This year was a good year to be a fan of tiny cars from Japan. Enthusiasts in Texas, Michigan, and Massachusetts banded together, successfully reversing draconian bans on innocent imported vehicles. Now, just before the year is out, one more state came out swinging with a proposed ban. Colorado was quietly trying to ban all Kei cars, mini trucks, and even historic military vehicles. Then, enthusiasts came in and saved the day before it even happened.
This news comes to us from reader Ryan and the r/keitruck Subreddit, where Reddit user CommanderDawn announced the bad news. Sadly, like many of the states that banned legal imports, Colorado appeared to be doing this quietly. Enthusiasts claimed the state has already somewhat “soft-banned” imported vehicles by refusing to register some vehicles without any documented reason. The state wanted to make it a written policy, but enthusiasts made their voices heard.
Yet, this is still worth talking about because what almost happened here was shocking.
Colorado was planning to attack not just the Keis, but an alarmingly broad number of vehicles. The proposed ban removed mini-trucks, golf carts, and all vintage military vehicles, including old Jeeps and Humvees. That’s bad enough, but the proposed ban went as far as to say that you couldn’t even use the banned vehicles as an off-highway vehicle.
To date, this was the second-most aggressive application of the rules suggested by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. It was also the boldest as it directly calls out to the AAMVA as a source.
The Source Of Heartache
If you’ve been following our coverage of vehicle bans, you already know what the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators is so you can skip ahead. If you’re new here, I recommend putting on that five-point harness that just materialized next to you.
The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators is a non-governmental group consisting of state DMV administrators and law enforcement from all states, Canada, Mexico, the Virgin Islands, and Washington DC. The organization officially does not have the power to pass legislation or write policy. Instead, it urges all AAMVA members to follow what it calls ‘Best Practices.’
A common misconception is that once you get an imported car past the feds you are clear to drive it on the road. The states retain the right to dictate exactly what vehicles will be granted registration to operate on their roads. Many states don’t care if you want to drive an imported Mercedes-Benz A-Class so long as it’s at least 25 years old and you provide valid documentation for it.
The AAMVA’s mission, among other things, is to streamline the driving laws across the United States. The intended result would, for example, allow a resident of Wisconsin to move to Pennsylvania without having to learn an entirely new set of rules. While this seems like it would be a particularly difficult task given the organization’s official lack of power, it’s worth remembering that the organization is run by those who do have the power to make policy.
Unfortunately, this has spelled bad news for the owners of imported vehicles. The AAMVA has been targeting the kei-jidōsha, Japan’s smallest class of road-legal vehicles. Most of the time, AAMVA member states, including Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Wisconsin, Texas, and North Carolina, targeted specifically Kei trucks, tiny road-legal trucks used for work in Japan. Thankfully, of that list, Michigan, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Texas, and Wisconsin have all carved out rules to allow the use of Kei vehicles, but more states are piling into the ban side.
This debacle actually started with mini-trucks, which are 25 mph speed-limited off-road only trucks that often share bodies with the unrestricted, road-legal Kei trucks. Mini-trucks have been on the AAMVA’s radar since the late 2000s. Back then, people were importing mini-trucks from Japan and China at a high enough rate that states didn’t really know what to do about it. So, the AAMVA began investigating.
In 2010, the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety conducted crash tests between mini-trucks and third-generation Ford Rangers, concluding that mini-trucks are unsafe for road use and should not be granted license plates.
The following year, AAMVA issued guidance recommending the banning of mini-trucks in a document titled Best Practice Regarding Registration and Titling of Mini-Trucks. Some of its member states complied. The AAMVA then never took its foot off of the gas and looked to expand its recommendations. In 2021, Maine’s BMV, with the help of the DMVs of Georgia, Colorado, and South Dakota published Regulation of Off-Road Vehicles: Best Practices, which clamps down hard on multiple classes of vehicles.
