For more than three years, enthusiasts living on America’s Eastern seaboard and the south have been battling their states over the privilege to drive over 25-year-old vehicles on their states’ roads. The battle has now reached the Midwest as Michigan has become the latest state to revoke the registrations of legally imported Kei trucks. Enthusiasts aren’t wasting any time as they’ve already geared up to fight back.
If you haven’t been following this saga, I’ll bring you up to speed. For years, a number of America’s states have had rules on their books preventing 25 mph speed-limited mini trucks from driving on public roads. In the summer of 2021, the situation changed when the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, a non-governmental group consisting of state DMV administrators and law enforcement, recommended member states start banning any and every vehicle not built to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
As a result of this recommendation, Maine, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New York, Texas, and Georgia began changing their laws and policies to follow the recommendation. Each state is a little different. Maine passed a law that makes any vehicle not meeting FMVSS ineligible for registration. Rhode Island didn’t change its laws but decided to reinterpret existing laws to chase down every Kei-class vehicle owner in the state. Pennsylvania was a little nicer, grandfathering in existing registrations and allowing everyone else to drive their Kei vehicles occasionally as antiques. Georgia and Texas were revoking Kei registrations. Sadly, the battle in Georgia is ongoing, but enthusiasts in Texas scored a major win against the AAMVA by getting their DMV policies reversed.
Technically, the state of Wisconsin also bans Kei vehicles, but you can still get them registered for road use as antique vehicles.
Michigan Joins In
Reader Dogapult sent us a tip that Michigan has started the terrifying march of revoking the titles of Kei trucks and vans that the state previously titled and registered as road vehicles. Unlike Wisconsin, Michigan isn’t allowing these vehicles to be titled as antiques. Instead, the state is saying that these vehicles are unroadworthy and are for off-road use only. Dogapult’s tip has been followed up by a GoFundMe launched by Michigan enthusiasts with the intent on suing the state.
So, what’s going on in Michigan? Dogapult sent me one of the letters being received by Kei truck owners in Michigan.
The letter opens up by telling the enthusiast that the state made a mistake in issuing a title for road use for the subject vehicle. Michigan then says that based on laws pertaining to “mini trucks,” the state cannot issue a title for road use. Thankfully, Michigan is nice enough to quote the law it’s using to revoke the original title.
That law is MCL – Section 257.217i, Michigan Vehicle Code Act 300 of 1949:
257.217i Issuance of vehicle identification number and certificate of title for assembled vehicles; requirements; safety study; “assembled vehicle” defined.
Sec. 217i.(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, the secretary of state shall, upon an applicant’s payment of the proper fees and submission of all documentation required by the secretary of state, issue a vehicle identification number in the same manner as provided in section 230 and a certificate of title to an assembled vehicle that satisfies all applicable requirements of this act, if the assembled vehicle contains all of the following equipment:
The law then goes through a long list of items a vehicle needs to be legal in Michigan. A lot of it makes sense like at least one headlight on each side of the vehicle, at least one taillight, a license plate light, a horn, seatbelts in model year 1965 and newer vehicles, and brakes. One thing that’s a bit odd is that Michigan requires road vehicles to have a differential gear, which seems oddly specific.
The part that we care about is right here, emphasis mine:
(5) As used in this section, “assembled vehicle” does not include either of the following:
(a) A military surplus vehicle designated by the federal government as off-road use only.
(b) A gray market off-road minitruck.
(c) An all-terrain vehicle that has 4 wheels and is equipped with a straddle seat.
I searched Michigan’s books and could not find any of the post-2021 AAMVA language elsewhere. Granted, this is the law Michigan is claiming is applicable to their argument to revoke these latest titles. According to the document sent to us, the state doesn’t even give owners the chance to fight. Instead, they receive a corrected title in the mail that bans them from road use. Based on the effective dates of this law, Michigan has banned ‘mini trucks’ for several years, predating the 2021 AAMVA guidance.
Something we’ve seen in these recent bans is that some states seem to be confusing off-road mini trucks (above) with on-road Kei trucks (below). Americans have been importing mini trucks for decades. Until recently, most of these trucks were imported for off-road use only and have 25 mph speed limiters installed. These trucks were then used on farms, gardens, golf courses, or anywhere else someone wanted something more substantial than a golf cart, but didn’t need to go fast.
It makes sense to ban those kinds of trucks from the road because they physically cannot travel at speeds faster than 25 mph. The rise in popularity of cheap JDM vehicles has muddied the waters, sort of. The state of Michigan points to the Suzuki Carry, Subaru Sambar, Honda Acty, Mazda Scrum, and Daihatsu Hijet as examples of off-road mini trucks.
