Back in June, Massachusetts became another one of the states restricting legally imported Japanese cars from their roads. The state joined Maine, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Georgia in banning JDM cars, but now we have what could turn out to be some good news. Enthusiasts in Massachusetts have banded together and reached out to lawmakers. One of them, Representative Steven S. Howitt, has introduced HD.5357, a bill that would reverse the destruction caused by the state’s Registry of Motor Vehicles.
This news comes to us from Raymond Moy of the Massachusetts JDM Imports Advocates Facebook group. Since June, the group has been working tirelessly to get their vehicles legal again. While this bill is something to cheer about, the group isn’t out of the woods yet, so they have their feet planted firmly on the throttle.
If passed, Rep Howitt’s bill could lay the groundwork for enthusiasts and lawmakers in other restrictive states to finally legalize these harmless vehicles.
Massachusetts Has No Idea What It’s Doing
If you haven’t been following this story, I’ll get you up to speed. Back in summer 2021, Maine shocked the import world by passing a law that automatically classified any vehicle not originally built to America’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) as an off-road vehicle. Overnight, all gray market imports from the Mitsubishi Delica to the early Mercedes-Benz A-Class were deemed too unsafe to drive on the roads of Maine. It didn’t matter if the vehicle was legally imported following the rules of the infamous “25-Year Rule,” Maine determined those vehicles just weren’t good enough.
Enthusiasts didn’t really have enough time to process this information because soon, Rhode Island launched its own ban. Rhode Island’s ban was less extreme and instead of banning all imports, it just banned the smallest class of cars from Japan, the Keis.
Sadly, things didn’t stop there as enthusiasts in New York, and Pennsylvania began reporting in about their own bans. Since then, Georgia, Michigan, and Texas all launched their own bans, with Texans successfully fighting back and getting their ban reversed.
Many have wondered about the source of these bans. Why did Maine kick this off? Why are most of these states just targeting tiny Japanese imports? It all leads back to one document: Regulation of Off-Road Vehicles: Best Practices published by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) and authored at least in part by Maine BMV Registration Section Supervisor Nikki Bachelder.
The document was published roughly around the same time Maine passed its law and Bachelder’s BMV began revoking the registrations of what were legally imported vehicles. The AAMVA – a non-governmental organization run by DMV and law enforcement administrators in all U.S. states, Canada, Mexico, the Virgin Islands, and Washington D.C – has been advocating for the banning of mini trucks for over a decade. Some states passed bans long ago while others, like Maine and the other states noted here, passed their bans after the AAMVA’s hardest push yet, which was the 2021 document above.
It should be noted that the AAMVA itself does not have any lawmaking power. However, the organization is run by the people who run the DMVs of all states, so that doesn’t seem to matter a whole lot.
Each state has found its own way to deal damage against the import community. As I said earlier, Maine went through the route of passing a law making imports illegal, which means its ban has been nearly impossible to overturn. Most other states, including Massachusetts, have decided to ban these vehicles through DMV/RMV policy rather than lawmaking.
At first, Massachusetts began denying the registrations of imported vehicles without telling their owners why. Some got explanations, but they didn’t make any sense. A number of JDM enthusiasts from Massachusetts have reached out to The Autopian and have told us they were told it was because the state no longer registered imports with short VINs. Others were told that the state no longer registered vehicles not originally built to American safety standards. Raymond Moy, who has remained in contact with us, received this paper:
All of this was confusing because it appeared Massachusetts didn’t pass a new law. Even more confusing was the fact that the state’s RMV website didn’t say anything about a car ban, either. It took the state RMV until July to finally publish a policy banning JDM vehicles:
A Kei class mini truck is a motor vehicle meeting the requirements of the Japanese “Kei Jidosha” classification or designation, used or maintained primarily for the transportation of property and having four wheels, an engine displacement of 660cc or less, an overall length of 130 inches or less, an overall height of 78 inches or less, and overall width of 60 inches or less.
These mini trucks and vans are typically imported and are more than 25 years old. Under the 25-year rule, Kei mini trucks and vans can be lawfully imported into the U.S. even if they do not comply with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), which these vehicles do not.
