Yahoo Autos The Way Kei Trucks Suffer Under U.S. Regulations Is Not O-Kei
From the November/December issue of Car and Driver.
There's a target on the tailgates of kei trucks. These pint-size haulers have a small but fervent following in the U.S. The federal government exempts imported vehicles that are at least 25 years old from common safety and emission standards, and yet classic Japanese kei trucks are running into legal hurdles, with several states prohibiting owners from titling or registering their vehicles. This includes Car and Driver's home state of Michigan. What gives?
A lot of people believe it's coming from the nonprofit American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), says Kevin Burton, a Michigan-based lawyer representing a group of kei owners in the Great Lakes State.
Though AAMVA has advocated against titling certain vehicles, including classic kei trucks, for on-road use, the association lacks enforcement power. "AAMVA is not a regulatory body," says Paul Steier, its director of vehicle programs. "We're not holding any leverage over states."
What's driving this trend, then? In Michigan, Burton says, the trouble hinges on language added to the vehicle code for 2019 that provides a formal definition for an "assembled vehicle" that can be registered for on-road use. It specifies that this definition excludes "a gray market off-road minitruck."
While the Michigan Department of State argues that this verbiage prohibits owners from titling kei trucks for on-road use, Burton believes the state is incorrectly applying the language to these imported classics. "That's conflicting with other statutes Michigan has concerning registering a vehicle as an antique," he says, adding that a 25-year-old kei truck meets all the state's standards for registration as an antique.
Burton also notes that kei trucks and vans are not "off-road" vehicles. "Obviously, they were manufactured for road use in Japan," he says of these low-power vehicles, which can largely reach highway speeds. The classic kei trucks are different from models that are limited to 25 mph and sold new in the U.S. for off-road use, he adds.
The state is also revoking the titles of registered kei trucks without reimbursing owners for their registration fees, a potential violation of due-process rights, Burton says.
Brett Roberts, the former state representative from Michigan's 65th district who sponsored the bill to add the language in question to the vehicle code, also believes the state's action of pulling registrations is illegal.
"We did that bill due to the Secretary of State refusing to register anything without an on-road title," Roberts says, referring to the state's decision to stop titling off-road vehicles as assembled vehicles in 2015. This was despite the passage of a 2008 law allowing owners of off-road vehicles to register the machines as motor vehicles. Roberts hoped having a formal definition of an assembled vehicle in the code would prevent titling issues. "This is just the Secretary of State playing games," he says.
While a lawsuit brought forth by Burton on behalf of his clients might lead the state to change its policy on kei trucks, Roberts suggests that the best way to fix things is to seek legislative assistance—that is, with another bill: "You have to redefine the law."
Sizing Up the Situation
At 128.1 inches in length, the 1991 Honda Acty kei truck is 22.0 inches longer than a third-gen Smart Fortwo but over 10 feet shorter than a four-door 2025 Chevrolet Silverado HD with the standard-length bed.
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