In the eyes of the AAMVA, any and all vehicles not originally built to FMVSS should be banned from the road. While the imported cars get all of the attention, the AAMVA makes it clear that it also believes many more vehicles need to be banned. This includes historic military vehicles, dune buggies, golf carts, tractors, dirt bikes, ATVs, UTVs, mini-trucks, and surplus military vehicles. Or, basically everything fun.
What’s interesting is that most states are not following the guidance. Maine was the launch state for these new recommendations and it passed a law banning all imports that do not meet FMVSS. You could buy the best European market Mercedes S-Class ever built, but you cannot register it in Maine because it doesn’t have the all-important FMVSS placard. To date, Maine’s interpretation of the AAMVA’s rules are the harshest. Technically, Maine’s law should also ban military vehicles and the rest of the above classes as according to the state’s law, anything not built to FMVSS is now legally an off-road vehicle.
Most other states that have adopted the AAMVA’s 2021 proposed policies, namely New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Texas, decided to target just Kei vehicles. Colorado was proposing a ban that might have been worse than Maine’s.
Colorado Wanted To Kneecap Enthusiasts
The proposal in question was being presented by the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles and would have amended 1 CCR 204-10 Vehicle Services Section, Rule 3: “NON-TRADITIONAL VEHICLE TITLE AND REGISTRATION ELIGIBILITY.”
As of present, the Rule 3 section currently reads as “[Repealed eff. 09/14/2015]” when you pull up the current 1 CCR 204-10 regulations. Thankfully, Colorado makes it easy to see what the regulation looked like before that date and Rule 3 read as “CANCELLATION OF VEHICLE REGISTRATION FOR FAILURE TO PAY CIVIL PENALTIES.” Curiously, 1 CCR 204-10 lacks any section mentioning Kei vehicles, mini-trucks, kit cars, or military vehicles. The proposal showing up on the Colorado DMV site seeks to add vehicle classes to 1 CCR 204-10 while also banning certain classes from both on-road and off-road use.
If passed, the amendment to 1 CCR 204-10 would have spelled bad news for enthusiasts across a variety of vehicle types. First, the proposal establishes that it has the legal power to do what it’s about to do:
Basis: The statutory bases for this rule are sections 42-1-102, 42-1-204, 42-3-120, 42-6-102, C.R.S.
Purpose: The purpose of this rule is to clarify whether or not an unconventional (or not clearly defined) vehicle is eligible for an on-highway title and/or registration or an off-highway title based on whether it meets the statutory definitions in sections 42-1-102 and 42-6-102, C.R.S. for certain vehicle types.
That former law refers to “Colorado Revised Statutes Title 42. Vehicles and Traffic § 42-1-102. Definitions.” I won’t quote all of 42-1-102 because it’s a mile long. Here’s how Colorado defines a motor vehicle:
(58) “Motor vehicle” means any self-propelled vehicle that is designed primarily for travel on the public highways and that is generally and commonly used to transport persons and property over the public highways or a low-speed electric vehicle; except that the term does not include electrical assisted bicycles, electric scooters, low-power scooters, wheelchairs, or vehicles moved solely by human power. For the purposes of the offenses described in sections 42-2-128, 42-4-1301, 42-4-1301.1, and 42-4-1401 for farm tractors and off-highway vehicles, as defined in section 33-14.5-101(3), operated on streets and highways, “motor vehicle” includes a farm tractor or an off-highway vehicle that is not otherwise classified as a motor vehicle. For the purposes of sections 42-2-127, 42-2-127.7, 42-2-128, 42-2-138, 42-2-206, 42-4-1301, and 42-4-1301.1, “motor vehicle” includes a low-power scooter.
Also relevant to your reading are these definitions from 42-1-102:
(52.5) “Military vehicle” means a vehicle of any size or weight that is valued for historical purposes, that was manufactured for use by any nation’s armed forces, and that is maintained in a condition that represents its military design and markings.
