Kei-Cars in the U. S.?

"Cebu" (menostwelve) 12/29/2013 at 14:24 • Filed to: None

3

40

Kei-cars are small, economical, fun-to-drive roadsters from Japan. Strictly 2-seat runabouts for cities, they provide the advantages of the Smart car with better crash ratings and more fun per mile. The latest from Honda and Daihatsu use 660cc engines, and get at least 35mpg. They don't look half bad, stylewise:

(S660)

I think there's a market -at least for people like me, guys that just want something that's fun to drive, doesn't suck, and looks cool.Question is, would you buy one?

Nick, Drives a Cobalt LT > Cebu 12/29/2013 at 14:28

0

I'd get one.

They are neat little cars. There definitely is a market for them here in certain crouds.

Probably cheap as hell to maintain as well since they are made by Honda And the like who have typically cheap cars in the beginning.

jsmizira > Cebu 12/29/2013 at 14:29

0

If they are cheap then yes, would buy and have as fun tinker car.

Ian Duer (320b) > Cebu 12/29/2013 at 14:31

1

I'd have bought one ten years ago. I've pretty much decided there is no chance in hell of us getting these unless they are old enough to get the 25year exemption. Autozam AZ-1: your days are numbered.

POD > Cebu 12/29/2013 at 14:32

0

I have an unhealthy obsession with Kei cars. I want one so bad! If Honda brings this to Canada, it would sell.

POD > Ian Duer (320b) 12/29/2013 at 14:35

0

One of the advantages of Canada. There is already an Autozam AZ-1 in Alberta. I'm trying to stalk it. It needs to be mine.

PatBateman > Cebu 12/29/2013 at 14:36

0

Can you get a TT V8 version?

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > Cebu 12/29/2013 at 14:40

8

Actually, kei cars are legally defined only by their engine displacement and physical dimensions. Only a few kei cars are even remotely sporty; most resemble a mini-minivan instead.

PS9 > PatBateman 12/29/2013 at 14:41

0

Honda no haz V8s. Mugen made that one off, but theres 0% information on it, and less than 0 in stock, anywhere.

Ian Duer (320b) > POD 12/29/2013 at 14:46

0

I found that out when I searched... Canadians and their 15 year rule... Jealous

Raphael Orlove > RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire 12/29/2013 at 14:46

0

this is correct, yep

Casper > Cebu 12/29/2013 at 14:46

0

Cars like this (small engine, small car) have been around forever, but the real problem with these new ones is that they are sacrificing too much for a few MPG. Unless they are planning to make the cars with carbon fiber and magnesium, 63 HP won't be enough. The older cars were MUCH lighter than the current cars but had as much or more power. In the case of the MR2s, even the under powered NA cars were 130 HP in the US... but due to regulations they were moving into the 2800lb realm.

In order to make me buy something like this, here is what is needed:

Huge parts market, make them like legos so you can build them any way you want.

Only offer them in RWD and AWD setups and make the chassis compatible to go either way.

Design a good chassis. Something really stiff and really well made.

Offer them for under $20,000 fully optioned.

Offer crate engines and parts that are race ready.

If they can't do those things, there's no incentive to buy one over things currently floating around on the markets.

davedave1111 > Cebu 12/29/2013 at 14:54

1

You basically wouldn't want to drive any kei-sized car on the road with normal-sized traffic. If that's not a consideration, there are endless options for fun and lightweight that would make much more sense than kei-cars.

Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French > Cebu 12/29/2013 at 14:54

0

Allow me a bit of nitpicking here, but the Smart ForTwo isn't all that unsafe, with 4 out of 5 stars in the Euro NCAP testing.

See http://www.euroncap.com/tests/smart_fo…

fhrblig > RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire 12/29/2013 at 14:56

0

I would take one of those mini-bread-vans in a heartbeat. I love small, efficient cars.

POD > Ian Duer (320b) 12/29/2013 at 14:57

0

So I just did some more stocking...

http://forum.ivoac.ca/showthread.php…

This yellow one is in my town! Now I really need to track it down... in a non-creepy way of course. For science.

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > Cebu 12/29/2013 at 15:16

0

Swap a Hayabusa engine on that shit.

duurtlang > Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French 12/29/2013 at 15:24

1

...when crashed against a stationary object. The problem with tiny cars, especially in the US but in Europe as well, is other traffic. Heavy vehicles annihilate light vehicles. Sadly the trend in the last decades has been a Cold War-like arms race of vehicle weight, making cars moderately saver for their occupants and far more dangerous for anyone else.

Disclaimer; I'm only talking about weight here.

carwitter > Cebu 12/29/2013 at 15:53

0

We wrote an article on this a few weeks ago, you guys already have Kei Cars, you just dont know it ;-)

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > Cebu 12/29/2013 at 15:55

0

Squeeze a 1liter 4cyl in it with some old-school VTEC action and a 6-speed, and count me in.

100hp, 2000lbs, RWD. I'm down for the cause.

Ian Duer (320b) > POD 12/29/2013 at 15:56

1

Ha. I accidentally tracked down a blue MGB once. It was parked at a few state parks I was at for hiking but I never ran into the owner. On day randomly it was at the next pump over at the gas station. I complimented the guy on it because I'd never seen one in that color and though it was more striking than the expected red or forest green I was used to seeing. You never know you may track it down by accident. No creepiness required.

The Prince of Peugeot > Cebu 12/29/2013 at 16:27

1

I doubt they would catch on where I live. Not that I wouldn't want one, It's just because general public sees that in a crash...

This:

Versus this:

Cannot end well.

