this post was submitted on 12 Jun 2024

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Move over, Ford and Chevy: Kei trucks are pulling up as customers opt for smaller, cheaper vehicles (www.nbcnews.com)

submitted 5 months ago by Wilshire@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 0 points 5 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

“My Kei truck can do everything a midsize pickup can do,” said Tyler Hiestand, who owns a home remodeling business in Pennsylvania.

Justin Merriman, who owns a brewery in San Antonio, uses his 1997 Suzuki Carry to haul kegs and cater events.

Most recently, Rhode Island state Sen. Louis P. DiPalma proposed legislation that would prevent the registration of additional Kei trucks in the future while grandfathering in current ones.

Because the trucks don’t meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, they’re legal to import only 25 years after having been manufactured.

Most states have no recorded law about Kei trucks, which often leaves guidelines up to local motor vehicle departments.

Even in states where Kei trucks are expressly legal, like Maine or Kansas, they’re often prohibited from highways or interstates where speeds exceed 55 mph.

The original article contains 667 words, the summary contains 135 words. Saved 80%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[–] 9point6@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (19 children)

I'm sorry, why the fuck aren't these street legal in more than half of the states? The article says something about safety, but these are street legal all over Europe where we have stronger safety regulations.

Also there's something I can't put my finger on about the journalist choosing a hero image of the van losing its cargo.

[–] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago

Protectionism.

[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 0 points 5 months ago (9 children)

Probably because it's not safe to drive them around giant pickups who can't see over their hoods

[–] brbposting@sh.itjust.works 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Ya. Everything’s expensive, so people buy the cheapest thing [with four wheels]. I don’t want folks on the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum to think these are a safe option.

If(?) a ‘90s Honda sedan is safer but the Kei is new and looks cute, for the same price many will choose the less safe option.

Eight Californians die on our roads every day here and I can’t wait for some solutions. I really do empathize with everyone you readers care about (no oil companies, no just-for-funsies-truck manufacturers) - I hate the thought of crumpled and crushed human bodies.

[–] FalseMyrmidon@kbin.run 0 points 5 months ago (2 children)

What makes you think it's not safe?

[–] neuracnu@lemmy.blahaj.zone 0 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Thin steel frame, no air bags, no crumple zones.

Check out the crash tests: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roLcNwRi1Sk&t=40s

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[–] brbposting@sh.itjust.works 0 points 5 months ago

Just added something about that - articles & crash tests over the years. Was interested in little vehicles myself. Intrigued seeing them on college campuses.

[–] bobs_monkey@lemm.ee 0 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (4 children)

Europe and Japan all have freight trucks driving around, so I don't buy that. The fact that many states won't allow these is American truck manufacturing protectionism, nothing more. It's the same reason you can only get a 3/4 or 1 ton truck from Ford, Chevy, or Ram (chicken tax).

[–] YaDownWitCPP@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago

It's all about the chicken tax.

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[–] NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

How's that different from driving a car roughly the same size?

[–] CaptDust@sh.itjust.works 0 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Just noting as a reference these trucks are 11ft long, a Miata is roughly 20% longer at 13ft.

[–] David_Eight@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Just for reference a Fiat 500 is roughly 9.75 feet long.

[–] CaptDust@sh.itjust.works 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Maybe in the 70s, a modern 500 is listed at 11.6 ft

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[–] sparky1337@ttrpg.network 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Doing comparisons like these don’t make sense when motorcycles and trikes exist.

[–] CaptDust@sh.itjust.works 0 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

I didn't really intend for it to be a comparison or supporting the narrative these trucks are 'too small for America', I just find many people hear small truck and imagine "like a ford ranger but a little less", as their starting reference point. Gotta go smaller, scale is tough.

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[–] brbposting@sh.itjust.works 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Ban anything bigger than a Kei?

Source

[–] RGB3x3@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (2 children)

I'm sorry, their problem is that the massive trucks are somehow in danger because they weren't designed to handle being hit by a vehicle less than half its size?

What a ridiculous statement.

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[–] blazera@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago

This is how we got in this mess, an arms race of trying to feel safe around larger and larger hunks of metal on the road. Americans just have to endanger everyone else for their own peace of mind.

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[–] MeatStiq@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago

Here in the states we have ~~legal corruption~~ lobbyists which the auto manufacturers pay to keep cheap vehicles from being used. And then the lawmakers claim safety concerns as the reason.

[–] Altofaltception@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Speed restrictions.

Kei trucks were designed for use in dense Japanese cities, which is why they also work in European cities. They are nimble but have a low top speed. You're not going 70 mph around a street corner for instance.

It would work in places like NYC for the same reasons, but remember that most of the USA is suburban or rural. You need vehicles that are capable of going fast if you're going to get on a highway.

A possible workaround is to have a separate class for these, like mopeds or scooters, which are road legal but are not highway legal.

[–] CaptDust@sh.itjust.works 0 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

That work around is what most states that explicitly legalized kei trucks have done, they can't enter roads over 55mph. It's a reasonable concession, you probably don't want to take one over 50mph anyway.