The Massachusetts RMV, under its authority, does not issue registrations and titles for these mini trucks and vans. As the RMV becomes aware that one of these vehicles may have been registered, it will contact the owner and inform them accordingly.
Mass cites a law that gives it the power to do this:
MGL Chapter 90, Section 2 states, in part:
“If the registrar shall determine at any time that, for any reason, a motor vehicle or trailer is unsafe or improperly equipped or otherwise unfit to be operated, he may refuse to register such motor vehicle or trailer or, if it is already registered, may suspend or revoke its registration.”
Another thing to remember is that the 25-year rule only determines whether you can import the country or not. The federal government bans the importation of a vehicle unless it is either 25 years old or converted to EPA and FMVSS. The EPA rule is a 21-year ban, but that’s irrelevant because the rest of the car has to be 25 years old. Once you satisfy the federal government, your car is released to you.
However, the federal government only determines whether it’s legal for you to own the car. It’s up to the state whether you get to drive the car. Sadly, it’s within the state’s power to say that Kei trucks are illegal.
That said, Massachusetts’ ban is dumber than most state actions. The state says its ban is targeting only imported Kei trucks, but the state doesn’t have an idea of what a Kei truck actually is. As a result, the state has effectively banned all Japanese imports, regardless of their actual size.
Massachusetts published a list identifying these cars as Kei trucks:
Honda Acty truck/van
Daihatsu Hijet, Daihatsu Atrai
Suzuki Carry, Suzuki Every
Mitsubishi Minicab truck/van
Mazda Porter Cab or Scrum
Subaru Sambar truck/van
Isuzu Mini Truck
Nissan Clipper
Toyota Lite Ace or Town Ace
It would appear that Massachusetts didn’t even produce this list itself as it’s the same list supplied by the state of Pennsylvania for its ban. That would be hilarious if it weren’t so infuriating. As I’ve noted now a few times before, the “Isuzu Mini Truck” doesn’t exist and Isuzu doesn’t make Kei vehicles. The Toyota LiteAce and TownAce are in a larger class, and the Nissan Clipper can’t even be imported until 2028 at the earliest.
If that’s making you mad, prepare to get hot and bothered. Members of the Massachusetts JDM Imports Advocates have reported on the vehicles the state has and has not registered. Enthusiasts have reported being unable to register Honda Civics, Mitsubishi Delicas, and Nissan Skyline R34s. None of these vehicles are in the Kei class or even close to it. Yet, someone with a large Japanese fire engine had no issue getting a plate for his truck.
Why is Massachusetts confusing Nissan Skylines with cute Kei trucks? It’s because the state thinks a vehicle with documents in Japanese and a short VIN is automatically a Kei truck, as I wrote in my last update:
The preliminary policy involved identifying Kei vehicles by their short chassis codes (which the state calls a VIN) and by referencing that list above. Any vehicle found not in compliance with FMVSS was to be denied title and registration.
The published policy is a shocker. The state gives four methods for RMV offices to identify a Kei vehicle, stating Kei vehicles must have VINs shorter than 17 digits and must be a model year older than 25 years, and first-time registrants must have documents in Japanese. Finally, RMV offices can reference the above list.
The problem is that these identification tactics cast a wide net. Every Japanese market vehicle imported from the country is going to have a short “VIN.” The country doesn’t use our 17-digit VIN system, but shorter chassis numbers. It’s also unclear how the RMV is supposed to handle cars sold in America before 1981 since those don’t have 17-digit VINs, either.
Unfortunately, the Massachusetts RMV’s method of identifying a Kei truck means everything from Japan is a Kei truck.
Enthusiasts Are Making Progress
There are a couple of ways enthusiasts can go about fighting JDM vehicle bans. Enthusiasts in Michigan and Georgia are suing their states for the privilege to drive imported vehicles.
The enthusiasts in Massachusetts, including group leaders like Raymond Moy, Dan McMahon, and Wade Burch, are following the lead set by the massively successful effort from Texas. Instead of fighting and suing, these enthusiasts in Massachusetts are ringing up anyone who will listen. They’re educating lawmakers to get them on their side with the hopes of changing the RMV’s policy.
