For the past three years, enthusiasts across the central and eastern parts of America have been living a nightmare after their states decided that their legally imported Japanese cars were no longer able to be driven on the road. Some enthusiasts sued their states while others appealed to their DMVs. Texans worked with their lawmakers, and now the state will be the first to successfully reverse a ban on imported cars.
If you haven’t been following this multi-year saga, I’ll bring you up to speed. The Imported Vehicle Safety Compliance Act of 1988 was passed under the guise of protecting American consumers from potentially unsafe imported vehicles that weren’t built to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. The law effectively bans the importation of non-compliant vehicles until they’re 25 years old or they have been converted to U.S. standards. Once either is met, the federal government no longer cares. So, many enthusiasts wait until their favorite vehicles reach that magical age. Sadly, states have been pushing back.
In 2021, Maine changed its laws to state that any vehicle that does not meet FMVSS is an off-road vehicle and therefore not legal to drive on its roads. This change was made infamous when the owners of Mitsubishi Delica vans began reporting that the state revoked their registrations. As if a floodgate had opened, other states joined in, removing imported Japanese cars from their roads in one way or another.
UPDATE: By popular demand, you can now get a t-shirt and sticker showing your support for imported car ownership.
Update: To be clear, Maine was not the first state to ban Kei trucks. Many states had existing bans on Kei trucks dating back a decade or longer. However, Maine was the first state to enact a practically universal imported vehicle ban under then-new guidance issued by a lobbying group. This triggered other states to follow suit, as I’ll explain below.
Since Maine kicked off the tidal wave, enthusiasts in Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Texas have all reported headaches in getting their vehicles titled and registered. Kei truck registration has been a longtime battle in Texas, with Kei truck owners reporting registration denials as far back as the late 2000s. However, things appeared to get better just for them to get worse again in 2021, the same time the aforementioned states started their own bans.
What A Headache
As I have reported many times before, all of this traces back to the Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA). The AAMVA is a non-governmental non-profit lobbying organization composed of motor vehicle administrators, law enforcement administrators, and executives from all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, the Virgin Islands, and Washington D.C. Among other things, the organization seeks standardization of laws across member 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.”
The AAMVA has been studying Japanese and Chinese Kei vehicles since at least the late 2000s. Back then, the AAMVA didn’t really know how to handle the flood of cheap 25 mph speed-limited off-road utility trucks that came in from China. The answer came courtesy of an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety opinion published in 2010. The IIHS crash-tested a Kei truck against a Ford Ranger and concluded that low-speed vehicles and mini trucks are unsafe and should be removed from the road.
From that point forward, the AAMVA has advocated against allowing Kei trucks from being allowed on state roads. In 2021, this guidance went even further, essentially telling states to ban any vehicle that doesn’t meet FMVSS. The AAMVA was serious about this, stating in its documentation that if banning a vehicle ran afoul state law, it urged lawmakers to change the laws until the ban became legal.
To these states, it doesn’t matter that a 25-year-old Kei truck imported from Japan doesn’t have a speed limiter and is exempt from meeting FMVSS on the federal level. The states retain the right to determine what can and cannot drive on their roads. Weirdly, while the AAMVA is urging the states free will to ban any vehicle that doesn’t meet FMVSS, states have focused primarily on imports from Japan, usually just in the Kei class.
This has caused turmoil within enthusiast communities in the impacted states. It has also caused concern in states that aren’t currently banning JDM cars. If Maine wants to stop people from registering Mitsubishi Delicas, nothing is stopping Illinois from doing the same.
Enthusiasts have been fighting back, from individual DMV appeals in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island to a lawsuit in Georgia. One Maine lawmaker even introduced a bill that would have reversed the ban in that state. Sadly, that bill didn’t get traction and died off. Some people have gotten small victories in their individual appeals, but until now, not a single state has reversed its bans. That was until Texans got involved.
Come And Take It
In my last entry, I noted how I spoke with David from the Texas Kei Truck Advocates. A lot of Kei truck advocacy groups have launched in the wake these bans, but the Texas Kei Truck Advocates had a different strategy than everyone else.
