| ▲ | __alexander 2 hours ago |
| It’s a huge mistake to limit the speed to 25mph. When this is released in 2027, Kei trucks will be street legal in Colorado. I would have pre-ordered this without question but that speed makes it useless for basic commuting or running errands. |
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| ▲ | bryanlarsen 2 hours ago | parent | next [-] |
| AFAICT, This truck will not be able to pass either the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) or the EPA/CARB emissions standards for high speed vehicles. The new Colorado rules for Kei vehicles does not remove those requirements because it relies on the existing exemptions available for 25+ year old vehicles. IOW, it needs to keep the 25mph speed limiter to qualify as a low speed vehicle, even in Colorado. |
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| ▲ | mike_d 2 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | EPA/CARB effectively sets a minimum size for trucks. Rather than having a small light truck that can do the job, you get a Ford F250 hauling a single bale of hay. But rolling back or adding exemptions for small trucks is political suicide despite the clear environmental benefits. | | |
| ▲ | Grombobulous an hour ago | parent | next [-] | | This isn’t really true. See: Ford Maverick. CARB only nudges manufacturers, but the market’s own purchase preferences are doing the big push. Perhaps the biggest nudge is that gasoline is undertaxed. Consumers will never see a reason to stop driving a 18-25mpg truck when gas being less than $5 a gallon is considered a “high” price. The gas tax hasn’t kept up with inflation. I don’t love the ford F-150 for being a monster truck, but consider this: with the right configuration it sears 6 adults comfortably, plus having a bed for cargo. Families legitimately replace minivans and other family vehicles with it, plus it can tow and haul being the body on frame truck that it is. | | |
| ▲ | AngryData 9 minutes ago | parent | next [-] | | Gas is not undertaxed, weight is undertaxed. Road wear grows exponentially with weight. The biggest factor in road wear is how many loaded semi-trucks drive down it. | |
| ▲ | bryanlarsen an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | This vehicle gets 37mpg. For a vehicle with this footprint, CARB requires 63 mpg for the 2026 standard and 121 for the 2032 standard. | | |
| ▲ | mywittyname 6 minutes ago | parent | next [-] | | Yeah, but actual MPG and CAFE MPG are very, very different numbers. Manufactures get a boat load of "credits" for selling hybrids, EVs, having engines that can burn ethanol, etc. Also, it's Corporate Average Fuel Economy. Not Model Average Fuel Economy. So those 150k or so Mavericks have to offset the to the like 600k or so F-Series pickups being sold with 400+HP motors. Ford has never paid a CAFE fine, despite selling predominantly gas guzzling pickups, SUVs, and having its only car being a sports car. This is because of the aforementioned credits they get for flex fuel support, etc. | |
| ▲ | Grombobulous an hour ago | parent | prev [-] | | CARB was basically nullified by the Trump administration, right? Either way, if the Maverick gets 37MPG already, seems like it’s not that much of an ask to get it to 67mpg. If Slate can make a $25,000 EV truck I don’t see why Ford can’t do the same. |
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| ▲ | toast0 an hour ago | parent | prev [-] | | The Ford Maverick is wider and longer than a 1994 s-10 based on a random site [1]. All while the Maverick has a bed that probably can't properly move a couch. You probably can't really fit a couch on the back of a kei truck either, but it's ok because they're cute. [1] https://www.vehiclesizes.com/compare/3771-7714/ford-maverick... | | |
| ▲ | Grombobulous an hour ago | parent [-] | | The Maverick seats 4-5 adults comfortably. I think we can be a little more accepting that consumer tastes have changed. The appeal of a Maverick is that it’s a normal family vehicle that drives just like a passenger car while having a bed where you can put dirty stuff. | | |
| ▲ | toast0 an hour ago | parent [-] | | Consumer tastes may have changed... but we don't know for sure because nobody builds the trucks we want. I know I see a lot of light duty fleets that switched from Rangers to F-150s only because the Ranger was discontinued and there were no small trucks to switch to. These are businesses that need a 6 foot bed for gear, but don't need to have more than one seat (but two is fine), and would like fuel efficiency and dollar efficiency. Some of them went to work vans, but nobody is selling those right now either. I used to have a 2007 Ranger I bought new, but sold it due to parking restrictions and no specific current need for a truck. When I needed a light truck again (~ 2019), there was nothing to buy new. I don't want a real truck cause they're too big, I don't want more than one row of seats. I ended up with a 2003 S-10, cause that's what was available in the marketplace for me. |
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| ▲ | bryanlarsen 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | The fact that this tiny engine couldn't meet emissions standards is bonkers. But that's the law as written right now. | | |
| ▲ | johnwalkr 43 minutes ago | parent [-] | | Of course it could. But the whole reason for Kei cars being cheap in Japan is that they are light, power-limited and exempt from some emissions and safety regulations. The emissions part made sense ages ago in Japan when emissions was more closely correlated to engine size. Now they are too popular domestically and as an export item for the regulations to be changed easily. It’s a matter of time though. |
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| ▲ | readthenotes1 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | Where I live the Ford F-250 is not used for falling a single bit of anything other than air. They are in pristine shape and look like they've never been outside the city limits nor off City roads | | |
| ▲ | ceejayoz an hour ago | parent [-] | | My favorite example of this is the big lifted pickups innnnnnnching over slightly bumpy railroad crossings. |
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| ▲ | __alexander an hour ago | parent | prev [-] | | Good point. |
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| ▲ | lastofthemojito 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Toyota doesn't seem to be aiming for your business just yet. From their press release: > As an intentionally low-volume, niche vehicle, the KEI-01 will initially be offered through a fleet-focused pilot program to help the company learn how it can best serve U.S. customers and use cases. https://pressroom.toyota.com/toyota-says-okei-to-america-int... I do hope they're able to build on this, and maybe offer left-hand-drive and a more reasonable top speed eventually. |
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| ▲ | laughing_man 2 hours ago | parent [-] | | I doubt Toyota will ever produce a small, inexpensive pickup that you would actually feel comfortable driving on a freeway. It would cut into its Tacoma and Tundra sales, which have a good profit margin. At least, not without some other manufacturer taking market share with such a vehicle. | | |
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| ▲ | TSiege 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| I think the strategy is specifically not going for customers who want it for those things. It's meant for farms and work sites not commuting or running errands |
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| ▲ | julienb_sea an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| It's RHD. I suspect they are testing the waters before they build a proper LHD model targeting the broader US consumer market. |
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| ▲ | kevin_thibedeau an hour ago | parent [-] | | There's already a market for off road use. They are far superior to SxS UTVs that are overpriced for what they deliver. You usually get heat and air conditioning in an enclosed cab with flexible bed configurations. SxSs are glorified toys in comparison. This is exploiting the existing LSV classification to bypass the chicken tax that limits the current market to old used imports. It will be easy enough to mod them for higher speeds on farms. |
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| ▲ | SoftTalker an hour ago | parent | prev [-] |
| Limiter delete will likely be readily available in the aftermarket. |