The enthusiasts are finding that some lawmakers are sympathetic to their cause and as of last month, the team scored a small, but important win as the Massachusetts RMV has decided to review its policies:
The RMV is currently reviewing its policies for registration of Kei trucks. All existing unexpired registrations for Kei trucks and vans will remain active as the RMV works to review and assess industry standards related to Kei mini trucks and develop an updated policy addressing the registration of these vehicles.
But, as I said earlier, these guys and gals aren’t letting off of the gas and as of September 10, the group scored another win as Representative Steven S. Howitt introduced Bill HD.5357, which reads:
Chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following section:-
Section 64. Vehicles 25 Years or Older; Registration Requirements
(a) For the purposes of this section, a “Kei car” shall be defined as a vehicle primarily
manufactured in Japan, with the following specifications: a length no longer than 11 feet, a width
no greater than 4.9 feet, a height no taller than 6.6 feet, and an engine displacement no larger
than 660cc.(b) For the purposes of this section, “Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards” shall refer
to the federal regulations that allow motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment, which are 25
years or older from the date of manufacture, to be imported into the United States and registered
as outlined in 49 C.F.R. §§ 571 and 591, provided they were originally manufactured to meet the
safety standards of their country of origin.(c) The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles shall honor the Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards and shall register all vehicles 25 years or older as of the date of manufacture
that were imported in compliance with 49 C.F.R. § 591, including vehicles classified as “Kei
cars.”(d) The Registry of Motor Vehicles shall develop and implement an updated policy for
the registration of Kei cars and shall honor inspection stickers for all automobiles imported in
compliance with 49 C.F.R. § 591.
If passed, the enthusiasts in Massachusetts would end up with a better situation than the win from Texas. The bill would ensure that so long as you’re importing a 25-year-old vehicle that was built to the standards of the country it was built for, Massachusetts will register the vehicle. That would be a law and not just a policy.
Before you get too excited, I have to remind you that this bill was only just introduced and there’s no guarantee it’ll become law. Rep. Shelley Rudnicki of Maine introduced a similar bill into her state’s legislature and it effectively died off despite bipartisan support.
So, the enthusiasts in Massachusetts are wisely not letting off of the throttle. They will continue to advocate for their case until they can feel safe that they can own an imported car in the state without the state taking their registrations away.
We’ll be watching this one develop and continue helping these enthusiasts fight. If Texas has taught us one thing, it’s that you don’t always need to be a lobbyist or a politician to make good change.
They’re still MASSHOLES
Also, FUCK THE AAMVA
Perhaps they should sue AAMVA for RICO as it seems wanting to restrict the market to the FMVSS-compliant vehicles even though the federal law allows the vehicles that do not comply with FMVSS and are at least 25 years old.
So tired of this bullshit…
Wait… Is it not pronounced “Kay?”
I think it’s more like “key”, but I suspect the actual Japanese pronunciation is somewhere in between.
Delaware is part of the list, too, they haven’t been going crazy revoking already valid registrations, but people are running into trouble getting new registrations or renewals on kei vehicles, or anything with a non-standard VIN.
Where did I pahk my kei cah? In the cah pak? Also, yankees suck!
Did I get that correct?
As a Masshole, that was wicked f*ckin’ good. Pissah!
In western Massachusetts, which Boston tends to ignore, there are a fair number of NY Yankees and NY Giants fans. Oh, and we think the way they talk in Boston is funny too.
Did someone at the AAMVA have their significant other dump them for a Kei car enthusiast? Seriously, this smells like some crusade by an aggrieved party and the various states just trying to follow what they think are best practices.
I still don’t buy this. There may be DMV and law enforcement people involved because there have to be in order for it to have any teeth, but I think someone else is pulling the strings of this organization. There’s no reason for the DMV to want to ban a super niche class of vehicles like this. There is a reason for, say, a SxS manufacturer to want them banned.
I bet if you look into this, a lot of lobbying money is being spent on this organization. Of course, being technically non-governmental they don’t have the same FOIA requirements that an actual government agency would so it wouldn’t be easy to find out. Which just reinforces how incredibly shady this whole thing is. The AAMVA should be disbanded and its function should be done transparently as a government agency.
