Here’s The Most Frustrating Part About The Attack On Kei Cars: COTD

For more than two years, states up and down America’s East Coast have been on a mission to remove Japanese Domestic Market vehicles from their roads. These states include Maine, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Georgia. Each of these states has its own version of the same thing: Eliminating imported vehicles from their roads. Georgia JDM enthusiasts are fighting back.

Officially, these bans are being done in the name of safety. At first, that seems somewhat reasonable. If you start thinking about it, the logic falls apart. These states are using the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to back their rule changes. If a vehicle doesn’t meet FMVSS, these states say, it must not be allowed on the road. However, FMVSS wasn’t fully applied to passenger vehicles until 1968. Technically, any vehicle predating 1968 doesn’t meet FMVSS standards. Some vehicles were built before America even started caring about safety. Yet, you don’t see Georgia rushing to cancel the license plates of classic Corvettes, Beetles, Corvairs, or Model Ts. The states also aren’t going after surplus military vehicles or motorcycles.

It’s worth noting that most of these states aren’t banning larger JDM imports or imports from other countries, so the bans aren’t even being applied equally. Georgia also wants to ban vehicles believed to be Kei based on VIN length, but the state seems to forget that before 1981, there was no standard for VIN length.

All of this is happening because of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), and we intend to figure out what is going on behind closed doors. Let’s check out the commentary from our readers.

Vetatur Fumare points out how silly all of this is:

Georgia DMV literally has no clue what makes something a kei car. What about a European-market Daihatsu Cuore from 1986, with a lusty 612cc engine? It exceeds kei car regulations at the time. What about a 1992 Suzuki Jimny with overfenders? If it’s wider than 1395mm, it’s not a kei car. Does the Georgia DMV go read the Japanese legal code or do they check the Japanese registration? Lots of classic mini cars, Lloyds and Messerschmitts and the like, meet the kei dimension regulations – does that make them kei cars?
If you want to get legalistic, a kei car is a specific registration category which only exists in Japan – once it is no longer registered in Japan, it is no longer a kei car. Voilà!

While EVDesigner delivers a solid chuckle:

A Kei car is only a kei car if it comes from the kei region of Japan. Otherwise it’s just a sparkling mini car.

Canopysaurus gets it:

If you can still register a K Car, then Kei cars should be legal, too.

3WiperB delivers a solid take:

I’m still struggling with the logic and reasoning on this ban, and have concerns on where this will stop. Will motorcycles be banned next? Or classic cars that don’t have modern safety features or emissions controls? People take a risk when driving these kinds of vehicles, but the risk is really only to the people that CHOOSE to drive them or ride in them. It’s not like a kei car poses a higher risk of hurting someone in another vehicle. This is where I can at least understand the squatted truck ban argument more… that can have an impact on the safety of other drivers.

I know when I drive my MGB that I’m taking a higher risk than if I hop in one of my modern cars. So I stick to secondary roads, rarely take it on roads with speed limits above 55 mph, and drive very defensively.

My philosophy has always been one of, if it doesn’t harm others, let people do what they want.

As of writing, none of the states and none of the AAMVA representatives we’ve contacted have answered questions as to why this is happening. Maine responded only by informing us that it changed its laws to enforce its ban. If you have any helpful information, please contact me at mercedes@theautopian.com.

Otherwise, have an awesome night!