Oh gosh, this article again. Why does the date say 2025? This was discussed ad nauseam last year.
Cliffsnotes: Why was it blocked? The foreign car built to tight regulations in one market doesn’t meet safety standards in another country. This happens all over the world and is nothing new. Yes, people are exploiting a loophole to import them. The DMV got wise.
If you’re allowed to drive a motorcycle, you should be allowed to drive a tiny truck. It’s your life.
Yup. People should be allowed to risk their own lives when it doesn’t risk others
The US government considers a 500hp V8 4-ton lifted RAM capable of cruising at 90mph with a iPad permantly embedded in the dash safer than a little 40mpg truck with a usable bed.
but muh safety
We have license classes and riding restrictions for a reason, numbnuts. This is 100% just protections BS. Otherwise, explain motorcycles or tractors being allowed on the road.
Kei trucks, and, hell, any good cars, are only dangerous to one thing: American profits.
Safety.
See that minivan, where the driver is over the front wheels? That means the crumple zone is you. The US stopped making that design in the early 70’s because of the lack of crumple zones.
So thank all the people who complain when the smallest injury happens in an accident, and blame the vehicle. This makes safety requirements stronger (which has largely been a good thing), but makes Kei trucks unsellable in the US.
What if I zip tie a large Styrofoam block to the front?
I mean, it’s right there a few paragraphs in:
“Kei trucks do not meet the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, or FMVSS — the highly specific rules cars US-market new cars must meet.”
They skirt this by not being new cars, you import 25 year old cars instead, but that doesn’t change the fact that they don’t meet standards.
Does any 25 year old car meet today’s safety standards?
I’d argue the imported ones do meet all applicable standards, since they’re exempt.
I’d argue the imported ones do meet all applicable standards, since they’re exempt.
Well, yeah. That is the loophole being used.
As for 25 year old vehicle, my daily driver is 21, has satellite navigation, California LEV (low emissions vehicle), 5-star safety rating.
There hasn’t really been some revolutionary advancement in safety in the past 25 years other than slapping some more computers, cameras and design tweaks. Actually, the beeping sensors in the bumpers are pretty nice. I like those.
We had good tech back then that stands up well to modern-day cars. It may not have the nagging of modern safety systems, but I don’t get false warnings either.
Being highly equipped and rated for 2004 standards does not make it highly equipped or rated by 2025 standards. Standards and expectations are constantly changing. That’s being disengenius to the fact that all 3 of your perks were not typical in the market at all, not even with options. In 2004, the corvette still had popup headlights, ABS was not required, the IIHS had just introduced the side crash test, the rollover roof crush test did not exist, there was only the 40% frontal overlap test and not the 25% overlap test, the test was not performed on the passenger side at all, the Mustang had not entered the retro phase yet, neither the Challenger nor the Camaro were active nameplates, the 2nd gen Prius, the one everyone knows, was an infant. Just because you witnessed the slow evolution of technology doesn’t mean 21 years isn’t a massive jump - especially if it’s any kind of SUV/crossover since they were just seething into the general public’s preference, making rollover a much more serious threat, statistically.
Totally agree there have been some advancements, more tech added, and tests and expectations have changed a bit.
I was pointing out there hasn’t been a massive safety revolution in the past 25 years beyond gadgets and gizmos. ABS, airbags, backup cameras, radar assisted cruise control… they existed back then; it’s great adoption is higher now.
What massive safety revolutions occurred in 2004 that can’t be as easily dismissed as you’ve dismissed those since then?
Seatbelts, disk vs drum and antilock brake systems, crumple zones, backup cameras, suspension design (wishbone, progressive spring rate) for handling.
I will concede the backup sensors. Those have worked pretty well, though still give false alerts occasionally. Auto headlights/wipers are also another plus, but more of a gimmick.
Other than that, there are better electric/hybrid/engine efficiency which is all good. New models and styles which can be interesting, and cars got fat, which isn’t too good. But the actual technology for safety features used to keep people safe today, is basically the same as almost 25 years ago. Old cars from today’s perspective are not like the old cars from the 1990’s perspective.
3-point Seat belts go back to the 60s, disc brakes even earlier, anti lock was the 80s along with crumple zones, wishbone suspension goes back decades (including original Mustang) while being less commonplace now than the peak (90s?) where even BMW has gone with McPherson today. The biggest change in hybrid tech was the switch to lithium cells for appropriate power density, while there’s not much else new about electric motors and generators. See: diesel trains actually being diesel-electric. Maybe solid state components making DC voltage stepping feasible. There’s not anything actually wrong with drum brakes at this point. Modern pad material is the big thing, being able to withstand much more heat.
I do not see how you consider those things major changes but not what has developed beyond that.
Lol those nagging systems are now required safety features as of 2023, so any vehicle without them doesn’t meet today’s standards.
