A Case for Kei Car in America

"HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles" (hondasfordsvolvo) 02/10/2019 at 08:44 • Filed to: None

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I believe that Kei cars have a place in America. The super small, super efficient, and super cheap, cars could really help people here as well as improve overall fuel consumption numbers.

The elephant in the room is people crying “but they aren’t safe!”, because of their small size. To which I would reply, think about all the financially challenged people you see driving around in 20-30 year old cars. This probablem gets even worse when you liviing in the rust belt, where even a 10 year old car can be a rust death trap. Just a few days ago I saw a mother loading up her 3 kids in a first gen Matrix that looked like it could fold in on itself because it was so rusty, I realize that most states have some sort of inspection to prevent this, but I also know those inspections can be passed with superficial cosmetic repairs that don’t actually make the car safer. Providing an economically efficient way to buy a brand new car could push some of those old clunkers off the road. I’m all for saving older cars, but there is no reason anyone should be driving a 90s FWD Sedan with no rocker panels.

Obviously cost of ownership is greatly reduced. A brand new car comes with a warrenty which is a big advantage over a 5-10 year old car. Brand new the Honda N WGN is about 9k USD in its most basic trim, and 13,500 loaded. That’s cheap, but really not much cheaper than a Nisan Versa Sedan, or Mitsubishi Mirage, but you also have to consider that it’s rated at 29km/liter which is just short of 70mpg! That’s nuts, my wife’s Fit gets 35 on a good day. If you could also couple that with cheaper registration and normal insurance rates it would be a steal of a deal.

This lowered initial, and cost of ownership could provide a reason for people to buy knew instead of used car, which would help out automakers. Of course the big three would have to develop something to ring to market, but I’m sure they all still have ties to a company that makes a Kei currently and could just borrow some parts, just like in the 80s and 90s when they didn’t have any good subcompact cars.

Lastly it would improve global fuel consumption. Americans use a lot of fuel every day, and a quite a few people are conserned abuot it running out, or at least getting much more expensive. This is why so many companies are turning to electric cars, hybrids to sell a car for the future. I have a feeling that if you brought a car or market that did 70mpg and cost less than 10k people would folk to it. Especially if it had a funky design. Like the N-One, I think people would buy one of these just to be seen in it, like a classic Mini Cooper.

So its safer than a rusty 90s death trap it’s cheap to buy and own which could boost new car sales... at least for a few years... and those 70mpg figures would reduce America’s overall fuel consumption. Why are they not already being sold here?

Also because Jimny. If Suzuki doesn’t want to come back to the US market they could lisence it to FCA and they could sell it as a Jeep! Although Suzuki not bringing over the Hustler and Alto would be a shame. 

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 02/10/2019 at 09:42

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Your reasoning is clear and concise and makes perfect sense. Therefore,  it’ll never fly here.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 02/10/2019 at 09:50

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Here is a case against the Kei car that does not rely on “but it’s not safe”:

Ame rican driving habits are vastly different from densely packed European and Asian countries. Our nation is huge, and we drive a LOT more. Our ma jor ci ties are v ery fa r apart. Hour + daily commutes are not uncommon, and a car can spend 75% of it s lifetime miles on the highway.

Wh en was the last time you were comfortable in a tiny car for more than an hour? The lack of sound insulation, the wind buffeting, the buzzing engine. T hese all contribute to driver fatigue. Tiny cars are not suited for the l ong haul. There’s a reason why American cars have always been big and heavy with lazy large displacement engines .

Economy would actually suffer, I think. A tall-geared V6 or V8 churning barely above idle on the highway can actually get better mileage than a tiny 4cyl that has to be revved to 3 k to hold 65mph.

A Kei car only makes sense t o me if you live in a big city and never intend to leave it.

For Sweden > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 02/10/2019 at 09:51

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Kei cars are bae cars

cbell04 > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 02/10/2019 at 09:56

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Also the 2nd hand kei market would greatly help too. These would sell cheap after 3-4 years and be a way for those folks to buy a newer more fuel efficient car rather than an older thirsty one . I’m on board. How about we increase safety on them bringing down the mpg’s a bit from the weight it would add. More c heap 50+ mpg car options would still be a great market.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 02/10/2019 at 09:59

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That’s true in major metropolitan areas, but there are still plenty of rural areas where most people only drive 30 miles aday, and most of them are at 60mph on a 55mph 2 lane road. Yes people in those rural areas occasionally have to drive farther than to work an back, but those trips are rare.

As for highway efficiency most Kei cars now have CVT transmissions so as long as that tall gear is tall enough it wouldn’t be a problem.

I really do think people would give up a bit of comfort for doubled mpg, and he peice of mind of owning a new car. I know my wife would. And so would I provided it’s manual and funky looking. 

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > cbell04 02/10/2019 at 10:01

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I’m worried about what those increased safty standards would do to the look of the car, think late 70s diving board bumpers, 

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > For Sweden 02/10/2019 at 10:01

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Did you miss spell  bad? Or are you being hip to the lingo of the kids 

zipfuel > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 02/10/2019 at 10:02

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It’s a nice thought but I think David Tracey’s recent review of the Jimny tells you most of why: and that had motor over 1L . 660cc gives nowhere near enough power to handle the large % of highway driving Americans do, even if you live in a metro area.

I rented a Toyota Aigo around the UK for a bit and you have to try driving a vehicle that physically cannot pass a transport truck to truly understand  how much power is taken for granted in North America....