(63) “Off-highway vehicle” shall have the same meaning as set forth in section 33-14.5-101(3), C.R.S.
Don’t worry, I have the definition of off-highway vehicle right here:
(3) “Off-highway vehicle” means any self-propelled vehicle that is designed to travel on wheels or tracks in contact with the ground, designed primarily for use off of the public highways, and generally and commonly used to transport persons for recreational purposes. Except as described in subsection (3)(h) of this section, “off-highway vehicle” includes surplus military vehicles as defined in section 42-6-102. “Off-highway vehicle” does not include the following:
(a) Vehicles designed and used primarily for travel on, over, or in the water;
(b) Snowmobiles;
(c) Repealed.
(d) Golf carts;
(e) Vehicles designed and used to carry individuals with disabilities;
(f) Vehicles designed and used specifically for agricultural, logging, or mining purposes;
(g) Vehicles registered pursuant to article 3 of title 42; or
(h) A surplus military vehicle, as defined in section 42-6-102 (20.5), that is owned or leased by a municipality, county, or fire protection district, as defined in section 32-1-103 (7), for the purpose of assisting with firefighting efforts, including mitigating the risk of wildfires.
As for 42-6-102, it repeats the definitions we see above, but adds in qualifiers:
(10) “Motor vehicle” means any self-propelled vehicle that is designed primarily for travel on the public highways and is generally and commonly used to transport persons and property over the public highways, including autocycles, trailers, semitrailers, and trailer coaches, without motive power. “Motor vehicle” does not include the following:
(a) A low-power scooter or an electric scooter, as both terms are defined in section 42-1-102;
(b) A vehicle that operates only upon rails or tracks laid in place on the ground or that travels through the air or that derives its motive power from overhead electric lines;
(c) A farm tractor, farm trailer, and any other machines and tools used in the production, harvesting, and care of farm products; or
(d) Special mobile machinery or industrial machinery not designed primarily for highway transportation.(11.5)
(a) “Off-highway vehicle” means a self-propelled vehicle that is:
(I) Designed to travel on wheels or tracks in contact with the ground;
(II) Designed primarily for use off of the public highways; and
(III) Generally and commonly used to transport persons for recreational purposes.
(b)
(I) Except as described in subsection (11.5)(b)(II) of this section, “off-highway vehicle” includes vehicles commonly known as all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, and surplus military vehicles but does not include:
(A) Toy vehicles;
(B) Vehicles designed and used primarily for travel on, over, or in the water;
(C) Historical military vehicles;
(D) Golf carts or golf cars;
(E) Vehicles designed and used to carry persons with disabilities;
(F) Vehicles designed and used specifically for agricultural, logging, or mining purposes; or
(G) Motor vehicles.
(II) “Off-highway vehicle” does not include a surplus military vehicle that is owned or leased by a municipality, county, or fire protection district, as defined in section 32-1-103 (7), for the purpose of assisting with firefighting efforts, including mitigating the risk of wildfires.
Now that we’ve defined some vehicles, let’s add some more! First, Colorado wanted to add definitions for what is a Kei car and what is a kit car, definitions that did not previously exist:
1.10 “Kei Vehicles,” which include vehicles known as mini-trucks, are compact, lowhorsepower vehicles that were designed for use on foreign roadways; are not built to meet FMVSS, EPA, or NHTSA standards; and, as described in the AAMVA Regulation of Off-Road Vehicles Best Practices (June 2021), are generally built to meet the Japanese Kei Jidosha standards of 660cc or less in engine displacement, 130 inches (3.4 meters) or less in length, 78 inches (2 meters) or less in height, and 60 inches (1.5 meters) or less in width.
1.11 “Kit Vehicles” means a passenger-type motor vehicle assembled by other than a licensed manufacturer, from a manufactured kit that includes a prefabricated body and chassis and is accompanied by a manufacturer’s statement of origin as defined in section 42-1-102(45.5), C.R.S.