The Prince of Peugeot > Goshen, formerly Darkcode 12/29/2013 at 16:29

1

I was thinking more Hartley V8, but whatever fits ;)

The Prince of Peugeot > duurtlang 12/29/2013 at 16:40

0

I feel it's especially bad where I live in North Texas where pickup trucks are seen as often as family sedans. Anything other than a truck or a large SUV is seen by many as unsafe because of the great number of SUVs and trucks on the roads. I highly doubt Kei cars would sell well here.

duurtlang > The Prince of Peugeot 12/29/2013 at 16:48

0

These people have a point. Not that smaller cars are inherently unsafe, but the other behemoths on the road create an unsafe situation. I imagine even my midsize Peugeot coupe, which is quite large here, would feel unsafe amongst those giants.

The Prince of Peugeot > duurtlang 12/29/2013 at 16:59

0

Buying a large vehicle for safety is a bit of a double edged sword though. Yes it will be safer for the driver of the large vehicle, but the want for a large vehicle for safety is a mindset that gains more influence as more people adopt it. The more people that buy large vehicles, the more pressure there is to do the same, as the roads become less safe for the smaller vehicles.

duurtlang > The Prince of Peugeot 12/29/2013 at 17:18

0

Exactly. Eventually everybody loses. Hence my Cold War arms race analogy :)

Louis Subearth > The Prince of Peugeot 12/29/2013 at 17:30

0

I say this would open a market for rubber bumpers.

Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French > duurtlang 12/29/2013 at 17:36

0

The point was made that modern Kei-cars are safer than the Smart. I countered that the 4-star rating of the ForTwo isnt' all that unsafe.

That remains a valid point, because Kei-cars are about as tiny and light as a Smart, so they have the same problem of risking being squashed by a proverbial raised Bro truck.

The Prince of Peugeot > duurtlang 12/29/2013 at 18:02

0

Hopefully the promise of better fuel economy and lower vehicle costs (pickup trucks are surprisingly expensive for how basically equipped they are) will bring an end to this arms race then. I would love to see Kei cars becoming the majority of vehicles on the roads in my lifetime. Hopefully the coming of self-driving cars will greatly lessen the number of accidents and push people to get more efficient and practical cars.

Bad Idea Hat > Cebu 12/29/2013 at 18:10

0

Already happened.

I didn't get in on the "what car would you swap out the insides of" thread, but this is it. Put a mid-large motorcycle engine in it, swap out just about everything underneath (except the radio, keep the damn radio) and you have a classic American Kei-car for nutcases.

duurtlang > The Prince of Peugeot 12/29/2013 at 18:22

0

There's no way that'll happen in the US. It's not even happening where I live (the Netherlands), and gasoline is the equivalent of $8.50 a gallon (US gallon) here, there are huge incremental gas guzzler taxes on new cars (2014 Prius: €0, Yaris 1.3 €3k, BMW 328i €7k, CTS 3.0 €30k, Land Cruiser 4.6 V8 €65k) and the yearly ownership taxes are based on vehicle weight (2014 Yaris 1.3 €350, BMW 328i €700, CTS 3.0 €1000, Land Cruiser 4.6 V8 €1700). As a result subcompacts, compacts and slightly larger luxury cars (BMW 3, Audi A4) have become the norm. But not Kei-sized vehicles.

Xentron Holy Reaper of Worlds > Cebu 12/29/2013 at 18:27

0

SEATS Y U NO SAME COLOR

Slave2anMG > Raphael Orlove 12/29/2013 at 21:50

0

And I'd be all over one of those little vanlettes in a flash. I'm still a fool for a Nissan Cube and all the others that are sold in Japan that we don't get here.

Slave2anMG > Cebu 12/29/2013 at 21:52

0

I sort of have one now...a '72 MG Midget. About as tiny as a Kei car albeit with a 1275 cc engine that makes about 60 hp. Big SUVs are not fun to be around with it...but the tiny size makes it a hoot to drive in traffic and so forth.

Chris Zimmer > The Prince of Peugeot 12/30/2013 at 06:49

1

On an open road, at speed, you are most correct. Madam physics can be a cruel mistress. In a congested city where impact speeds are much lower, suddenly the kei car still loses that fight, but kei occupants survive.

So will a car that is designed for congested roads in a country with insanely low speed limits sell in another country with wide open roads and some of the highest speed limits in the world? Hmmmmmmm, let me get my marketing people right on that.

Chris Zimmer > Cebu 12/30/2013 at 06:52

0

Will Kei cars sell in America in umbers enough to justify bringing them over here?

I've never been, but I hear Japan has some of the lowest speed limits in the world. I also hear the congestion on the roads is much higher that here in 'Murica as well.

Now the question becomes will a car designed for lower speed driving in congested areas sell in a country with higher speed driving conditions and less congestion? I think we know the answer to that one...

Mercedes Streeter > Cebu 12/30/2013 at 12:34

0

Call me crazy, but what do you mean kei cars are safer than smarts?

Most modern kei cars I've seen are 3-4 star crash rated vehicles, while smarts are 4 stars. They're about equal as far as I'm concerned. They have similar size and similar weight properties.

Too bad we can't have not even half of those cool little buggers in the U.S.

Cebu > Xentron Holy Reaper of Worlds 12/30/2013 at 15:17

0

Oh, lol.

Will The Tinkerer > The Prince of Peugeot 08/04/2014 at 21:05

0

presumably we are talking town cars where drive that hopped up PU is not very practical but the size argument does not make sense when we already allow scooters in that big bad mix! I think kei car safety many x-times safer than scooter!!

Will The Tinkerer > Bad Idea Hat 08/04/2014 at 21:23

0

OH SNAP!!! You show the one car I fell in love with as a young man. I owned 3 in a row of the good ole "bug eye'd Sprites", a 59 and two 60 models! I have always loved small cars and I am still alive with all the apendages that God gave me!