The “big car better” narrative was also heavily pushed by the auto industry so people wouldn’t demand small, affordable trucks.
Listen to country songs or watch TV shows about real men doing real man ranch things in their real man American trucks that have a perfect wax job right before splashing through the mud cinematiccally. They’re everywhere.
They don’t want people wanting vehicles that cost less and require real innovation in fuel economy. They want you to buy a $75,000 F150 Super Crew.
They also side with the insurance lobby to require separate liability insurance policies on all your vehicles even though your vehicles aren’t covered by liability policies. Otherwise you might buy a cheap used Kei truck without a separate policy for hauling stuff every few weeks and an affordable, efficient small car for daily driving with full coverage, all for less than half the price of a new pickup.
You can import a Kei car that’s 25 years old, but some states don’t allow them to be registered.
Texas finally started allowing them to be registered in 2025, and they’re about 8-10 grand out the door. When the time comes to replace my NV200, I may look into getting one as a beater cargo car alongside a small electric or hybrid car as my daily driver. Would still cost less than a used full-size pickup or cargo van.
But I’m also keeping a close eye on Slate. Those have potential, but the Bezos investment has me questioning it.
I want an autozam az1 or the Suzuki version, but California won’t let them be registered. I might have to register out of state but with an the flock cameras i will get pulled over for sure.
The “big car better” narrative was also heavily pushed by the auto industry so people wouldn’t demand small, affordable trucks.
Listen to country songs or watch TV shows about real men doing real man ranch things in their real man American trucks that have a perfect wax job right before splashing through the mud cinematiccally. They’re everywhere.
They don’t want people wanting vehicles that cost less and require real innovation in fuel economy. They want you to buy a $75,000 F150 Super Crew.
They also side with the insurance lobby to require separate liability insurance policies on all your vehicles even though your vehicles aren’t covered by liability policies. Otherwise you might buy a cheap used Kei truck without a separate policy for hauling stuff every few weeks and an affordable, efficient small car for daily driving with full coverage, all for less than half the price of a new pickup.
I wish the US would allow chinese evs and Japanese kei cars here.
You can import a Kei car that’s 25 years old, but some states don’t allow them to be registered.
Texas finally started allowing them to be registered in 2025, and they’re about 8-10 grand out the door. When the time comes to replace my NV200, I may look into getting one as a beater cargo car alongside a small electric or hybrid car as my daily driver. Would still cost less than a used full-size pickup or cargo van.
But I’m also keeping a close eye on Slate. Those have potential, but the Bezos investment has me questioning it.
I want an autozam az1 or the Suzuki version, but California won’t let them be registered. I might have to register out of state but with an the flock cameras i will get pulled over for sure.