Now that those have been established, the Keis would have been banned:
3.0 Kei Vehicles or Mini-Trucks
3.1 Kei vehicles and mini-trucks do not meet the definition of Motor Vehicle in section 42-6-102, C.R.S., because they were not designed primarily for travel on the public highway and are not generally and commonly used to transport persons and property over the public highways in the United States. These vehicles are light, often right-hand driving vehicles, with smaller body size and engine displacement that were designed for foreign
roads. The manufacturing standards for these vehicles differ significantly from North American vehicle safety standards.
3.2 The Department will not title or register Kei vehicles or mini trucks for on- or off- highway use.
Kit vehicles would have also been limited:
4.0 Kit Vehicles
4.1 In order to be titled and registered for on-highway use, a Kit Vehicle must also meet the definition of Motor Vehicle in section 42-6-102 C.R.S.; which means they must be designed primarily for travel on the public highway and are generally and commonly used to transport persons and property over the public highways in the United States.
4.2 The Department will not title or register Kit Vehicles that do not meet the definition of a Motor Vehicle for on-highway use.
4.3 For Kit Vehicles that are eligible to be titled and registered, the purchase date to be entered in DRIVES shall be the date when the vehicle was deemed roadworthy and a completed Motor Vehicle as specified on the DR 2704 Certified VIN Inspection form completed by a P.O.S.T. certified inspector.
Sorry military Jeep owners, your rides were next:
6.0 Military Vehicles
6.1 Military vehicles built for Foreign Armed Forces and Historical Military Vehicles do not meet the statutory definitions for Motor Vehicles or Off-Highway Vehicles in section 42-6-102, C.R.S.
a. The Department will not title or register Military Vehicles built for Foreign Armed Forces or Historical Military Vehicles for on- or off-highway use.
b. Military vehicles built for Foreign Armed Forces and Historical Military Vehicles were not designed primarily for travel on the public highways and are not generally and commonly used to transport persons and property over the public highways, so they are not considered a Motor Vehicle, per section 42-6-102(10), C.R.S.
c. Military vehicles built for Foreign Armed Forces do not qualify as Surplus Military Vehicles because they were not built for the United States Armed Forces, per section 42-6-102(20.5)(b), C.R.S.
d. Military vehicles built for Foreign Armed Forces do not qualify as Off-Highway Vehicles because they are not generally and commonly used to transport persons for recreational purposes, per section 42-6-102(11.5)(a), C.R.S.
e. Historical Military Vehicles do not qualify as Off-Highway Vehicles, pursuant to 42-6-102(11.5)(b)(I)(C), C.R.S.
What’s interesting here is that the state said that historical military vehicles were neither road vehicles nor off-highway vehicles. So if you own one of these, you’re sort of just screwed. The state did say that surplus military vehicles that aren’t historical vehicles could be used as off-highway vehicles. However, if that surplus military vehicle was owned by a government entity like a county or a police department then it could have been used on the road.
Finally, Colorado wanted to add a provision for vehicles it can’t put its finger on:
7.0 Unconventional Vehicles
7.1 The Unconventional Vehicles Working Group (UVWG) will review Unconventional Vehicles for eligibility for on- and off-highway titles and registration, pursuant to Article 6 of Title 42.
Now, Colorado didn’t define what the heck an Unconventional Vehicle is. However, the state said it was looking to the AAMVA for guidance on this. So, how does the AAMVA define an Unconventional Vehicle? Here you go:
Motor vehicle administrators and law enforcement officers encounter a variety of unconventional and specialty vehicles such as specially constructed vehicles, rebuilt vehicles, pocket bikes, and other non-conforming motorcycles, off-road vehicles, converted recreational vehicles, and non-conforming mini-trucks. It is important for jurisdiction officials to understand the safety implications of these vehicles.