Oh, and in case anyone is wondering if it’s possible to contact your state’s AAMVA members directly? It isn’t. From https://www.aamva.org/membership/member-directory :
They don’t want you to know who they are unless you’re “in”. Shady AF.
Well that basically confirms what I’ve suspected before. AAMVA has no accountability to the public which its members’ decisions affect, nor does it want any.
And motor vehicle department administrators aren’t elected officials; they’re political appointees. Again, little or no accountability to the public they serve. And that’s how they like it. AAMVA can dictate policy as long as its membership stays in line, and they seem to be getting heavier-handed year upon year. This really is something that needs its lid publicly peeled back.
One of our ongoing projects is following the money of the AAMVA. Nobody at the AAMVA returns calls and we’re not sure how transparent the organization is about its supporting partners. We’ve been considering just “crashing” one of the AAMVA member meetups and seeing what we can find out.
Well done you are a shining light in the profession of investigative journalism.
Crash the place but send someone undercover like that British guy, nobody knows his face.
It looks like they’re a non-profit organization. I assume they have to file financial documents to keep that status.
It looks like a few regions are listed on this website, but the information isn’t very detailed. I assume those filings are public if you know where to ask for them.
https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/541732434
I used the info there to look up one of the names, Julie Knittle and I found this link back to AAMVA. Someone with more time could probably get more member information with the link structure…
https://www.aamva.org/contacts/staff/julie-knittle
They have their financial documents and audits posted on their site:
https://www.aamva.org/about/association-information/financial-information/aamva-financial-documents
Awesome! I’ve been hoping you would dig deeper into this.
regarding the headline: i always assumed Kei was pronounced “kay”, having only seen it written, not heard. If actually it’s pronounced “key” to rhyme with tea, well damn, yankees swing harder than i would’ve guessed.
It is pronounced kay. The graphics person just didn’t know that.
It is kay, but I think a lot of people intentionally mispronounce it as key to make a distinction with Chrysler’s K-cars.
My guess is the AAMVA really has a grudge against the Dodge Aries, and just got confused.
You’re right, but I think the editors and the graphics guy wanted to have a little fun. 🙂
I mean maybe in Bahstahn they pronounce it like key, after going to the packy for a brewski.
Good luck but I wouldn’t hold your breath. This is just the perfect example of the MA nanny state in action.
Lead with banning Things with dubious regulatory support for vague reasonsThe Things are not the typical, comfortable, familiar Things which the government has firmly under its thumb.The Things support massachusetts government’s ostensible goals – smaller vehicles for less danger to pedestrians, more fuel efficient than an F350, etc.
In short, everything that the government there hates.
Boy, that’s painting with a broad brush. Fun fact, 5 of the last 7 governors of Massachusetts, going back to 1991, were Republicans. Does that surprise you? Doesn’t fit with your stereotype of Massachusetts, does it?
Can’t wait to start seeing kei trucks more often where I am!
For the purpose of registration offroad means not on public roads.
Can I nominate the text on the header image for COTD? It’s perfectly played, with a subtle double entendre. Great work.
I’ve said it before, this law makes no sense at all. By the logic of this being a safety issue, you would have to make motorcycles illegal. They are much faster than Kei cars and have no protection at all for their occupants. Can’t be an emissions issue because then you would have to ban classic cars as well so yeah this law just comes off as non car people trying to legislate on something they know little about.
And kit cars or other homebuilts or antiques. If safety is the argument, then how far back do they want to go with production models before something is “too unsafe”? Anything before the last string if NHTSA safety standards? It’s not just a JDM import problem, it’s a potential future way of eliminating just about anything that doesn’t suck. Oh, sure, they might say they “won’t outlaw old cars”, but I know I don’t trust them or the next administration that takes over and inherits that potential.
hear me out A les miserables production but about Kei Cars
I asked my representative to Massachusetts Legislature to support HD.5357 after reading this article.
the MA DOT RMV has had some other recent problems too:
– CDLs were being sold without a road test (in exchange for a snowblower in one instance).