Here’s what’s been happening with Kei truck owners in the state:
David and I spoke on a call where he revealed that the situation in Texas is a bit weird. Some Kei truck owners haven’t experienced any issues registering their vehicles while others have been getting turned away from the DMV. It would appear that some counties are better than others. This does mean that Texas Kei truck owners are currently in a better position than Kei truck owners in, say, Maine, but it’s still not a great place to be. If you don’t know if your Kei truck will be able to be registered, you may think twice about putting down your hard-earned cash on one.
Which is right? Are Kei trucks legal in Texas? According to the January 2024 edition of the Texas Vehicle Title Manual, the answer is no:
Mini-trucks
Vast numbers of used Japanese mini-trucks and vans (also known as Kei-class vehicles) are being imported into the US primarily as off-road vehicles. Some states allow mini-trucks to operate on roadways as low or slow speed vehicles. Mini-trucks are not eligible for title or registration due the vehicle’s lack of compliance with US environmental and safety standards.
The Texas Vehicle Title Manual then goes on to clarify that Kei trucks do not meet the definition of a motor vehicle, therefore they cannot be titled. The confusing part about that is that Texas law doesn’t appear to support that assertion. I could not find a law excluding Kei trucks, mini trucks, or imported cars from being classified as motor vehicles. I didn’t even find the AAMVA wording that any vehicle not meeting FMVSS should be removed from Texas roads. Unlike Maine, Texas did not appear to change its laws, just its DMV policies.
This put Texas Kei truck enthusiasts in a weird spot. The DMV’s official policy was to deny the title and registration of Kei trucks, but clearly, not all DMV offices have gotten the memo. Now, they could have decided to wait it out. As I said above, some people were still reporting success getting their Kei trucks on the road.
However, the Texas Kei Truck Advocates didn’t want to wait for Texas to start revoking titles like the other states are doing. Instead, the enthusiasts wanted to get ahead by working with lawmakers to get the DMV policy changed. Some people felt that Texans were rocking the boat and they should have just left things alone. The enthusiasts ran the risk of alerting the DMV that some offices weren’t following the rules, and thus accidentally end up triggering the statewide ban they were hoping to avoid.
On the other hand, working with lawmakers instead of working against them could result in success. That was the gamble Texas enthusiasts were willing to make. So, David told me that the Texas Kei Truck Advocates reached out to the Texas DMV as well as lawmakers over the state, including Governor Greg Abbott. They approached the situation armed with a multi-page document explaining what Kei trucks are, how they’re different than 25 mph-limited mini trucks, how the trucks are federally legal, and how banning these vehicles would negatively impact small businesses in the state.
It should also be noted that these bans aren’t being applied equally. According to the AAMVA, vehicles that were not built to FMVSS are too unsafe to drive on American roads. Yet, save for the crackdown in Maine, the logic is being applied only to tiny Kei vehicles from Japan. I can import a 1999 Smart City Coupe or a Mercedes-Benz A-Class, two European city cars that were never built for U.S. roads, but have no problem registering them because they aren’t Kei cars.
In a welcoming turn of events, the Texas DMV did not shut the door with the Texas Kei Truck Advocates, but agreed to review its policies.
While this was happening, we also reached out to the Texas DMV and to Texas State Representative Gene Wu. The DMV didn’t get back to us, but Rep. Wu, along with other lawmakers, flexed some muscles. As a result of all of these efforts, Rep. Wu was pleased to announce that Texas will be reversing its policies on Kei truck registration, from Representative Gene Wu on X:
In a statement, Rep. Wu said:
“I’m very grateful to the wonderful people at the Texas DMV who took our inquiry seriously, even though it was just a mini-request, and reformulated their policy to include the interest of thousands of Texas automotive enthusiasts, like myself.”
Rep. Wu actually understates how big this win actually is. Texas is officially the first state to reverse the damage started in 2021. David is understandably very happy, too. He sent me this message:
“Today marks a momentous day for Kei truck owners, enthusiasts, and small businesses across Texas. Thanks to the tireless efforts of our grassroots advocacy group, The Texas Kei Truck Advocates, and the support of our passionate community, we have successfully achieved a policy reversal at the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. As of today, Kei trucks are officially street legal in the Lone Star State.