Three-wheel vehicles include varied configurations, including the trike, reverse trike, sidecar motorcycle, and autocycles. These vehicles can vary drastically in performance, design, registration, and licensing requirements. Jurisdictions are faced with complex and evolving issues regulating the operation of these vehicles.
Dockless electric scooters are a type of shared micromobility transportation. They are not typically classified as a full motor vehicle and are regulated at a city or municipal level more frequently than at a jurisdiction level.
Colorado was referring to the AAMVA for guidance on what vehicles should or should not be granted registration. Sadly, enthusiasts claim that the state had already “shadowbanned” imports as some people report troubles getting registrations for imported vehicles that are officially currently legal in the state. Allegedly, the state wasn’t giving a reason for denying these registrations.
What was particularly frightening about Colorado’s planned ban was just how hard the state wanted the hammer to come down. In most previous instances, including Maine’s particularly harsh law, you were at least able to use your banned vehicle as an off-highway vehicle (OHV). In this case, Colorado wanted to tell enthusiasts that they now owned a paperweight unless they just so happened to be a government entity. If you owned a vintage military Jeep or a vintage Humvee you wouldn’t legally be able to drive it on the road or even in OHV areas.
The Fight Was Over Before It Begun
This article was originally written to describe the ban as it was announced. In fact, The Drive and Jalopnik are still reporting the ban as still upcoming. However, enthusiasts in Colorado have already used a proven strategy before the ban was even passed.
Enthusiasts banded together, mirroring the massively successful efforts in North Carolina, Texas, Massachusetts, and Michigan, and educated their lawmakers as to why this was going to be a huge mistake. As of this morning, we have confirmation that Colorado has backed down before the ban was even passed. If you own one of the above vehicles in Colorado, you should be able to drive it on the road for the foreseeable future.
Once again, efforts by enthusiasts have shown that you don’t need a huge lobbying group or tons of money to make actual change. Enthusiasts banding together across America have made their voices heard, educated their governments, and won back the privilege to drive the vehicles they want to. Keep up the great work, everyone.
Hat tip to Ryan!
Top Photo: Mazda, BringATrailer
Mercedes, thank you for writing this thoroughly researched article. I found out about this today via Jalopnik and then found out it was quietly tabled from the reddit thread linked. As a CO resident, it was pretty disheartening to hear that these rules were being made in the shadows without any kind of public process. Glad the pressure was ramping up against this fucking lobbyist organization and CO put a stop to it before the eggs hit their faces.
I’ll add that one day I’d like to at least have the option to import some tasty euro-market German wagon that was never federalized in the USA. The idea that they lumped these into the Kei cars is ridiculous. I live in Denver and see the occasional Kei truck but they are not at all a problem given the extremely small minority of people who even know they exist. If the DMV wants to solve ACTUAL problems then maybe they can get the police to enforce lack of plates and registration once in a while. I see 100x more of that than I do a Kei truck on the road.
Amen to what you said. Also, if you are ever at the Pearl Street (the Denver one) farmer’s market be on the lookout for a red Toyota Hiace truck, it’s the coolest.
These people are like a really bad HOA on steroids.
What the hell has happened to Colorado? They seem to be trying to out-do all the usual nonsense states as of late. Is there some prize they’re after??
The Law of Florida states that once the number of transplants exceeds the number of natives by a factor of 3, insanity must always prevail.
OK, I made that up, but I was channeling my inner Carl Hiassen.
Too many Californians apparently have moved to Colorado. They remembered CARB and asked themselves, what can we do that will closely mirror CARB? Then they hit on the AAMVA and said, hey, we can do this!
Kei shmei, where can I get one of those flying Jeeps?!
That’s quite a photo. I imagine the landing was brutal.
I’m currently restoring one of those 37mm anti tank guns. I may have to try and recreate that photo with my ’45 Willys MB.
how do I get to be a member of the AAMVA? I bet there’s a lot of money I’m missing out on by not being on this impartial board of totally moral and ethical people.
