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"Road legal" has a different standard in the US. To sell a car in the US it must have airbags, ABS, electronic stability control, a backup camera (also implying

"Road legal" has a different standard in the US. To sell a car in the US it must have airbags, ABS, electronic stability control, a backup camera (also implying a decently-large full-color display on the dashboard), and it must meet USDOT, NHTSA, and EPA standards (each of which are slightly incompatible with standards from other regions, and intentionally so as a soft trade barrier). I'm guessing that the Lada 4x4 would be too close to a "real" car to be sold as a "not-car" offroad-only vehicle but would require too many changes to be sold cost-effectively as a "real" car in the US.

gamegoblin 8y ago
FWIW if the car is >= 25 years old, most of these regulations go away. I have a 1990 Subaru Sambar pickup truck [1] imported from Japan that is street legal and registered in Washington state. It’s probably only a tiny bit safer than a motorcycle because it has seatbelts. Maybe cancelled out by the fact that I don’t wear a helmet while driving it. You can get them for $3K - 5K depending on condition and they are excellent little city trucks that get fantastic fuel economy. Getting used to the right-side drive and shifting left handed wasn’t so bad. The hard part is the blinkers and windshield wipers are swapped! [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_Sambar#/media/File%3ASubaru_Sambar_Truck_5th_Generation_001.JPG https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_Sambar#/media/File%3A...
- jamessantiago 8y ago
  You just rekindled my long time desire to own one of these. I saw them all over the place in okinawa and I have a die-cast toy car of one somewhere around here. I remember there was someone who put that longhorn decoration you see as a texas cliche on one. They definitely are pretty neat. It would be great for hauling landscaping items from my local nursery without having to get a full sized truck.
  - ngngngng 8y ago
    I'm with you, I've always admired the teeny utility trucks I see when I travel in China. It never occurred to me I could just import one thats >25 years old.
    - gamegoblin 8y ago
      Some states won't register kei-trucks, so check with your state first. There are a few importers that keep some on stock. For example, here is a big one in southern WA: https://www.nwminitrucks.com/inventory/active https://www.nwminitrucks.com/inventory/active And here is where I got mine in Seattle: http://sodo-moto.com/in-stock/?shipment=in-stock&body-style=truck&listing_order=make&listing_orderby=ASC http://sodo-moto.com/in-stock/?shipment=in-stock&body-style=...
  - gamegoblin 8y ago
    If you aren't towing anything or driving cross-country, they can do just about everything a full-size pickup can do. The bed size is 6.5 feet long and 4.5 feet wide. That's the same length as the Ford F150 bed, and the same width between the wheel wells. They are rated for 350kg (770 lbs) but you can go up to 450kg if it's well distributed. I am an amateur carpenter and haul wood around the Seattle area in it all the time. It's absolutely perfect for this use case. It sips gas, too. Gets 30 mpg city 50 highway.
  - toomanybeersies 8y ago
    You can get 4x4 kei trucks as well. They're quite popular in New Zealand for farm work. Not road legal at all, but if you put offroad tyres on, they're basically a quad bike with a roof and a tray.
- Gravityloss 8y ago
  That's just so cool. I don't know why. It's somehow got this giant "I do what I want" attitude written on it. Muscle cars seem so conservative and formulaic.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - gamegoblin 8y ago
    For whatever reason, the current generation of teenagers seems to think it's really cool. I get compliments and genuine interest from that cohort all the time. I guess it might be because it's kind of a rebellious/counterculture/ironic sort of vehicle to drive in a country dominated by F-150 style trucks.
    - kbenson 8y ago
      I knew someone when I was in high school that drove a Jeep CJ (not sure if it was a retired postal jeep or was originally sold as consumer), and I was immediately taken by how cool it was, and how much I wanted one. I think it appeals to some in the same way that classic muscle cards do or did. Most people I knew that owned and or "restored" (using that term loosely) these cars when I was young were much less interested in being historically accurate, and much more interested in putting their own touch on them. It's a method of self expression and displaying your identity, and one that's approachable to those that are sometimes much shyer about doing so in other manners. I speak as someone whose first car was a 1967 Mustang, and whose second was a 1973 240Z, but who now happily splits my driving time between a Toyota Camry and Honda Odyssey. I sometimes entertain the idea of starting a project car again, but with so many other projects to choose from, I doubt I'll get to it any time in the next decade.