This victory is a testament to the power of civic engagement and the importance of standing up for our rights and freedoms. By engaging with our state legislators, sharing our personal stories, and highlighting the unique value that Kei trucks bring to our lives and communities, we were able to effect meaningful change.
We would like to extend a special thank you to state Representatives Will Metcalf and Terry Canales, as well as Senator Brandon Creighton. Their support and advocacy were crucial in helping us achieve this policy reversal. We are grateful for their willingness to listen to our concerns, understand the importance of this issue, and champion our cause at the TxDMV.
We also extend our heartfelt gratitude to the TxDMV for their willingness to listen to our concerns, review their policies, and ultimately make the right decision. This policy reversal not only benefits current Kei truck owners but also provides a lifeline to small businesses that deal in Kei trucks. Many of these businesses have faced uncertainty and financial hardship due to the previous restrictions on Kei truck registration and use. Now, they can operate with confidence, knowing that their vehicles are fully legal and recognized by the state.
However, our work is not finished. While this policy reversal is a significant step forward, our ultimate goal has always been to secure a state law that protects these trucks once and for all. Policies can be easily changed, but laws provide more certainty and long-term protection. We will continue to work with our legislative allies to draft and pass legislation that enshrines the legality of Kei trucks in Texas statutes.
Texas now joins a growing list of states that recognize the value of personal choice and freedom when it comes to vehicle ownership. We hope that our success will inspire other states to follow suit and embrace the diversity of vehicles on our roads.
As we celebrate this victory, we remain committed to promoting responsible Kei truck ownership, educating the public about the benefits and limitations of these vehicles, and fostering a supportive community of enthusiasts. We look forward to seeing more Kei trucks on the streets of Texas and to continuing our advocacy efforts to protect and expand the rights of Kei truck owners nationwide.
Thank you to everyone who supported us along the way. Together, we have made a difference and shown that when passionate citizens unite behind a common cause anything is possible. Let us carry this momentum forward as we work to secure permanent legal protection for Kei trucks in Texas.”
I mention that Texas is the first to beat the 2021 AAMVA rules because technically, there have been earlier victories in other states before the AAMVA’s rules came out. David gives me the example of North Carolina, where in 2019, Kei truck dealer Mayberry Mini Trucks as well as other advocates managed to convince North Carolina to keep Keis legal.
So, what’s next? Texas will publish its latest edition of the Texas Vehicle Title Manual, which should have no mention of Kei trucks being unable to be titled, if it even mentions Kei trucks and mini trucks at all. Thankfully, Texas did not get to the point of revoking titles, so now, enthusiasts should be able to go to their local DMV and get a title and registration.
“I would encourage every car nut and gearhead to reach out to your elected officials during this year’s election cycle. Let them know you exist and that you matter,” said Representative Wu.
Hopefully, what we’re seeing in Texas is only the beginning. There’s still a long road ahead for enthusiasts in other states. It will be an especially difficult battle in states where the laws were changed to ban imported vehicles. However, perhaps some of them might find some luck in banding together with lawmakers. For now, Kei truck fans in Texas can breathe a sigh of relief. It would appear the AAMVA just learned that you do not mess with Texas.
Isn’t the 80’s and early 90’s Delica a van built on the same chassis as the Montero/Pajero?
I’m ordering a Subaru Sambar now that I can register it!
Autopian one-upping Jalopnik, by allowing me to create an account AND log in, and then post.
Anyway, it’s Texas. We just did away with safety inspections altogether so why should we care where the car came from? The car coming at you may have no brake pads at all, BUT be from Detroit, but at that point, does that really matter?
I don’t see the point in banning things based on personal safety guise. If I want a Kei truck or a VW Toaureg I should be able to import a new or lightly used one if it complies with US emission standards regardless of age. It’s not a danger to anyone. And if selling them is the issue brand the title as a “foreign vehicle” and make it clear it doesn’t adhere to US safety standards and it’s risky to buy it without proper research.
Unfortunately, these vehicles do not comply with US emission standards, if they have never been tested federally.
