Back in the summer of 2021, the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles kicked off an alarming trend. Owners of Mitsubishi Delicas received letters from the state stating that owners’ beloved vans were “mini-trucks” that did not meet federal emissions and safety requirements and thus could not be driven on the state’s roads. Initially, this caused a lot of confusion because the Mitsubishi Delica is far larger than the vehicles that fall under Japan’s adorable Kei class, and they certainly weren’t mini-trucks. Besides, these were vehicles that were older than 25 years old and thus were exempt from meeting Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). So, what gives with this stuff about not meeting standards?
Why You Can’t Register A Mitsubishi Delica In Maine
The state later clarified to say that calling the Mitsubishi Delica a mini-truck was a mistake, but that misuse of terminology wasn’t going to change anything. The state changed its statutes to indicate that anything that didn’t pass FMVSS and EPA requirements was now an off-road vehicle, which the state does not register for road use. On June 15, 2021, the state amended its 29-A MRSA 354 statute to define an off-road vehicle thusly: Suddenly, the owners of vehicles imported from Japan learned something interesting about how America’s laws work. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires that a vehicle either meets FMVSS or is at least 25 years old to be exempt. The EPA, on the other hand, either wants the vehicle to meet emissions standards or be at least 21 years old. However, this doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to register it and drive it on the road because vehicle registration is handled by the states. In fact, the state of Wisconsin says this, emphasis mine:
Maine’s Silly Rules Spread Across The Country
Maine was only the start. Soon, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, and Georgia joined in. These states were a little less aggressive than Maine and reportedly have primarily targeted vehicles within the Kei class of tiny cars. Depending on the state, some owners of imported vehicles got lucky. For example, Pennsylvania grandfathered in some previously-registered vehicles. The state will also allow Kei vehicle owners to obtain an Antique Registration. This allows them to occasionally drive their vehicles, which isn’t ideal, but it’s better than an outright ban. Meanwhile, enthusiasts in other states are discovering that the struggles aren’t limited to the east coast. For example, in Wisconsin, the state does not register Kei-class vehicles at all. Those seeking to register vehicles larger than Kei class are subject to a long list of requirements, including 1. The vehicle cannot be modified and 2. In order to register the vehicle, you have to have another vehicle that is registered as your primary vehicle. Weirdly, Wisconsin’s ban on Kei cars actually dates back to 2013.
The Meeting That Led To These Restrictions
In November 2021, I located the source of this madness, and it was the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA). This is a non-governmental non-profit lobbying organization composed of motor vehicle and law enforcement administrators and executives from all 50 states. Canada, Mexico, the Virgin Islands, and Washington D.C. get representation in the AAMVA as well. Among other things, the organization seeks standardization of laws across the states regarding traffic safety, vehicle titling, and driver licensing. AAMVA does not have legislative power but it does urge all member states to follow its “best practices.” Vehicles imported from Japan and China have been on AAMVA’s radar since the late 2000s. Back then, the organization noticed how tons of Kei trucks were flooding American shores and the states didn’t really know how to handle them. It should be noted that a lot of these trucks weren’t older vehicles imported under the Imported Vehicle Safety Compliance Act of 1988, but newer trucks with speed limiters meant for farm or utility work. In February 2010, representatives from several states and Canadian provinces met in Orlando, Florida to develop best practices for handling the influx of mini trucks. It was just one of many AAMVA meetings on the subject of vehicle imports.
Crash Test Experts Advise Against Kei Trucks In The U.S.
Soon after, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety published an opinion that low-speed vehicles and mini trucks are unsafe and should be removed from the road. The opinion noted that starting in 2007, there was a trend of states allowing mini trucks on regular roads. That IIHS opinion focused on mini trucks with a governed 25 mph top speed, not trucks older than 25 years old imported without a limiter.
