling material from the home center. I learned to drive stick, and how…

It's so bizarre to me as an Australian that these are considered "compact". Here they are the standard utility vehicle for every tradesman (although the Toyota Hilux is perhaps most popular). Coming from my hatchback I find these long and awkward to park / merge. Sadly Dodge Rams and other stupid big US cars are starting to rear their ugly faces, although they look hilariously out of place on our roads. A popular ter…

I'm utterly baffled why Toyotas like the 79 Series LandCruiser hasn't taken over the United States yet

It is the most American vehicle ever made

Next to no electronics, far stronger than a Hilux, all standard dirt cheap parts that are all entirely serviceable in the middle of no where and most importantly for Americans: a massive V8 diesel engine

Out bush I see quite a few 6 wheeler modified ones with double 220L (63 gallon) fuel tanks

US Regulatory capture shooting themselves in the foot I guess

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