- username_taco 8y ago
  FWIW the >25year old rule is not true in California. Things are much more complicated here.
  - megy 8y ago
    Good.
- dragonwriter 8y ago
  > FWIW if the car is >= 25 years old, most of these regulations go away. Most of those are only required to sell a new car; a car previously legally sold in the US (and maybe one sold after being legally imported by a consumer) doesn't need many of them, though it will have had to have met whichever were in place when it was first sold.
- walrus01 8y ago
  Just don't plan on driving one if you're over 5'10".
  - gamegoblin 8y ago
    I am 5'10" and have 5" of headroom (just went out and measured to write this comment!). The cab is actually really spacious.
    - walrus01 8y ago
      I'm somewhat surprised since I'm 5'11", in the drivers seat of a Delica, which is considerably larger than a Sambar, my hair touches the ceiling trim.
- cr0sh 8y ago
  Regs also "go away" if you sell the car in parts that can be put together; it basically becomes a "kit car" at that point. Plus, there is some kind of loophole out there for some of the quads out there (well, at least here in Arizona - we play kinda fast and loose with such I guess), like the CanAm vehicles; I see them licensed and tagged and going down the road all the time here in sand land. Then again, that re-issue of the Jeep from India can't be sold and driven on road legally - even here in AZ: https://jalopnik.com/the-mahindra-roxor-is-a-tiny-offroad-jeep-to-conquer-am-1823460351 https://jalopnik.com/the-mahindra-roxor-is-a-tiny-offroad-je...
- nostromo 8y ago
  There's an import dealer in Seattle that sales similar models. Eg: http://sodo-moto.com/listings/1987-mitsubishi-truck-2wd/ http://sodo-moto.com/listings/1987-mitsubishi-truck-2wd/
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
ataturk 8y ago
Hell, soon you won't even be able to get a manual transmission vehicle anymore because of dumb laws.
moftz 8y ago
Manufacturers can put the backup camera display in the rearview mirror so they can get by with using the same cheap dashboard for fleet and commercial vehicles. I've seen this in newer Uhaul vans but not anywhere else.
- colanderman 8y ago
  My Honda CR-Z had this. Loved it, because it meant I got a dash with real buttons instead of the laggy infotainment crap that's in my current car (Subaru Impreza).
tptacek 8y ago
TIL new cars sold in the US require backup cameras. Wow.
- MrRadar 8y ago
  It's because there are so many trucks and SUVs which can completely obscure people (especially children) under 5 ft (~1.5 m) from their rear windows when they are too close to the vehicle because the vehicles are so high off the ground.
  - tptacek 8y ago
    So this is required to sell new cars; it's not required to be street-legal, though, right? For instance: you can't sell a car in the US without both side-view mirrors, but you can drive a car without one of them.
    - MrRadar 8y ago
      Yes, the safety equipment standards I listed are for new vehicles. Existing/used vehicles only need to comply with the standards that were in effect when they were new (and even then those standards are only enforced in the 15 states with mandatory safety inspections). The only exception I think is seatbelts since it's illegal to drive a car without wearing one in all but one state.
      - UncleEntity 8y ago
        > The only exception I think is seatbelts since it's illegal to drive a car without wearing one in all but one state. I know in Arizona if the car didn't originally come with seatbelts then you don't have to install them. Used to have a '53 Dodge that didn't have them and it was fine -- kind of freaked out my sister though...
        toomanybeersies 8y ago
        To be fair, it is still reckless to drive an old car without seatbelts. Even more so than driving a newer car without seatbelts.
codazoda 8y ago
The Polaris Slingshot is the closest "car" I can think of. They have 3 wheels and are licensed as a motorcycle, so they skirt many of these safety issues. They also cost $28k; more than a lot of cars. Compare that to the Kia Soul that starts at $16,500. I guess you're paying for cool factor on the Polaris.
Angostura 8y ago
Blimey, all cars sold in the US must have a parking camera?

