The Japanese Kei truck...a $7,000 wonder!

[Daniel D. Teoli Jr.]

God forbid they make life less stressful on the debt slaves. 

Well, every so often they dangle a carrot over the slaves to give them hope. But they never, ever get a bite of it. Look at this thing. Will you ever be able to buy one in the USA? My guess is NO! You must pay $30, 000 for a truck!

 

 

[Steve Switaj]

I was in Hawaii early this year and I saw a couple of these out on the roads.

They weren't exactly  common, but they definitely do exist there. I have pictures.

Which raises the question... how?

I went back through the photos on my phone and there's some of a really sweet little Subaru Sambar van that parked next to us at a Korean BBQ place in Kailua.

It definitely has real plates, which means it got registered, which means it apparently got imported legitimately enough to leave a paper trail sufficient for registration.

Does Hawaii have some sort of DOT exemption on kei cars? It would make sense, the islands are small areas with generally low highway speeds and tight roads where small vehicles like these have some real practical advantages, but I thought it was verboten to import these b/c they don't meet DOT specs. 

Edited January 18 by Steve Switaj

[charles pappas]

In the continental US at least, a Kei vehicle over 25 years old can be imported, registered and driven.

I believe that any vehicle over 25 years old is considered a "classic car," and is exempted from the safety and pollution requirements that a newer vehicle would have to meet.  I'm not an expert, this is just my understanding.