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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

#521

Post by tijl »

nivenkos wrote: post #502
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…

I thought the US wanted free trade and free markets, why do they put up with so much protectionism?

The US has a huge internal market. But their reliance on international trade is small. Exports amount to less then 10% of their GDP [1]. As a comparison, France has the lowest amount of exports per GDP in the EU, and theirs is almost 30%. Germany's is 47%. For many smaller EU countries, it's even higher [2]. The US cares a lot about keeping international shipping lanes open (mainly because they used to rely on imported oil). But they are very protectionist, and always have been. International trade is just not that important to them. [1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/258779/us-exports-as-a-p... [2] https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.EXP.GNFS.ZS?end=2021...

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#522

Post by ShadowBanThis01 »

We can't even buy a legitimate SMALL pickup in the USA anymore. The closest thing is the still-large Ford Maverick, which is nearly useless as a truck because Ford forces a giant four-door cab on every buyer. Where is the two-door version? You see this same blunder on every "smallish" truck sold in the USA today, which is why Rangers from a decade and a half ago are selling for as much as they did new.

Look at the absurd marketing picture Ford put out. These people have no hope of even loading the couch they're struggling with, let alone half the other crap waiting on the sidewalk: https://www.thedrive.com/content-b/message-editor%2F16461598...

While this is a somewhat different type of truck than the subject of this article, it reflects a similar failure of manufacturers to address a major gap in the market. Not everyone is a poser who just wants to drive around in a "truck." Some people have actual truck applications to be addressed, and want an efficient little truck for them.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#523

Post by fooker »

vlovich123 wrote: post #372
fooker wrote: post #361

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are you talking about? The vast majority of japanese brand cars are manufacturered in Japan and imported in the US.

I don’t know either way but DDG led me here [1] > The largest automobile manufacturing facility in the world for Toyota, Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. (TMMK) is able to produce 550,000 vehicles and more than 600,000 engines per year. Two years after breaking ground in Georgetown, Kentucky, > Where are the majority of Toyotas produced? > The majority of Toyota vehicles you see on the road are made in your…

The marketing trick here is 'assembled'.

Nothing major is manufactured here.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#524

Post by foldr »

ShadowBanThis01 wrote: post #519
burnished wrote: post #492

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, your assumption is that they are all just a bunch of uppity jackasses instead of semi rational human beings? Go give those routes a ride chum, you'll probably figure out whats going on in a hurry.

No need for strawmen. This comment was specifically in regard to bikers riding outside of provided bike lanes, which I've seen happen in L.A.

I think we’re trying to figure out what conclusion you draw from that. Do you think the cyclists are doing it just to annoy you? If not, then why? Isn’t it likely that the dedicated cycling infrastructure is less adequate than you assume?

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#525

Post by foldr »

robertlagrant wrote: post #516
burnished wrote: post #511

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, like in a suburban neighborhood? Or a variety of urban spaces, based on context? In your rush to accuse others of making bad faith arguments you're making just plain thoughtless ones.

The context was rush hour Washington Boulevard. I'm not rushing to accuse anyone, and I'm not the one thoughtlessly ignoring the context.

The context was cycling on rush hour Washington Boulevard, which isn't absurd if it's the easiest route to your destination, any more than walking down a road is absurd if you don't have an alternative.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#526

Post by sofixa »

lm28469 wrote: post #215
quarantine wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Citroën Berlingo really is one of the best cars they made

The c15 is an icon too, such a classic, produced from 1984 until 2006, it can carry almost as much as it weights. And it was designed to fit a full euro palette in the back https://images.caradisiac.com/images/0/9/8/4/190984/S0-route...

There is this amazing Twitter thread comparing the Citroen C15 (a design from the 1980s) to a modern American pickup and a modern British SUV, with the Citroen blowing them out of the water in most scenarios: https://twitter.com/jmaris_/status/1570889945551863808

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#527

Post by markdown »

kalleboo wrote: post #383
markdown wrote: post #359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From a quick Google, these all seem to be cars from the 90s. Did you see any fpr sale that are less than a decade old?

These are still made and sold brand new starting at around $6000. The interest in 90's ones is due to the 25-year rule on hassle-free importing into the US. * https://www.daihatsu.co.jp/lineup/truck/ * https://www.suzuki.co.jp/car/carry/

Interesting. In my country it's illegal to import vehicles over 5yrs old, not to mention having to meet emissions standards.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#528

Post by gibagger »

mcv wrote: post #493
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…

You mean fat-tired e-bikes? I see them a lot in Amsterdam too. They're definitely more like mopeds and scooters than bikes, unlike regular e-bikes that pretend to be bikes. I'm not sure which ones I prefer (I'm not a fan either way), but they're both a massive improvement over the old fuel-burning two-stroke mopeds and scooters. (By Dutch law, two-stroke engines didn't have to meet the same pollution rules as 4-strok…

These are terrible. Frequently modified by the seller to work just by squeezing the throttle. In any case, even if they don't do that, all it takes is for people to lazily flop their legs to trigger the sensors just enough so that the engine can kick in. These are, by all practical intents and purposes, scooters without plates and without mandatory helmet.

I also dislike that these modified ebikes (not just the fat ones, but also some older models of vanmoof) can do 35-40 silently on a bike lane. I've had a couple close calls because they caught up to you almost three times as fast as a regular person on a regular bicycle do and, unlike the dirty mopeds, they are noiseless so you don't hear them coming with enough notice.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#529

Post by gnz11 »

masklinn wrote: post #471
fortuna86 wrote: post #427

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US isn't even on the top 10 list of worst / most aggressive drivers. They at least respect lanes as drawn on the road.

> They at least respect lanes as drawn on the road. Sometimes anyway. Ignoring lanes when making a turn (e.g. drift out on a multi-lane turn) is sadly common.

Not to mention failing to stop at the clearly marked lines at intersections. They seem to stop either a car length behind the line or a car length over the line in the crosswalk.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#530

Post by libraryatnight »

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…

We used to do pretty much everything you listed with much smaller trucks that didn't have grills capable of encasing an entire 9 year old child.
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