Import Car Fans Are Fighting To Ensure Texas Doesn’t Ban Cars Again

For the past several years, America’s states have waged war against an enemy that didn’t deserve it. Several states have limited or banned the use of imported vehicles on their roads. Back in spring 2024, enthusiasts in Texas took one of the first victories against the “best practices” recommended by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, which banned JDM vehicles across several states. Now the Texas enthusiasts are back, and they’ve gotten a bill filed to enshrine the privilege of imports to drive in Texas into law.

In the summer of June 2021, enthusiasts of imported cars were blindsided by a new threat. The state of Maine passed a law that automatically classified any vehicle not built to America’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards as being an off-road vehicle. This had the chilling effect of removing all imported gray market vehicles from the roads of the state, but most often reported in the media was how the state revoked the plates of Mitsubishi Delica 4×4 vans.

It was soon clear that Maine was not alone. Rhode Island soon followed suit, but the “hope” state decided to focus its bans specifically on the smallest class of cars from Japan, the Kei class. The trend caught on like a wildfire, with New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Massachusetts, Texas, Virginia, and Michigan each either imposing restrictions on how a Kei vehicle can be registered or just outright banning them from the road. Depending on whom you ask, up to 31 states have some sort of restriction on JDM vehicles, but most of those states have rules against the mini-truck, or a modified Kei vehicle that’s limited to 25 mph and imported specifically for off-road use. The aforementioned states have gone even further than this to ban or restrict vehicles that were designed for road use and were imported to be used on the road.

The bans didn’t appear overnight. Instead, they came from recommendations published by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, a non-governmental non-profit lobbying organization composed of motor vehicle and law enforcement administrators and executives from all 50 states, Washington D.C., Canada, Mexico, and the Virgin Islands. The group’s mission, among other things, is to standardize driving laws across America and its territories. The AAMVA itself does not have lawmaking or policy power, but the people who run it do have such power.

Thankfully, enthusiasts haven’t taken the AAMVA’s recommendations sitting down. Lawsuits were filed in Michigan and Georgia while a bill was filed in Maine. In 2024, enthusiasts in Texas scored a major win when they worked together with their state lawmakers to overturn the DMV’s Kei ban policy. It was the first win since the AAMVA came down hard on enthusiasts in 2021, and enthusiasts in other states have replicated the Texas strategy with great success. Since the grand Texas win, enthusiasts in Massachusetts, Michigan, and Colorado have banded together and successfully educated their lawmakers about why Kei bans are ill-advised. This has resulted in their respective states either reversing bans or, in the case of Colorado, backing down from passing a ban in the first place.

However, there is still work to be done. Thus far, these major victories have been against DMV policies rather than against any laws on the books. There’s a caveat about that. Since all that’s been changed are department policies, the reversals of these bans can easily be turned over again by DMV officials in the future. So, enthusiasts are still fighting.

As car enthusiasts in Maine have found out, once a rule is enshrined in law it’s quite difficult to get rid of. Maine’s ban is not just a DMV policy, but a whole law, and efforts to overturn that law have failed. But what if you can use the law in the opposite direction? What if the legality of imported cars becomes law? Hopefully, Texas is about to find out.

Why States Ban Imports

If you’re new to my reporting on imported vehicle bans, I recommend reading my previous coverage by clicking here or any other linked story. Otherwise, I’ll give you a condensed backstory.

Back in the 2000s, Americans began discovering the awesome utility of tiny trucks. A micro truck from Japan or China is a great tool to have on a farm, at a business operation, or just as an off-road toy. They have more utility and creature comforts than a golf cart and can cost less than a high-performance side-by-side. The only catch is that if you buy one that’s younger than 25 years old it’ll have to be speed-limited and legally banned from road use.

In the late 2000s, state members of the AAMVA noticed a large influx of these vehicles and wondered what the heck to do about them. The AAMVA and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety began research into these so-called mini-trucks. IIHS performed crash testing, finding out that a mini-truck didn’t hold up well to a compact American pickup truck. The organization published a recommendation that mini-trucks shouldn’t be allowed on the road.

AAMVA’s Best Practice Regarding Registration and Titling of Mini-Trucks handbook followed suit, and some states responded by banning mini-trucks from the road.

But here’s the twist. Americans quickly figured out that there was a better option than a mini-truck, anyway. The federal government bans the importation of most vehicles until they’re either brought into safety and emissions compliance or until they’re 25 years old. So long as the vehicle is at least 25 years old, the feds don’t care one bit about the vehicle’s safety or emissions.

Enthusiasts have found out that by getting an older Kei truck, they didn’t need to be limited to 25 mph and the truck was considered a regular motor vehicle, so it could be driven anywhere.