I had wondered if anyone would push bac; very similar facts as OAG opinion KP-0202.
What really pokes a hole in the safety argument is the fact that Kei trucks are really only dangerous to the operators. Meanwhile, coal-rolling lifted bro-dozers are never cracked down upon despite being way more dangerous to others.
There was talk here in Canada sometime back (I believe it was in British Columbia) of classifying kei vehicles as motorcycles. Kind of like the three wheeler carve out. You would need a motorcycle license and have to wear a helmet. The advocates were arguing that these were essentially safer motorcycles. The logic does make some sense.
This headline art is easily the best out of any on this website so far.
You should sell these flags as merch.
This needs to be a precedent for every other US state to listen up and get their act together on kei cars. Stop banning the joy machines, rubes!
You have to have state politicians who are car and truck enthusiasts, to make it work. It seems Texas meets that criteria. It’s up to the Kei dealers and owners to find the right politicians to reach out to, for help in changing these “laws”.
Who says there’s no Kei in Texas?
Am I the only one who was fired up about a kei truck until I actually saw one in person? I finally saw a Honda Acty in traffic (I guess this state gave him a plate) and like Dalton in the (real) Road House, thought the bed would be bigger.
The dump beds are still cool though I guess.
yes, you are the only one who didn’t get more excited when seeing a kei truck in person the first time
The first time he saw the ocean, he was disappointed because it was so large and blue.
First they came for the dildos, and I did not speak out
Then they came for the kei trucks, and I did not speak out
Then they came for the guns, and I did not speak out—who am I kidding this is Texas they will probably have a Kei amnesty and you can trade your truck for a crate of AR15s.
Convert kei truck to technical, claim it as a gun with wheels rather than car with a gun. Now you’re protected under 2A, at least in Texas. That’s how that works, right?
Mount a machine gun in the bed and you’re protected in Texas, right?
Our nation has a long, proud history of privately owned wheeled guns (often called cannons), with it being common to mount them to ships. A motorized version on land should be celebrated as well!
Good on them for making it happen. Hopefully other states follow suit.
One of the local mountain bike trails here in Central Illinois uses a kei truck as a super sketch shuttle vehicle and it rocks! they only run it on weekends when the weather is nice but boy is it always a happy sight
Can we start this in the northeast next?
As far as I know, I can register these with no problem in Connecticut.
you can! There’s also a kei truck importer in CT called “JDM Imports CT” that seem pretty solid
Why did you do that to me? Mazda Eunos Roadster for 8700$??? Damn, I was getting ready to buy a motorcycle, you may have just changed my mind.
to REALLY make you upset, I know that they’ve been sitting on that one for several months now! So they might be willing to negotiate a little on that. I also just bought a new motorcycle (Livewire S2DM) and it’s sidelined my quest for a NB too
They’re good folks, enthusiasts – and they’ve stayed in business long enough that I would trust them to sell me a vehicle.
I’m here to help.
Wheres the best place to start?
Depends on your state and the current situation. Get a hold of me through Facebook and we can look at it together.
You should contact Mercedes as well so that she can keep us all abreast – I am a kei car owner in NY and have already donated to other efforts. Combining our resources to roll these rules back up one state at a time is the way to go; I am happy to support efforts in any state, not just my own.
Legally speaking, can a state really base their legislation on Japanese regulations? A kei car meets a very narrow (and often changed) definition; has the Japanese code been made into an officially adopted appendix of the US legislation? Has it even been translated? If not, these rules are legally meaningless. If yes, then adding overfenders would be all it takes to evade said rules – because if the car is too wide, too long, or over 660cc then it is no longer a kei car.
They may not be as safe as a modern North American vehicle in a crash but neither are the tens of thousands of antique cars that many Americans drive for pleasure all over the country on a regular basis.
Ban them too?
Don’t go giving them any ideas.
My Home Depot trip can be done entirely on 25mph neighborhood roads with one traffic light intersection with an arterial road that takes me from the neighborhood into the parking lot. Grocery store trip can be entirely done within the neighborhood roads. I can accept the safety risk.