Fill out a membership application and pay $1,200/year in dues. You can say you represent the Autopian Reader Association and send the bill to DT.
https://www.aamva.org/membership/membership-types-and-benefits/associate-membership
We have been considering crashing one of the AAMVA events. They never return emails, but what happens if we just show up in person?
They are bureaucrats so they will do nothing in the moment and follow up with a passive aggressive email later. I say go for it.
DO IT
Buy some merch and I’m sure you’ll blend right in
I just called them. Amber was as ignorant as you might imagine.
She told me she wouldn’t answer my questions. And I should write an email.
Let’s add it to his registry.
I don’t have all day to research, but scrolling through the member list is quite enlightening. I barely got through the “A”s and the majority of the members have a direct or indirect financial incentive to promote the sale of more new vehicles.
A lot more registries and tax collection groups than I expected.
Holy cow, the irony of all this hand-wringing and pearl-clutching and other hyphenated idioms makes it really hilarious that we (as a country) give you a basic test at 16, then 50 years later have no problem letting you drive a 15-ton RV across the country, in many places without any safety or emissions inspections. But yeah, let’s solve the REAL problems — those wealthy hipsters in Colorado with their kei truck collections!
My grandmother rear-ended a tractor trailer at 45(said she didn’t see it), believes you are allowed to/frequently turns left on red, and uses the white lines to stay centered on the road…yet the state issued her a license via online renewal that my cousin for some reason helped her do.
I still want to know who is funding the AAMVA and why they are pushing this crusade against kei cars so hard?
A combination of American automotive, ATV, motorcycle, watercraft, and aircraft companies. The AAMVA is like their version of the ESRB. They all agree not to step on eachother’s toes and in return everyone has eachother’s backs when someone wants to break the protectionist racket that keeps Sunliners and RZRs dribbling off lots.
And I’d like to know who feels the effort is worth the result here.
It’s not that a handful of Suzuki Altos will appreciably erode sales of F150s.
Or, perhaps, it’s a fear of smaller vehicles on the road might force the hand of the Feds to shrink F150s (or a cascading effect of people realizing they needn’t an F150 to transport themselves to get groceries, and thus not buying them)?
Check for yourself – you’ll see a lot of registries, tax collectors, and automotive tech companies.
https://www.aamva.org/membership/membership-types-and-benefits/associate-membership/associate-members-listing
Nice reporting, catching that this has already been derailed at the same time other outlets are reporting it as incoming! I actually read that Jalopnik article just an hour ago.
Thanks! As Mercedes mentions, we were behind The Drive and Jalopnik here but were lucky enough to be late as we now get to be the first to report it’s reversed.
I refuse to even consider these bans as reasonable as long as motorcycles, mopeds, trikes, and any sort of UTV is allowed on the road. It isn’t about safety, it’s about control and nothing can convince me that this isn’t the result of UTV/domestic manufacturer’s trying to limit peoples options outside of their overpriced toys. Besides that, it should be up to the individual if they want to drive something that could be deemed less safe.
Personal choice has little to do with it, the state always knows best and pushes for more and more of everything always. “if it saves one life” is the mantra and speaking out against it gets you shouted down.
You can’t chose the level of safety features on your new civic, but you can slap a license plate on a glorified golf cart and let your 15 year old take it out onto the streets no problem. It would be ironic, if it wasn’t just dumb. Pick a safety lane and stick in it and stop with all the political picking and choosing of winners and losers.
Can’t wait for the youths to do street takeovers in kei trucks instead of atvs and dirt bikes, it’ll be like being in the middle of a parade. Sounds way more fun and less scary.
I’m glad they were able to stop it before it even became a thing. Smolto is already safe since we won in Michigan, but I want everyone else in the US to have the same amount of access to kei cars/trucks as I do. Depriving people of one of the smallest forms of 4-wheeled transportation is just not right.