The AAMVA Wants The Mini-Trucks Off The Road
Still, just a year later, the AAMVA handed out a new opinion to member jurisdictions. Best Practice Regarding Registration and Titling of Mini-Trucks makes it clear that the AAMVA sought to remove these vehicles from the road: The recommendation for restrictions largely didn’t happen in the aforementioned states until 2021, when Maine’s BMV, with the help of the DMVs of Georgia, Colorado, and South Dakota published Regulation of Off-Road Vehicles: Best Practices. This document clamps down on imported vehicles in a way that doesn’t seem all that logical. You can read it for yourself, but the important parts are that the AAMVA’s definition of an off-road vehicle is broader than the NHTSA’s, and the organization specifically calls out Kei trucks that are 25 years and older. Perhaps the most shocking part is that the AAMVA admits in the documentation that its recommendations may clash with existing laws. In that case, the organization recommends that a state just changes its laws until the recommendations are legal. That’s what Maine, Rhode Island, and the rest of these states have done. If you want the full scoop on what’s going on, I recommend reading my explainer at the old lighting site. Since that was published, not a whole lot has happened. Individual car owners report some victories and some failures in getting their vehicles registered. These cases weren’t easy and sometimes involved taking things to court. Unfortunately, these individual battles do not change the underlying laws that created these fights in the first place. For residents in Maine, Rhode Island, New York, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and even Wisconsin, the hardest part about buying a car to import is not dealing with Customs, but with their own state.
Hope Is On The Horizon
First reported by SEMA Action Network, a part of the Specialty Equipment Market Association that lobbies for favorable vehicle laws, Rep. Shelley Rudnicki of Maine has introduced a bill that, if passed, would no longer class a vehicle that could be imported under the 25-year rule as an off-road vehicle. From SAN: That bill seeks to add just one sentence, emphasis mine: Rep. Rudnicki’s proposed definition of what constitutes an off-road vehicle is a small change, but a big one. The change states that vehicles that are legal to import under the 25-year rule would also be legal on the state’s roads. It’s unclear what the chance of success is, but the bill will be going up against the AAMVA’s guidance, which was in part written by Maine BMV Registration Section Supervisor Nikki Bachelder. If, somehow, the bill succeeds, it can lay the groundwork for undoing the laws in other states and allow the owners of imported cars to enjoy their vehicles. As of right now, the bill is still waiting for consideration in the House Committee on Transportation. Until then, the SEMA Action Network is asking residents of Maine to reach out to their lawmakers to ask for support on bill LD 63. We’ll be watching this one with hopes that perhaps JDM car owners in America will be able to breathe a little easier. I have reached out to the Maine BMV for a comment on this pending legislation. Hmm, where should we have our Working Group meeting? Somewhere efficient and centralized, like Chicago? Or maybe at one of us could host it locally? No Way! Orlando, FL !!! How else can I get a free vacation on my expense account! How many of those “Attendees” actually attended all of the meetings? It also doesn’t help their case that these vehicles seldom arrive in the US in any shape that would be considered “good”. I have a family friend that works for the largest JDM vehicle importer/dealership on the east coast and he firmly states that he’d never own one personally. They’re usually all rotted to hell and repaired by the importers/dealerships in… “as best we can” (while still remaining profitable) fashion. They’re also usually not well cared for in their home markets, which leads to someone not entirely knowing what they’re getting into but they want that #JDMlifeyo. And if there’s no posted minimum, well, too bad for you, you have to spend time behind a Honda Acty the same way you would behind grandpa taking the kids for ice cream in a Model T or, in my area, an Amish farmer taking his family into town in an area with too narrow a shoulder to fit a carriage. Maybe lobby to get minimum speed limits added to more highways that don’t have them or something. That said, a lot of kei vehicles are highway capable even on higher speed Interstates and the like- the Honda Beat tops out at 83mph, the Suzuki Cappuccino can hit 87, and, as far as vans, the Subaru Sambar (90s era) tops out around 87 in 2wd form, lots of US market small cars from the 60s, 70, and 80s, even early 90s, are more or less in the same boat performance wise. It just seems like instead of banning an entire class of cars with less than a certain engine displacement from the highway regardless of the Individual model’s capabilities is too broad. Just establish a minimum speed, anything that can maintain that or higher is golden, anything that can’t has to find another route I also think this is just as much about speed capability as it is about speed safety. Just because a Sambar can do 87mph, should it be maintaining 75+mph with 12″ wheels, supremely narrow track width, high center of gravity? Probably not. So, that