[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 0 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (3 children)

Most places in the US are connected by 55 mph roads. I'd be hard-pressed to get anywhere but the city center in most places I've lived if I couldn't use those roads.

Farm equipment and bikes use those roads all the time, and they go even slower, so I don't think being able to keep up with traffic is a valid concern.

[–] CaptDust@sh.itjust.works 0 points 5 months ago

Note that I said over 55, rural connection roads should still be traversable since most are 55. Basically limits them from entering the interstate highways.

[–] Grangle1@lemm.ee 0 points 5 months ago

I live in one of the most rural states in the country, where loads to haul are generally large and the posted speed limit on the highway is usually 75 mph, and the de facto highway speed is usually 5-10 mph above that. No truck that can barely push 70 is gonna keep up with that. On top of that, you're dealing with ice and snow on the roads half the year, so you'll need to be able to deal with that too.

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[–] Nougat@fedia.io 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

In Illinois, at least, your motorcycle has to be 150cc to ride on the interstate. A Chinese GY6 scooter might be able to do 50MPH with a tailwind. You'd get killed on the interstate on one of those, yet, fully legal to do it.

[–] Altofaltception@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (2 children)

You'd get killed on the interstate on one of those,

You guys in Illinois are crazy though. I learned very quickly how much that 55 MPH limit is a guideline and not a hard limit.

[–] Nougat@fedia.io 0 points 5 months ago (2 children)

A long, long time ago, I used to drive from Kenosha, WI, to Wilmette (and later Northfield), IL, for work, down I-94, in a 1986 Honda CRX. Up until about Tower Rd., I was doing 105MPH every day, and people were passing me like nothing.

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[–] Telodzrum@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (4 children)

European road safety regulations are significantly weaker than those in the US and Canada.

[–] 9point6@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago

Pretty sure that's not the case, had a little Google and it seems like I'm right, but I'm open to being corrected if I'm wrong or misunderstanding what you mean. Here's evidence to support my claim:

https://etrr.springeropen.com/articles/10.1007/s12544-014-0131-7

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457518300034

https://irpj.euclid.int/articles/the-dissimilar-determinants-and-outcomes-of-road-safety-in-the-united-states-and-the-european-union/

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[–] Brkdncr@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (3 children)

They don’t meet the us safety standards. It could mean a lot of things like lacking 5mph bumpers, air bags, abs, etc.

Doesn’t mean they aren’t safe.

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[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Different crash standards in US and Europe. Most companies don't even bother getting cars tested (designed?) in both because the market demands are so different.

[–] Hugh_Jeggs@lemm.ee 0 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

This has got to be the most incorrect comment in the thread

Edit - ah wait no, Check this fuckin idiot

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[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 0 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

smaller, cheaper

Just say better.
They are better vehicles and the ad campaigns for 'bigger, more expensive' vehicles are finally hitting their stupid wall.

Now lets do SUVs next.

[–] Someonelol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 5 months ago (8 children)

We desperately need smaller vehicles to counter the behemoth light trucks that are in the road today. Everything about these kei truck bans just scream corruption and incompetence from politicians to domestic auto manufacturers.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (2 children)

They stopped making Honda Fits (in North America) because there was no demand.

[–] Kethal@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Do you consider a Honda Fit a light duty truck?

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The topic of oversized vehicles is not limited to trucks.

[–] Kethal@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

In a post about small light duty trucks, and a comment about small light duty trucks, you're pointing out that compact sedans are not popular. Would you like to point out some other true but off topic things? Vanilla is the most popular ice cream flavor.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

"No one is allowed to deviate at all in the slightest bit ever, to the obvious bigger topic!!!"

[–] gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 5 months ago

It's entirely irrelevant to bring up one specific type of vehicle being cancelled because people didn't like it, which can be for a shitload of different reasons beyond just size

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[–] venusaur@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (9 children)

Americans just love being the biggest on the road. Bigger is better in their minds. Maybe we put an extra tax on very large vehicles.

[–] RGB3x3@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

We need to require special licenses for those behemoths.

I'd prefer they get banned entirely because there's really no practical use for them that isn't solved by some other commercial vehicle.

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[–] best_username_ever@sh.itjust.works 0 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

It's not only Americans though. French car makers also sell big SUVs to everyone because it's very important to have the biggest car ever when you bring back a small bag of groceries, or when you desperately need to be on top of the world in the traffic jams. I see those morons every day and it saddens me.

[–] venusaur@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (2 children)

damn, i would have expected the french to have better taste in their vehicles

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[–] lolcatnip@reddthat.com 0 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

"Light" trucks. A real light truck is something like the Toyota Hilux up through the 5th or 6th generation.

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[–] Bell@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago

Okay I want a broke down one of these, an crate electric motor, and a lifepo4 battery pack

[–] nullPointer@programming.dev 0 points 5 months ago

Mazda B series ready for a come back!

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