Forum - View topicAnswerman - What's With The Tiny Trucks In Japan?
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CrazyCanuck
 Posts: 100 Location: Canada |
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While I’m in Canada, not the USA, I see these on the road fairly often.
Also, 100 kph =/= 87 mph. Not even close. |
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KuroiEr
Posts: 24 |
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660cc?!! Wow my motorcycle is has an engine over twice that size (1500cc if you're wondering). No wonder they aren't sold here. They'd be completely impractical. Sure are cute tho. Closest thing we have in the states are those smart cars.
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AJ (LordNikon)
 Posts: 503 Location: Kyoto |
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I love my Honda N-Box, but it never had any of the steering issues Justin stated in the article. The only thing I hate is that I went from having a Cube and now with the N-Box, I have to remember there are certain roads, mostly highways I am not allowed on anymore.
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mangamuscle
Posts: 2658 Location: Mexico |
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They are also popular in Mexico. I guess they like there trucks big in the USA; I wonder if they are compensating for something. 
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DerekL1963
 Subscriber Posts: 1113 Location: Puget Sound |
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While there's nothing as small as Kei trucks, trucks in a America come in a wide variety of sizes. The "compensating for something" idea is nothing but stupidity. |
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Kadmos1
 Posts: 13549 Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP |
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Yeah, 100 kph is actually about 62 mph. |
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 9828 Location: Virginia |
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Back in the late 1960s in Naples Italy and Saigon VN I saw really small trucks. They had three wheels and were based on a standard Lambretta Motor scooter. They had three wheels with the scooter's back wheel replaced by an axel and a small truck body. Inside the cab you could see the normal scooter front end with handle bars. It was amazing the loads they would put on them, especially in an area a hilly as Naples. In Saigon they were used as busses as well. I wonder if they are still sold.
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belvadeer
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I'm surprised some people still use that tired out old phrase. |
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Kimiko_0
 Posts: 1796 Location: Leiden, NL, EU |
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Small cars with moped-class motors aren't exactly common here, but you do see them now and then. There's also the "smart"/"mini" car fad of about ten years which fall between moped and regular car engines. Moreover, the article image looks like a regular small truck to me, which are pretty common around the world. Parts of Europe are as crowded as Japan, so it makes sense that smaller/cleaner cars are more popular than big/inefficient ones. I guess only N-Americans and Australians drive those oversized SUV cars?
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relyat08
 Posts: 4125 Location: Northern Virginia |
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I've always thought it would be fun to own one of these. I love small cars, and excluding an absurdly large truck that I used for work years ago, that's all I've ever owned. It's hard to get something that small in most areas though. Even the Fiat 500, which used to be a 500cc engine is nearly 3 times that size now just to account for the extra weight from safety regulations. That's still probably the second most fun thing I've owned after my STI though.
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Beltane70
 Posts: 3876 |
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From what was explained to me by a friend in Japan, kei vehicles aren't even permitted on Japanese highways due to their low top speeds.
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Frenzie
Posts: 11 |
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I don't know such specifics, but unless they got rid of them in the past five years there are still plenty of the general principle cruising around in Italy. |
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MarshalBanana
 Posts: 5307 |
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michizure
Posts: 177 |
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I inherited two of these when I took over managing housing facilities at a college campus in the Colorado Rockies. They weren't road-legal, so they could be used only on-campus for moving supplies and such. They weren't bad in that role, but if anything broke -- taillights, windshield, transmission -- we had to import replacement parts from Japan. We wound up cannibalizing one to keep the other running. We eventually scrapped both and bought a pair of Gators instead.
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Zin5ki
 Posts: 6680 Location: London, UK |
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Vehicles of such dimensions are widespread wherever fuel prices are high. Over here, the combination of a small wheelbase and an unnervingly high centre of gravity has been a common sight for many decades.
Those are still around! Espresso vendors in town prefer them for their compactness and ease of parking. There are probably additional tax benefits in comparison to four-wheeled vans. |
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