I’m sure this has been said, but shocking that Abbot would give 2 s&%$’s about this, but good for texas!
He really didn’t. I had some communication with his office. They encouraged us to work with the legislature, which we were already doing. If we get a bill to his desk we will see if he really cares.
good on you!
You can legally own and drive a tank here in TX (and street park it here in Houston)….. And we are doing away with the state inspections on 1/1/25. I can’t believe they would care, let alone ban Kei’s…
Here in Wisconsin darn near every road short of federal routes is open to ATV’s and SxS’s. Some counties even advertise it as a touristy thing to do. I know that many other states on this list are open as well and I just wonder what they consider the difference to be? Why would a Polaris Ranger be okey dokey but not a Suzuki Carry?
Wisconsin DMV is a mess. You can live in Milwaukee county (which requires an emissions test) but state that you “store” the car in another county that is emissions exempt. I can also “build” a car and have it registered as a “kit car” and as long as a Sheriff’s Office gives the OK, it will be titled as such.
I know someone who brought in a R34 GTR, put a body kit on it, got the rubber stamp and it’s a “kit car” in that sense alone. His plan was to take it to shows until the 25 year rule got him legal and then he’d switch to the legal title. However, when the government started cracking down he put it in storage and there it sits until it’s “legal”.
It’s insane to me that I can get a title for almost anything in this state, yet they won’t title a kei truck.
technically if it was brought in before it was legal under the 25 year rule, itll never be legal under the 25 year rule. even if he were to ship it to canada and back its now tainted forever and could be crushed at any moment
I never said he was the smartest fella around, he found a loophole and tried to make it work. I imagine he’ll think he’s OK driving it around with the “kit car” title after the time expires.
You’re right it is a mess. Even in the same county there is little consistency. I had an old motorcycle with no title, bought it for cash at a swap meet with a bill of sale. Got everything working and went to the DMV to plate it. ‘Nope can’t do it not even a chance’ is what I was told.
Next day at work I’m talking about it with a coworker and he said he used to do it all the time when he was building Harley’s. Said he would go to the same DMV I went to. So I go back a couple weeks later to try again and I get someone different. She hands me a form, that they had sitting in a drawer right next to her, and gives me detailed instructions on how to get a new title. She was probably the nicest DMV worker I’ve ever talked to. Took about another month and ultimately worked out!
In WI you can get a bonded title if you don’t have one; the DMV has forms. I did it a few years ago when I bought a camper with a bill of sale. After 5 years it turns into a regular title as long as no one shows up to claim you stole their vehicle. So definitely a way to title an old motorcycle with just a bill of sale, as long as the DMV employee wants to help.
Yep, gotta love the inconsistencies down at the office. I once was told I couldn’t “title and not register” a vehicle. After explaining that the vehicle was immobile, I just wanted to take ownership, she shoo’d me away to a managers office where he just sighed and filled out the paperwork with me.
Can we get a report or flag button for some of the off-topic comments on this article? Whole lot of discussion about things that have nothing to do with cars on this car website. There are plenty of places to find low-quality flamebait on the internet and I don’t want this site to be one of them.
B…b…b…but then we can’t snark sh*t on people with whom we disagree and think are our moral inferiors
Are you talking about the dude who went off about the CA governor? That’s the only one that seemed totally off topic to me (and honestly so incoherent I figured he was high or something).
If so, 1 in about 100 commenters is a pretty good ratio for 2024 internetting!
Two of the highest upvoted comments with the largest sub threads have lengthy discussions about the merits of gun laws in Texas. I’d call those “totally off topic”
Ahhhh, okay. Tbh, I forgot about those b/c my eyes glazed over them. I agree- annoying.