begs the question- “Is it safe for highway use?” Probably not. There’s no delineation between legally registered vehicles that can use the interstate system and those legally registered vehicles that can not. An entirely new federally mandated system would have to be created, implemented, and tracked to ensure that Kei trucks/vans can be registered in states (which currently exists with the 25 year rule sort of) and can NOT be driven on the interstate system. Then that program would have to be required of states to uphold. I said below that with all of these small vehicles coming from Japan and the state’s reluctance to allow them to be registered starting to show, I see some significant reworking of the FMVSS coming. Or, produce some statistics on the number of fatalities caused by kei cars hitting other vehicles on the highway, which are probably minuscule, considering the tiny number of kei cars that are here, the tiny percentage of those that are used as anything close to a daily driver, and the tiny percentage of those that are on the highways at any given time. I recommend getting an inspection before importing any 25+ year-old vehicle from any country. Even cars from Europe can be total wrecks, like those $100 Twingos that probably haven’t passed an inspection in years. There are still some good ones left, but you have to sift through the bad ones to find them. But I know there’s at least 10 shops who offer, in exchange for money: locating cars, providing truthful and accurate description of the real condition (be it pristine or ‘project car,’) and arranging either purchase, import, or both. (Granted, I think I’m the only one who will locate anything, anywhere, and also does parts cars, Box 7, and Box 8 imports.) Remember everybody this is due to that. It was due to cheap-assed people bringing gray market cars into the MB dealership for service work, then notching because parts weren’t available in the States for the oddball cars from non-US markets. *Firsthand experience here, from growing up in the Eighties working for family-owned MB dealership, where I heard complaints firsthand directly from the affected cheap bastards whose cars we couldn’t service. Same cars that didn’t meet emissions or crash compliance during the era… Is there some context I’m missing here? I mean, my Miata certainly doesn’t comply with current regulations, nor does my partner’s Prius. My Alltrack… maybe? The Hinos at work? Definitely not, they’re diesel cheaters. Precious, the Express van? I doubt it, that design is from the Bronze Age. What gives? My 69 Lotus is illegal in Rhode Island and Maine, but I could walk into the DMV in Providence and get a plate… (There is a single DMV location for the entire state, but that’s a different story 😉 ) Working with the Cranston enforcement division was flawless and they were able to put up with broker and import forms issues with a lot more flexibility than I expected. I gave them my forms, they were flexible and let me go to another DMV. Granted I did a lot of research, but I was able to walk out with a plate and zero issues. In b4 bootlicker comment, I don’t believe in excess personal restrictions / rights infringement, but in RI if you pay attention and follow the rules with the DMV, you will come out ahead. Maybe because I am in accounting and deal with government forms all day, but the 3 hours of research and prep let me walk in and walk out in 15 minutes. Regarding Kei trucks/vans vs our lotus (lotii?), both of our cars will do 65+ and be more stable than a Kei truck. It sucks that these restrictions have come in, but it looks like Maine and PA are walking back a bit from their extreme measures, I’d imagine RI will follow once they figure out the plating issues. Of course my political leanings say, if you want to assume the risk of driving a death trap you can, but the complete shock that so many have that these had registrations clawed back is no surprise. There are other legal loopholes to get these registered (cough a states llc), so while it’s a pain, there’s a legal work around. The guy who blew this up in RI could have made a mint helping other kei owners register via another state and continue to lobby against this issue. What they don’t want you to notice is that it’s MAINE that has decided those factors mean the vehicle is off road. It’s not the FMVSS, EPA, or NHTSA – they’re just flashing those names to make it look like this is a federal decision. Which it isn’t. Source: Am bureacrat. The US is so confusing. If anything, I can see the local car dealers being against these imports because the state is about as perfect a location for small imports as can be and that threatens them. I own and semi-daily drive a 91 sambar mini truck. 