gamegoblin 8y ago

FWIW if the car is >= 25 years old, most of these regulations go away. I have a 1990 Subaru Sambar pickup truck [1] imported from Japan that is street legal and registered in Washington state. It’s probably only a tiny bit safer than a motorcycle because it has seatbelts. Maybe cancelled out by the fact that I don’t wear a helmet while driving it. You can get them for $3K - 5K depending on condition and they are excellent little city trucks that get fantastic fuel economy. Getting used to the right-side drive and shifting left handed wasn’t so bad. The hard part is the blinkers and windshield wipers are swapped! [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_Sambar#/media/File%3ASubaru_Sambar_Truck_5th_Generation_001.JPG https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_Sambar#/media/File%3A...

jamessantiago 8y ago
You just rekindled my long time desire to own one of these. I saw them all over the place in okinawa and I have a die-cast toy car of one somewhere around here. I remember there was someone who put that longhorn decoration you see as a texas cliche on one. They definitely are pretty neat. It would be great for hauling landscaping items from my local nursery without having to get a full sized truck.
- ngngngng 8y ago
  I'm with you, I've always admired the teeny utility trucks I see when I travel in China. It never occurred to me I could just import one thats >25 years old.
  - gamegoblin 8y ago
    Some states won't register kei-trucks, so check with your state first. There are a few importers that keep some on stock. For example, here is a big one in southern WA: https://www.nwminitrucks.com/inventory/active https://www.nwminitrucks.com/inventory/active And here is where I got mine in Seattle: http://sodo-moto.com/in-stock/?shipment=in-stock&body-style=truck&listing_order=make&listing_orderby=ASC http://sodo-moto.com/in-stock/?shipment=in-stock&body-style=...
- gamegoblin 8y ago
  If you aren't towing anything or driving cross-country, they can do just about everything a full-size pickup can do. The bed size is 6.5 feet long and 4.5 feet wide. That's the same length as the Ford F150 bed, and the same width between the wheel wells. They are rated for 350kg (770 lbs) but you can go up to 450kg if it's well distributed. I am an amateur carpenter and haul wood around the Seattle area in it all the time. It's absolutely perfect for this use case. It sips gas, too. Gets 30 mpg city 50 highway.
- toomanybeersies 8y ago
  You can get 4x4 kei trucks as well. They're quite popular in New Zealand for farm work. Not road legal at all, but if you put offroad tyres on, they're basically a quad bike with a roof and a tray.
Gravityloss 8y ago
That's just so cool. I don't know why. It's somehow got this giant "I do what I want" attitude written on it. Muscle cars seem so conservative and formulaic.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- gamegoblin 8y ago
  For whatever reason, the current generation of teenagers seems to think it's really cool. I get compliments and genuine interest from that cohort all the time. I guess it might be because it's kind of a rebellious/counterculture/ironic sort of vehicle to drive in a country dominated by F-150 style trucks.
  - kbenson 8y ago
    I knew someone when I was in high school that drove a Jeep CJ (not sure if it was a retired postal jeep or was originally sold as consumer), and I was immediately taken by how cool it was, and how much I wanted one. I think it appeals to some in the same way that classic muscle cards do or did. Most people I knew that owned and or "restored" (using that term loosely) these cars when I was young were much less interested in being historically accurate, and much more interested in putting their own touch on them. It's a method of self expression and displaying your identity, and one that's approachable to those that are sometimes much shyer about doing so in other manners. I speak as someone whose first car was a 1967 Mustang, and whose second was a 1973 240Z, but who now happily splits my driving time between a Toyota Camry and Honda Odyssey. I sometimes entertain the idea of starting a project car again, but with so many other projects to choose from, I doubt I'll get to it any time in the next decade.
username_taco 8y ago
FWIW the >25year old rule is not true in California. Things are much more complicated here.
- megy 8y ago
  Good.
dragonwriter 8y ago
> FWIW if the car is >= 25 years old, most of these regulations go away. Most of those are only required to sell a new car; a car previously legally sold in the US (and maybe one sold after being legally imported by a consumer) doesn't need many of them, though it will have had to have met whichever were in place when it was first sold.
walrus01 8y ago
Just don't plan on driving one if you're over 5'10".
- gamegoblin 8y ago
  I am 5'10" and have 5" of headroom (just went out and measured to write this comment!). The cab is actually really spacious.
  - walrus01 8y ago
    I'm somewhat surprised since I'm 5'11", in the drivers seat of a Delica, which is considerably larger than a Sambar, my hair touches the ceiling trim.
cr0sh 8y ago
Regs also "go away" if you sell the car in parts that can be put together; it basically becomes a "kit car" at that point. Plus, there is some kind of loophole out there for some of the quads out there (well, at least here in Arizona - we play kinda fast and loose with such I guess), like the CanAm vehicles; I see them licensed and tagged and going down the road all the time here in sand land. Then again, that re-issue of the Jeep from India can't be sold and driven on road legally - even here in AZ: https://jalopnik.com/the-mahindra-roxor-is-a-tiny-offroad-jeep-to-conquer-am-1823460351 https://jalopnik.com/the-mahindra-roxor-is-a-tiny-offroad-je...
nostromo 8y ago
There's an import dealer in Seattle that sales similar models. Eg: http://sodo-moto.com/listings/1987-mitsubishi-truck-2wd/ http://sodo-moto.com/listings/1987-mitsubishi-truck-2wd/
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