You’re not wrong about that bizarre CA rant though – I’d be slamming the theoretical flag button on that too
I’m going to guess that I’m at least one of those comments, and if what I said offended you, let me apologize. I really was not trying to upset anyone, rile anyone up, or to cause any offense. As someone that lives in Texas, I was really just pointing out the absurdity of what things the state government chooses to focus on when it comes to safety. Some small vehicles that don’t really fit modern safety standards coming into the state warrants a lot of government involvement and worries/concerns/legislation/talks about safety start happening, but when my son spends two and a half hours huddled in the back of a store fearing for his life because there’s a guy walking around the mall literally shooting and killing people, the only thing state government has to offer is thoughts and prayers. If you feel like people talking about the state laws surrounding safety should only involve cars since that was the point of this article, I can certainly understand where you’re coming from. I tend to interlink the ideas of safety here in Texas with things like gun laws due to personal experience, but I can see how that may not be welcome to everyone. Again, I really wasn’t trying to upset or offend
Yours was the main comment I was referring to, yes. I was not personally offended in the slightest by your comment, I just don’t think it belongs on this site.
I can certainly see where you might hold those views as a resident of Texas and you should not feel bad for holding them, but dropping that missive on a niche interest site like theautopian.com does absolutely nothing to further your goal of changing how your state government operates when it comes to general safety.
What it does do is cause a bunch of rage from people who are offended when they see that kind of thing which lowers the overall quality of the comment section on here and turns off the people who are hoping to read stuff about cars. I don’t know if you were or are a reader of Jalopnik, but this is exactly what ruined that site for me. I have felt that the Autopian’s core value of “pro-car” is in direct response to what Jalopnik became, which was in many ways, pro-politics and anti-car. That’s not to say the site shies away from politics when it overlaps, but I’ve been generally happy with the way that’s been handled here.
Again, this isn’t a personal attack in any way, just growing pains of the site where comments like that wouldn’t previously have been an issue when the site was small. Now that it’s growing, there are more people that could see a comment like that and end up taking over the comment section.
In my defense, look at that banner picture- I see that flag everyday on the back of a truck, the only thing changing being what type of weapon is right next to the Come and Take It. It’s hard not to associate that flag with people advocating for gun rights when that’s the reason it gets flown.
At the same time, I really do understand your point, and I was also a long time reader on jalopnik and hated the immediacy of the comments section to get derailed into annoying political conversations. I’ve never really made a political comment on a website before, let alone one about loving cars. That one just hit home since it’s something I deal with on an unfortunately regular basis.
We try to be a bit open with comments here, so long as they don’t get too nasty. The “line” we have drawn at the moment is when off-topic comments begin to attack regular people, like a minority group. The writers of Jalopnik are also a popular punching bag, and we aren’t really the site for trying to kick our former co-workers.
For now, we’re ok with people blowing off some steam about their elected officials. Those are public figures fully open to blowback from their constituents.
Do you have any plans to dig into the AAMVA any further? Who are their members? Who have their members worked for in the past? Who gives them money? How much money they have and how they spend it? I’ve scratched surface and it was starting to get interesting.
Appreciate this comment. I do think your vision for moderation on this site deserves an article though.
I disagree that contrasting this site with Jalopnik is somehow attacking your former coworkers. I’m sure they’re fine people, but the environment they allowed to flourish is part of the reason this site is successful – there exists a critical mass of people who are not getting what they want there. I do agree it’s not appropriate to bring that up all the time, but this was one of those instances where it made sense. I have yet to see a personal attack against them here.
Also, with a membership model you’re going to have people that feel more invested in the site, they’ve literally invested. With that in mind, you can expect these issues will come to a head at some point. Deciding before then on a more comprehensive moderation policy goes hand in hand with defining values as a site.
Take note Georgia.
I’d like to see a video of a head on with a King Ranch or Suburban both everywhere you look in Texas. Just for entertainment purposes
If one of those should be banned fromAmerican roads maybe it shouldn’t be the kei trucks
Yeah, it’s crazy to me that a moped can share the same stretch of road with an F350 driven by some booger farmer who needed four tries to pass his license test in 1982 and hasn’t gotten any smarter since.
Seems like there should be licensing requirements based on weight class. Sure you can drive you giant pickup with a bed full of air, but now you have to retest every few years.
Exactly this. As long as mopeds and motorcycles are allowed on the road, no one should be banning kei trucks.
This. My wife commutes to work every day on her Vespa….In Tx. Once she’s there she hooks up a gooseneck horse trailer to an F450 and drives out on the same road. Guess which one she needs a specialized license to drive.