– 400+ CDLs were revoked for issues dating back over 30 years ago, with no appeal process. Many of those were school bus drivers and had licenses pulled a week before school started, leaving some school systems without enough bus drivers.
– revoking those CDLs was in response to a drugged out CDL driver, who’d been flagged to RMV by another state, killing 7 motorcyclists in a single accident. It ends up RMV had systematically ignored those flags from other states for years….and it only took RMV 5 years to address their process.
you can’t make this shit up!
but yeah, it’s the kei trucks that needs to be the focus. /s
Just reached out to my MA rep as well! Let’s keep this support going!
As always, great reporting on this issue.
But whoever came up with that title/headline? It’s absolute gold. So many layers in so few words.
Hey, this year they finally raised the speed limit to 65 on Route 3 from Burlington to the NH border. I now believe anything is possible.
Used to run the ol’ Hooch Highway on Friday nights back in the day. Usually returned via secondary roads, though, to avoid any MSP greeting parties at the border.
Hey, hey State of the Bay
How many Keis did you null today?
Fight the power!
Meanwhile, here in Michigan, dickbags drive side-by-sides on every public road and get away with it with NO crack-down. Prime violators in my area tend to be: cops, friends of cops, known nutjobs the cops don’t want to deal with, and people flying political flags on said vehicle that indicate they will create a scene if confronted by law enforcement.
Would those be safer or less-safe than some of the current vehicles on the road in Michigan held together with bailer twine, duct tape, and rust?
Hard to argue with that.
Until motorcycles are also banned, the safety argument about kei cars is an obvious lie.
Shhhhh !
An extension of that would be to enforce mandatory helmets in Kei cars, and register them as motorcycles if they’re under a certain physical size.
Except there’s no mandatory helmet law across the US. So that argument’s out.
Leads me to wonder where’s the “my freedom” argument here.
They already do that for Slingshots and I have only ever seen one person wearing a helmet in one
49 states + DC have laws saying 3 wheelers (Slingshots, Morgans) are autocycles and you don’t need a motorcycle license or a helmet.
Mass says 3 wheelers are motorcycles and need helmets and M license. Everyone here wears helmets in them cause here is the only place it’s law.
The fact that “Slingshots” are road legal and SXSs with their tubing frames, 3 point seatbelts, headlights, taillights and brake lights are not, is troubling. Their engines have to meet CARB rules, just like a car. So where’s the justification/logic?
They don’t pass FMVSS. They are 4-wheeled vehicles, so they are classified as automobiles. A Slingshot is a 3-wheeler, so it’s a motorcycle or autocycle. Also not sure if CARB ratings are different for off-road vehicles, but that’s likely, so if that’s the case, they wouldn’t pass emissions for an on-road vehicle, either.
Oh, you’re right. I could have sworn at one point it was the law in NC that a helmet was required in one
It changed a couple of years ago.
Kei cars have 4 wheels, so they can’t qualify as motorcycle or autocycle (where that label exists). Being enclosed is also a potential classification issue depending on the state and yet another one is that it’s illegal in some states to wear a helmet in an enclosed vehicle.
These rules are obsurd. Recently I looked at getting a Kei truck in KY and it’s rules are basically determined at county level. Basically it’s ok to drive from one part of farm to other but anything else is a non starter. They won’t register them at all.
I just don’t understand the reasoning. It doesn’t meet FMVSS!? This state doesn’t even have a safety inspection for vehicles so an alarming amount of cars are legitimate hazards on the road but the tiny Japanese trucks are a bridge too far.
I keep wondering what lobby group benefits from this since that is really how the government is run. Is it the side by side manufacturers?
I don’t think so, because the document that started this off seems to advocate for banning them from roads too (along with golf carts, tractors, military vehicles, etc).
Certainly there’s no safety argument for allowing SxS on the road but not kei trucks. I wouldn’t put my kids in either one on the road, but adults should be able to take their life into their hands if they choose to.
True though I would think they still see them as a threat. If they aren’t legal to drive on the road even when, you know, they’re actual cars/trucks then it takes a huge appeal away from them, especially when also faced with the additional burden of importing.
