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For sure. I have a huge 1995 Ford F-150 XL that the wife and I mainly use for camping and kayaking. Needed something, and I was able to snag it for $1800. Other

For sure. I have a huge 1995 Ford F-150 XL that the wife and I mainly use for camping and kayaking. Needed something, and I was able to snag it for $1800. Otherwise looking at 10k+ for something newer. It has horrible gas mileage, but I guess that's offset by pretty cheap repair costs. Parts are abundant. Parking is a real chore. However, I've wanted to downsize, and one of the these Kei trucks would probably fit our use case 90% of the time. Just more work packing the camping gear and getting a kayak mounted safely.

tjr225 5y ago
Kei class cars are not usually legal for highway use in the USA.
- cmrdporcupine 5y ago
  I think they're legal here in Canadia, but I've also heard they are highly unpleasant on the highway.
  - profile53 5y ago
    If they’re older than 25 years old, they can be driven on the highway in the USA because they’re exempt from EPA and crash safety standards. That said, I’ve driven one 10k miles mostly highway and I would not recommend it. The car tops out at 120kmh at the redline and is very light and top heavy, so it can almost be blown over in the window.
    - Gracana 5y ago
      It varies by state. Limiting them to roads with speeds <50 or so is somewhat common.
      - profile53 5y ago
        There are two sets of regulations IIRC. If it’s older than 25 years on import, you can bypass FMVSS/EPA/DOT regulations, so they are always perfectly legal to drive on the federal highway system (incl. at 70-80mph). Some states will refuse to register them though, such as Minnesota or Oregon. Separately, some states have an import process for cars newer than 25 years old which allows them to be licensed as UTVs/ATVs, so they can go on local roads but are usually speed limited. And iirc, they can’t drive on federal highways.
        Gracana 5y ago
        Innnteresting. I'm going to have to look into it again with that in mind. I really would like to own one.
  - disamblr 5y ago
    I just drove my father-in-law's kei truck through southern Japan for about 5 hours in total, mostly on the "express". Even mild wind had me legitimately scared a few times, and it has no guts when it's necessary to pass. Besides that it was a blast to drive, it feels more like an oversized toy than a vehicle.
- nabilhat 5y ago
  Depends on the state. In Oregon, for example, the DMV arbitrarily refuses to register them for any use whatsoever. It's not a law or regulation, it's more like an internal opinion or rumor that turned into a standard practice of refusal. They'll still happily give you plates and registration for your even smaller and slower Fiat 500, Subaru 360, Isetta, etc. - but if a DMV employee assumes it's an imported Kei car, you're out of luck. Because it's not a defined rule (despite mentioning it on their website!) even non-Kei Japanese imports are risky to register. Sometimes a DMV employee will see a car they assume is Kei or close enough because it looks funny, and they'll write down the plate number and void the registration later. If you're a business and register it with your business, that seems to mollify the DMV for some reason. A few Kei pickups and vans with Oregon plates and business logos have been roaming the local streets. It's also somewhat common to see Kei cars driving around in Oregon from neighboring states. Totally legal for highway use in Oregon, the Oregon DMV just won't register them.
  - rootusrootus 5y ago
    It seems more than an internal opinion or rumor: https://www.oregon.gov/odot/DMV/pages/vehicle/vehicletypes.aspx https://www.oregon.gov/odot/DMV/pages/vehicle/vehicletypes.a... It has it's own section: "Kei Vehicles/Mini-Trucks" "Many of these vehicles can be imported. They can be titled in Oregon, but cannot get registration because they were not primarily manufactured for U.S. roads or highways." Perhaps it is still arbitrary, not supported by a specific regulation (but I don't know that). Still, they aren't hiding their unwillingness to register them.

tjr225 5y ago

Kei class cars are not usually legal for highway use in the USA.

cmrdporcupine 5y ago
I think they're legal here in Canadia, but I've also heard they are highly unpleasant on the highway.
- profile53 5y ago
  If they’re older than 25 years old, they can be driven on the highway in the USA because they’re exempt from EPA and crash safety standards. That said, I’ve driven one 10k miles mostly highway and I would not recommend it. The car tops out at 120kmh at the redline and is very light and top heavy, so it can almost be blown over in the window.
  - Gracana 5y ago
    It varies by state. Limiting them to roads with speeds <50 or so is somewhat common.
    - profile53 5y ago
      There are two sets of regulations IIRC. If it’s older than 25 years on import, you can bypass FMVSS/EPA/DOT regulations, so they are always perfectly legal to drive on the federal highway system (incl. at 70-80mph). Some states will refuse to register them though, such as Minnesota or Oregon. Separately, some states have an import process for cars newer than 25 years old which allows them to be licensed as UTVs/ATVs, so they can go on local roads but are usually speed limited. And iirc, they can’t drive on federal highways.
      - Gracana 5y ago
        Innnteresting. I'm going to have to look into it again with that in mind. I really would like to own one.
- disamblr 5y ago
  I just drove my father-in-law's kei truck through southern Japan for about 5 hours in total, mostly on the "express". Even mild wind had me legitimately scared a few times, and it has no guts when it's necessary to pass. Besides that it was a blast to drive, it feels more like an oversized toy than a vehicle.
nabilhat 5y ago
Depends on the state. In Oregon, for example, the DMV arbitrarily refuses to register them for any use whatsoever. It's not a law or regulation, it's more like an internal opinion or rumor that turned into a standard practice of refusal. They'll still happily give you plates and registration for your even smaller and slower Fiat 500, Subaru 360, Isetta, etc. - but if a DMV employee assumes it's an imported Kei car, you're out of luck. Because it's not a defined rule (despite mentioning it on their website!) even non-Kei Japanese imports are risky to register. Sometimes a DMV employee will see a car they assume is Kei or close enough because it looks funny, and they'll write down the plate number and void the registration later. If you're a business and register it with your business, that seems to mollify the DMV for some reason. A few Kei pickups and vans with Oregon plates and business logos have been roaming the local streets. It's also somewhat common to see Kei cars driving around in Oregon from neighboring states. Totally legal for highway use in Oregon, the Oregon DMV just won't register them.
- rootusrootus 5y ago
  It seems more than an internal opinion or rumor: https://www.oregon.gov/odot/DMV/pages/vehicle/vehicletypes.aspx https://www.oregon.gov/odot/DMV/pages/vehicle/vehicletypes.a... It has it's own section: "Kei Vehicles/Mini-Trucks" "Many of these vehicles can be imported. They can be titled in Oregon, but cannot get registration because they were not primarily manufactured for U.S. roads or highways." Perhaps it is still arbitrary, not supported by a specific regulation (but I don't know that). Still, they aren't hiding their unwillingness to register them.