For Sweden > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 02/10/2019 at 10:02

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No, I spelled bae right  https://www.dictionary.com/browse/bae

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > For Sweden 02/10/2019 at 10:06

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Good 

Dusty Ventures > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 02/10/2019 at 10:14

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I think there are enough people that have shorter commutes that the K car could have a place in the U.S. market. Sure, it’s not the right car for those who have to spend a couple hours in it every day or do long stretches of highway. But for those who live within 45 minutes of their workplace? Absolutely. Hell, I wouldn’t give up either of my cars for it, but I’d certainly consider adding one to the fleet as my daily commuter. And I know my dad would snatch one up for the business.

TL;DR: It definitely wouldn’t be for everyone, but I think it would be the right car for enough people to merit being offered as an option.

random001 > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 02/10/2019 at 10:24

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Arent most of them rated to a Max speed of under 50 mph, though?  Something like that.  

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > random001 02/10/2019 at 10:28

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To buy them in  The US they have to be registered as a slow moving vehicular and are so they are electronically limited to 35mph. That changes state by state tho in some states they have to be registered as off-road only.

duurtlang > zipfuel 02/10/2019 at 10:35

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A 2005 Toyota Aygo with the base 1.0L 3 cylinder engine and 68 hp  has a top speed of 99 mph. Newer ones are less slow. How fast was that truck driving?

random001 > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 02/10/2019 at 10:36

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I meant they are mechanically unable to exceed some ridiculously low speed, when looked at in relation to US highway speeds.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 02/10/2019 at 10:37

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A h, but you forget why Kei cars even exist in the first place. It was never about economy. Japanese tax structures heavily penalizes cars above a certain size. For Japanese folk, owning a small car is worth the tax break.

No such size taxation exists in the U.S. Our initial purchase price for cars here may be higher than average, but after that the cost-to-own is dirt cheap. We have some of the cheapest tax, fuel, and insurance rates in the world. For the average American buyer, there is no incentive to buy a Kei car. The benefits of owning one do not outweigh the sacrifices made by having a small car.

Subcompacts have only ever sold well here during fuel crisis that are few and far between.

OmerCarrothers333 > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 02/10/2019 at 10:39

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They’d be useful in most cities in California. As well as Chicago and New York City.

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 02/10/2019 at 11:05

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People here are downright offended by small cars. Hear a bunch of people just the other day on talk radio “discussing” Car vs truck, People were agrily railing against smartcars like the communists were forcing them on them. N one had ever been in, driven or seen one up close. Angry redneck steaming about Little cars it’s real. The conversation turned toward “winning accidents”. It’s pretty far uphill to get past all the stupids.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 02/10/2019 at 11:12

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Not gonna happen without a regulatory framework that penalizes large vehicles and is favourable to small vehicles.

The first step would be to get rid of the stupid CAFE footprint rule that is favourable to large vehicles

Matt Nichelson > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 02/10/2019 at 11:30

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I think they would be fine to use as strictly a city car.  Rural America is a different story though.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Matt Nichelson 02/10/2019 at 11:41

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On the contrary. Many people who live in rural areas like mine drive 30-60 miles a day. But that’s at 60mph on highways. They would  benefit great from that fuel efficiency 

Tekamul > random001 02/10/2019 at 11:50

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No, they mostly clock in with a top speed around 80-90, so about the same as a 2nd gen S10 with  the 4 cylinder (slowest car I can remember driving).

Tekamul > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 02/10/2019 at 11:53

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You totally forgot about ‘slow car fast’ benefits. A Suzuki Alto @50 probably feels as exciting as a Corvette @110.  

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Tekamul 02/10/2019 at 11:56

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Especially on a narrow side road 

random001 > Tekamul 02/10/2019 at 12:04

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Yeah, 80-90 kph.  Hehe

zipfuel > duurtlang 02/10/2019 at 12:08

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UK motorway limit is 70mph so the truck was probably doing around that, all other traffic doing 5-10 more.

99mph (150kph) is certainly achievable on flat ground but that’s terminal velocity: acceleration gets exponentially slower as you aproach it.

T rying to pull out and pass   on an uphill, I had to abort.

I will admit I probably wasn’t wringing every hamster of power out of the motor since it was manual but the rental spec lacks a tach and while it was screaming pretty good I never hit the limiter.

TLDR: my point stands, a Kei car would be dangerously slow on US highways .

Tekamul > random001 02/10/2019 at 12:23

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It looks like in Japan they are electronically limited to 87mph, but all of the decent ones get there no problem, and an Alto Turbo goes to 120mph with the limiter removed.

Tristan > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 02/10/2019 at 12:42

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Shhhh! The bureaucrats might hear you talking about something they're not taxing!

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Dusty Ventures 02/10/2019 at 13:01

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I have 2.3 mile commute and drive a three-row miniminivan that rarely cracks 20 mpg (6MT and it loves to rev, so...) I could see a Kei car as a possible  secondary vehicle, but if I’m going to add another vehicle to the fleet I would be more likely to add a scooter, something electric or a Miata.

random001 > Tekamul 02/10/2019 at 14:19

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Interesting.

Chinny Raccoon > zipfuel 02/11/2019 at 03:55

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The truck would have been limited to 56mph. Should be easily passable in an Aygo.

Carbon Fiber Sasquatch > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer 02/11/2019 at 22:45

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This. Kei cars are a logical well- thought - out decision. This makes them wholly incompatible with a large portion of Americans.

I mean editorials like this are not an uncommon viewpoint here in flyover country

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a25989274/electric-car-need-vs-want/