35hp of carbureted fury. In the state of Nebraska where its registered the law basically states “drive with your lights on at all times and stay off the interstate.” This seems absolutely reasonable. will the truck do 70? yes, do you want to, not particularly as it screams its head off at 7000 rpms. But at 45-60 any other time its butter to drive. I also need to state that I regularly PASS people all the time driving much slower than me. Part of this is a horrible local driver issue, but I know I am less of a safety issue than the 65 year old grandma in her Buick encore, trying to text her grandson while merging down to a single lane. Kei vehicles are fine. If you buy one, as long as you are off the interstate, the person with the biggest hazard is yourself. It would be nice if the local governments actually focused time and energy on real problems. I’ve seen him all over town, on all the streets except on the interstate. I guess he knows he won;t stand a chance out there with those 18-wheelers. There’s absolutely no way I’m surviving a crash with that clown. Even with abs airbags and seat belts Are there dues? T-shirts? Cruises? The people demand to know more about this Caucus and whether or not there are associate memberships! Rep. Shelley Rudnicki, I see your PayPal account! https://reelectshelley.com/ With all of these small vehicles coming from Japan and the state’s reluctance to allow them to be registered starting to show, I see some significant reworking of the FMVSS coming. Let’s not forget that Japan largely does not have the interstate system as we know it. Speeds are much easier to be kept to a safe level for these vehicles. That doesn’t play well with US roadways. I’ll be back, I’m going to go yell at a cloud. ?? Japan is covered in expressways from one end to the other. The maximum speed limit is usually 100kmh (60mph) but the actual (driven) maximum speed on many stretches is 120kmh (75mph). I saw the aftermath of a kei van collision (the old kei standard) on the Tomei Expressway where the van looked like it had exploded from the inside. Having said all that, I still don’t understand why regulators get their knickers in a twist about cars that are unsafe for their occupants, but allow motorbikes. I am not anti-kei or anti-motorbike, just anti-bad-logic. Source: Me, I would drive another 10 years on the Kita-Kanto and Tohoku express ways in a heartbeat. You have to pay me to drive I-15 through Provo and Salt Lake, or I -10 from El Paso to Phoenix. You have to pay me because I would need to get new tires and a front end rebuild after going over those shining examples of US infrastructure. The high toll fees justify the constant maintenance, not to mention quick repairs after natural disasters, AND make public transport price competitive with private car use, part of the reason why the train system is of such a high standard. Pretty sure it’s more about having 155 million people on an island nation a bit smaller than California. While I’m a fan of most forms of public transit I’ll take my own car over getting shoved into an overpacked Petri dish by an oshiya. Genuinely curious as if I travel in Tokyo I prefer the 20 minutes of packed subway to the two-hour crawl through the capitol. I almost cried when the 468 cutoff finally was completed through to Narita. No more driving through Tokyo to pick someone up from the airport! It may be well maintained but I have no desire to drive on the Tokyo Gaikan anytime soon. The important point being that I have a choice. *Trains in Tokyo are now of such high capacity and frequency that, although they get crowded in the rush-hour, “oshiya” haven’t been necessary in the whole 30-something years I have lived here. Ironically California doesn’t give a crap as long as the car passes smog, although they must go through a “BAR testing laboratory” process which can run $1K-$10K which is why all the Kei cars I see here have out of state plates. I get that Kei trucks often aren’t fast enough for highway travel–my Suzuki Every redlines at 67 mph–but it would seem like the solution there is to restrict access to roads no faster than say, 55 mph, not cancel registrations. Americans are importing JDM vehicles with questionable build quality when new, likely trashed in their home markets and ending up at auction, imported here in that condition, and being used in/around areas that they were never intended to be used in. I see the safety hazard in all of it. I also understand the freedom infringement. As for JDM vehicle quality, remember that most of these cars are from reputable brands like Honda, Toyota, Mazda, Mitsubishi, and Nissan. I wouldn’t say that my Honda Beat is built any worse than any U.S. market Honda from 1991, it’s just smaller. I like JDM cars, I just honestly think that here in the US, they’re literally guppies in a sturgeon pool. Adding to that the fact that (I’d bet) 1% of the JDM cars imported to the US are actually looked over with a fine toothed comb by it’s intended purchaser PRIOR to shipment. There’s a much higher liklihood that they’re pretty on the outside but no better than some of the rusted piles roaming the roads of the US that regulators still struggle to get a handle on. Adding more to it, especially ones that were never built to contend with even their contemporarily sized US counterparts only adds fuel to that regulatory fire. You got a weird axe to grind buddy…差別と言わないけど… With the rise in the number of imported cars on the road here with the 25 year rule finally allowing us Americans some cool metal to play with, I forsee a lot of regulatory changes coming to the imporation process. My whole point is that JDM imports are not automatically inhererently more dangerous than US-market vehicles of the same vintage, so painting them all with a broad “dangerous” brush is unfair, especially since the federal government says they’re kosher to be here. If safety is truly the issue, these states would be going after all old cars in general, not just JDM imports or kei cars. Wow, I didn’t expect there to be too many MAGA morons in Hawaii, but I stand corrected..