Those driving ATV/SxS on the road aren’t usually bent on following road rules already (let alone licensing and/or insurance wise).
A nearly 1000lb SxS can do a lot of damage – even before you think of it being driven by Jimmy’s kid after he’s had a few Busch in the bush with his buddies from a day fishing at the creek. They’re both larger and heavier than a motorcycle – which can do enough damage to someone else, and would be more heavily enforced to be licensed/insured.
This has been my question form the beginning. Who is pushing for this? This seems like such a red-herring issue to suddenly be going through multiple state legislatures.
The “qui bono” is the administrators themselves. This whole push is resume polish for a certain class of bureaucrat. If you give an administrator power, they will do everything they can to hang on to and expand that power, this is a classic case- you have a frigging “NGO” composed entirely of government administrators making policy by promulgating documents that can by copy-pasta’d from one state to the next as the actual regulations that affect the public. Mercedes happens to be writing about it because it deals with cars generally, and a class of car near and dear to her heart in particular, but you can write a very similar article about many other departments and their stupid clout-chasing crusades.
Another example of govt bureaucrats being power-hungry control freaks. No one will be injured or affected by kei trucks other than the owner and maybe passenger. They can make their own risk assessments. It’d be easier to justify banning brodozers as a hazard to the public.
Exactly. Unelected and unaccountable faceless nobodies flexing their muscles on a subject they have zero understanding about, and they don’t care, either.
I don’t think it’s about power as much as somebody getting their palms greased. It’s the complete cluelessness about what they’re even trying to ban that has me attribute it to ignorant corruption. Someone told them to do this.
I don’t think so. 25 year old tiny Japanese cars are not really competing against anything on the market, there’s certainly nothing new being sold that’s remotely in the same size bucket. I can’t come up with a certain economic winner if Kei cars are banned, so I’m leaning towards good old fashioned bureaucratic empire building (“look what I did! I got rid of a bunch of tiny unsafe vehicles, never mind it served no purpose other than to piss people off!”)
SxS manufacturers is where I’d look as they could fear the usefulness of a small footprint truck that’s far more affordable than their overpriced junk and—most useful of all in comparison—road legal. If this was about power, they’d likely have a coherent argument and an accurate list of vehicles. We’re also talking RMV people, not the most motivated or engaged people and who are working for a byzantine, entrenched bureaucracy. I think somebody at the top got money/vacation/future election campaign funding/Real Doll that looks like Anne Ramsay and they told the people underneath them to get it done and they didn’t even know what or how to go about it, so they took what was written up by some other clueless DMV employees in another state and went with it. I work for a large, disorganized company and that’s largely how it is here, now add more apathy and less accountability in government and that’s how I imagine the RMV. What’s in banning a small number of tiny cars for an apathetic employee just trying to get through enough days to hit pension age? Boss coming down on them. Why are they coming down on them about this thing they apparently have little knowledge of judging by the nonsensical list of kei cars that aren’t kei cars? This lobby of AHs. Why would they listen to said lobby? Money/vacation/future election campaign funding/Real Doll. If this were a simple power trip targeting something they figured would be an easy fight, I would think the big boss trying to ban these would at least know what they were enough to send a proper list of what they were to the underlings.
Eh, I don’t know. A SxS is pretty firmly established as a general off-road utility vehicle and used as a commodity. Kei cars are really only appealing because of their on-road possibilities and the cultural appeal, I don’t see there being any significant market overlap, and certainly not one big enough to require subverting a number of state DMVs and legislatures.
And I don’t see any motivation to ban them without bribery from a larger group, the group who is behind this. The question for me is only why is this group doing this? It has to be money and I can’t think of a good candidate except for SxS manufacturers, though it surely could be someone else. Could even be just some thin-skinned POS billionaire who was insulted by someone in a kei car and is going on a crusade to ban them in response, but power trip by RMV isn’t doing it for me, particularly as this is being driven by a group going state to state, not a rogue RMV.
Probably vehicle manufacturers in general who don’t want Americans to suddenly start driving small, cheap to own, operate and repair vehicles.
The perps pushing this ban ARE the SxS dealers/manufacturers….