ataturk 8y ago

Hell, soon you won't even be able to get a manual transmission vehicle anymore because of dumb laws.

moftz 8y ago

Manufacturers can put the backup camera display in the rearview mirror so they can get by with using the same cheap dashboard for fleet and commercial vehicles. I've seen this in newer Uhaul vans but not anywhere else.

colanderman 8y ago
My Honda CR-Z had this. Loved it, because it meant I got a dash with real buttons instead of the laggy infotainment crap that's in my current car (Subaru Impreza).

tptacek 8y ago

TIL new cars sold in the US require backup cameras. Wow.

MrRadar 8y ago
It's because there are so many trucks and SUVs which can completely obscure people (especially children) under 5 ft (~1.5 m) from their rear windows when they are too close to the vehicle because the vehicles are so high off the ground.
- tptacek 8y ago
  So this is required to sell new cars; it's not required to be street-legal, though, right? For instance: you can't sell a car in the US without both side-view mirrors, but you can drive a car without one of them.
  - MrRadar 8y ago
    Yes, the safety equipment standards I listed are for new vehicles. Existing/used vehicles only need to comply with the standards that were in effect when they were new (and even then those standards are only enforced in the 15 states with mandatory safety inspections). The only exception I think is seatbelts since it's illegal to drive a car without wearing one in all but one state.
    - UncleEntity 8y ago
      > The only exception I think is seatbelts since it's illegal to drive a car without wearing one in all but one state. I know in Arizona if the car didn't originally come with seatbelts then you don't have to install them. Used to have a '53 Dodge that didn't have them and it was fine -- kind of freaked out my sister though...
      - toomanybeersies 8y ago
        To be fair, it is still reckless to drive an old car without seatbelts. Even more so than driving a newer car without seatbelts.

codazoda 8y ago

The Polaris Slingshot is the closest "car" I can think of. They have 3 wheels and are licensed as a motorcycle, so they skirt many of these safety issues. They also cost $28k; more than a lot of cars. Compare that to the Kia Soul that starts at $16,500. I guess you're paying for cool factor on the Polaris.

Angostura 8y ago

Blimey, all cars sold in the US must have a parking camera?