Maybe those car manufacturers should get with the kei truck program instead of fighting it.
They get insane margins on those big payment princesses. For a lot of US automakers that’s what’s keeping them above water.
The market shifting towards small affordable utility vehicles is their worst nightmare.
Sounds like they need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.
Could you imagine if the US made kei truck production a utility?
Utility, in the context of the automobile market, is a class of vehicles, hence why Australians call pickups “utes”.
Kai trucks count as utility vehicles, as do american pickup trucks.
Although, realistically, most pickup trucks sold In the US would better be described as “premium” or “luxury” vehicles given that most people buying them are not using them for off roading, hauling or towing, but rather as “life style” vehicles and status symbols.
I just wish Japan didn’t drive on the wrong side of the road
I love living in a country where businesses make the rules.
Truck size growth is driven at least partially, if not mainly, by gas mileage regulations, where you can have lower gas mileage on larger vehicles, an allowance that was made to accommodate work vehicles. So people who want a powerful vehicle are forced to go bigger. If these regulations were relaxed or eliminated, we would have much smaller but still powerful trucks. I’d be interested in something like that…
Your reasoning is lacking.
You’re “forced” to go bigger, because car manufacturers are too greedy. The big pickups and SUVs are basically classified as commercial trucks, so the regulations are much looser when it comes to emissions and safety. Which make them cheaper to produce.
Car companies are more than capable of making powerful small cars under current regulations and even stricter ones, but that has a smaller profit margin. That’s why they are fighting this, they want to keep their margins and not have to compete with these cars.
Just make those who want to get lower taxes for driving “commercial use” vehicles bring clear evidence of commercial use.
Not sure I see the connection between margin and truck size.
Or we could just tighten the regulations on large vehicles, rather than removing the whole system which is a net good over all.
Best not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Well it doesn’t look like a net good right now. We have a million oversized trucks everywhere. We could have the same number of trucks, but smaller, for the same or less gas consumption. It would also be less dangerous to pedestrians and easier on the roads. Less tire wear and tear, and so on.
Whereas you are correct, there’s a really smart solution. If we simply got everyone who owns a big pickup truck (not for work) and euthanized them, our problems would be solved.
I like they way you think
The guys on the YouTube channel MightyCarMods love these little trucks
I was thinking about importing something like that back when I had money
One day, me too.
which have top speeds of around 60 miles per hour and can lack modern safety equipment like airbags
I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to let people fly down a highway at 55mph without airbags. Maybe restrict the bill just a little to ensure these sorts of things.
The article says in like the next sentence they won’t be allowed on highways.
… and then the very next sentence after that:
“But there’s absolutely no reason why they can’t be safely operated on city streets or on farm roads [or] state highways where the speed limit’s 55,” he said.
Us already lets people fly down the highway without seatbelts, functional brakes, airbags, any safety equipment, rusted out chassis etc. Its always land of the free until someone starts threatening the margins of a corporation.
Guess what part of your body the airbag is when you’re riding a motorcycle. The cute hat is just so they can have open casket service without people puking.
I guess what I’m trying to get at is that allowing new cars without airbags is a regression in auto safety in the US.
Why can’t a small truck have airbags?