This has also caught the attention of the AAMVA, as did the fact that some people enjoy driving surplus military vehicles on the road. As a result, 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, the AAMVA’s harshest guidance yet. It demanded its member jurisdictions to ban everything that wasn’t built to FMVSS. AAMVA made sure it was clear, too, specifically targeting surplus military vehicles like vintage Jeeps and Kei vehicles over 25 years old. Maine followed the guidance to the letter and recently, Colorado was going to do the same.

Most states that did respond to this guidance instead just targeted the Keis. Many of these states, like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Massachusetts, couldn’t tell the difference between a mini-truck and a Kei truck and couldn’t really identify a Kei truck, either.

These bans have always been a bit strange. For the most part, America usually doesn’t care what classic you drive. None of these states have any problem with motorcycles or Ford Model Ts. Even weirder is that based on how the bans are written in most of these states, the bans apply only to tiny cars from Japan. If you imported a Smart Fortwo K from Japan that would be illegal, but a Smart Fortwo of the same year from Europe would be legal even though they’re both largely the same. The bans, which are said to have been done in the name of safety, also wouldn’t care if you imported the most unsafe car that’s larger than Kei class.

Fighting Back With Law

Enthusiast groups have been formed all over America to fight back against these bans. Leading the charge is Lone Star Kei, the advocacy group founded by David McChristian which educates lawmakers on exactly what Kei trucks are and why they should be legal. As we stated earlier, Lone Star Kei’s methods of educating and allying with lawmakers have proven effective with reversing policies in a number of states.

This advocacy work isn’t easy. Last year, David contacted 180 Texas state representatives asking them to look into what was the DMV policy to ban Kei vehicles. State reps flexed their muscles and the DMV agreed to review its policy, ultimately reversing it.

Now, Lone Star Kei is praising what might be the next step to securing the privileges of imported vehicles. David has notified me that on March 3, Senator Kelly Hancock filed S.B. 1816, which would legalize Keis through law. The bill states:

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 501, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section 501.039 to read as follows:
Sec. 501.039. TITLE FOR MINIATURE VEHICLE. (a) In this section, “miniature vehicle” has the meaning assigned by Section 502.001.
(b) For the purposes of issuing a title under this chapter, a miniature vehicle is considered to be a motor vehicle.
(c) This section applies only to a miniature vehicle that:
(1) was 25 years of age or older at the time of import into the United States; or
(2) at the time of the issuance of the title, is 25 years of age or older and has previously been issued a valid title in the United States.

The bill then goes on to Section 502.001, which defines what Texas would consider to be a Kei vehicle:

SECTION 2. Section 502.001, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Subdivision (21-a) to read as follows:
(21-a) “Miniature vehicle” means a miniature car, truck, van, or bus manufactured in Japan that:
(A) is powered by an internal combustion engine with a displacement of 1,200 cubic centimeters or less;
(B) has a width of 60 inches or less;
(C) has a length of 140 inches or less;
(D) has a height of 80 inches or less;
(E) has a top speed of at least 50 miles per hour;
(F) is designed to propel itself with four or more tires in contact with the ground;
(G) is equipped with:
(i) a speedometer; and
(ii) all equipment required for miniature vehicles under Section 547.106 or rules adopted by the Department of Public Safety under Section 547.106; and
(H) has a manufacturer’s permanent vehicle identification number, as defined by Section 501.002.

Technically, the wording of this bill would exclude vintage three-wheel Kei trucks and any electric Kei vehicle. But this section is also pretty generous as it includes tiny vehicles with engines larger than the 660cc Kei limit.

Next, the bill talks about how a Kei vehicle would be registered as a motor vehicle:

SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 502, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section 502.006 to read as follows:
Sec. 502.006. REGISTRATION OF MINIATURE VEHICLE. (a) For purposes of registering a vehicle under this chapter, a miniature vehicle is considered to be a motor vehicle.
(b) This section applies only to a miniature vehicle that:
(1) was 25 years of age or older at the time of import into the United States; or
(2) at the time of registration is 25 years of age or older and has previously been issued a valid title in the United
States.

Finally, the bill closes by stating that Kei vehicles would be able to use Texas roads like a normal motor vehicle, but would be required to have working lights, mirrors, and a parking brake like a normal vehicle. In other words, if passed, this bill would legally classify Kei vehicles in the state of Texas as legally similar as a typical motor vehicle, which is pretty much all that enthusiasts want.

Of course, a bill doesn’t mean something is going to become law. Senator Kelly Hancock doesn’t yet have any fellow backing on this one and it would still have to pass through the legislature before being signed by the governor. Unfortunately, the bill could stall out at any point in the process or just fail to pass. That’s what happened when a representative in Maine tried to overturn that state’s law.

But, if the enthusiasts in Texas are lucky, they could see Keis become law as soon as September 1, 2025, and we wish them luck in reaching the finish line. If you live in a state with an imported vehicle restriction or ban, you might be able to find an advocacy group on Facebook. You can also reach out to Lone Star Keis as David McChristian keeps in touch with enthusiasts in other states. We’re all in this together! Maybe, one day an American can import whatever classic car they want without fear.