But here’s the thing, while many of these vehicles have been modified into low-speed vehicles and then imported into America, they were originally built as road-legal vehicles. My 1989 Suzuki Every van tops out at 70 mph, which is a similar top speed to a mid-1990s Honda Acty. Sure, that’s not fast enough for an interstate, but these trucks and vans handle just fine on regular roads and state highways. Certainly, they aren’t any worse than many of the absurdly slow classic cars they share Woodward Ave with in the summer.
Unfortunately, Michigan appears to be treating all Kei trucks and vans like they are the 25 mph mini trucks imported for off-road use, regardless of their actual capabilities.
Enthusiasts in Michigan are wasting no time in fighting back. They’re following the example set by enthusiasts in Georgia and have decided to sue Michigan to get their road-legal titles back. Michigan enthusiast and attorney Kevin Burton intends to take on the state. To aid in hopefully attaining victory, Alec Davies has launched a GoFundMe campaign to fund the battle.
In the GoFundMe, Davies says:
Kei trucks, vans, and other Kei vehicles imported through appropriate channels that have been issued valid titles should be able to remain on the road.
The State has retitled these vehicles citing safety and emissions concerns for mini trucks: an entirely different category of vehicle from Kei trucks. Mini trucks, like the Tiger Truck, are designed and intended exclusively for off-road use, with a 25mph speed restriction, often lacking the safety and emissions standards required of road-worthy vehicles. By contrast, the Kei trucks we are fighting to protect constitute a special class of small vehicles specifically engineered for on-road use in Japan. These trucks meet all of Japan’s safety, emissions, and size regulations, some of the strictest in the world.
Under the 25-year exemption rule established by the Import Vehicle Safety Act of 1988, these Kei trucks, once 25 years or older, should be considered eligible for use on public roads in the US, as would any classic vehicle.
The campaign has raised $730 of $10,000 as of the publishing of this article.
The Cause
If you’re a regular reader, feel free to scroll down to the end. If you’re one of the many people visiting from elsewhere, you might wonder where the heck all of this is coming from. Well, that boils down to the people of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA). I’ve written about this organization several times in the past, but here’s the quick version of what you need to know:
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.
The AAMVA has recommended against allowing mini trucks on American roads for over a decade. Some states followed the guidance, banning low-speed mini trucks from their roads. However, many of those importing a vehicle older than 25 years old didn’t have a problem. The AAMVA’s 2021 guidance is its most destructive yet as it doesn’t just target legally imported Kei trucks, but literally every vehicle ever imported that complies with the infamous “25-Year Rule.”
That doesn’t just mean Kei trucks, but any gray market import. That means everything from roadsters imported from Britain, BMW wagons from Europe, JDM Toyota Crowns, giant Toyota Centurys, quirky buses from Europe, rare motorcycles, even those famous Nissan Skylines people drool over. The AAMVA wants all of them off of American roads. The organization is so serious about this that it tells member states that if its suggestions are illegal, the states should find a way to make them legal.
Yes, the AAMVA even wants that sweet BMW above to go away.
We’ve been trying to find out why, but nobody at the AAMVA wants to talk to us. David McChristian’s best guess is that somehow, America’s automakers feel threatened by the stream of old imports coming in through the border. We intend on finding the truth.
What You Can Do
Sadly, it’s clear that the spread of anti-import laws and policies will not stay contained on the eastern seaboard. Remember, the AAMVA recommends banning all gray market imports, not just Kei vehicles. Maine has followed that recommendation to the letter. There’s really nothing stopping that from spreading.
If you’re interested in helping Michigan, click here to donate to Michigan’s lawsuit fund. We’ve reached out to lawmakers in Michigan regarding its stance on Kei vehicles and will update when we hear back.
Thankfully, you can help in other ways, too. Find the pro-car politicians in your state and push them to fight to either reverse existing policies or keep the policies already in place. This is what enthusiasts in Texas did and look at the huge win it brought them. North Carolina enthusiasts won their own victory back in 2019, so it is possible for regular people to make a difference. Maybe, we can keep cool imported vehicles in America!
Truthfully, this is such a strange hill for these AAMVA to die on. What thousandth of a percent of vehicles on the roads of the US even fall under these rules, and why fight (aka lobby) so hard to remove them? Goofy imports cannot be that much of an existential threat to new car sales to justify this much effort.
And as I’ve said before: if simply being old or pre dating the current FMVSS regulations was enough to revoke a vehicle registration, we wouldn’t have Model Ts or 1950s cars allowed on the road either, but we do.
If I had to theorize, I’d say they’re creating a playbook. Start with a small group of owners, so they have few resources for a fight, and few members of the public-at-large will care. Get that very small percentage of vehicles banned, forge relationships with politicians and bureaucrats, learn the arguments that will be used against you in court. Rinse, repeat…
Truthfully, this is such a strange hill for these AAMVA to die on. What thousandth of a percent of vehicles on the roads of the US even fall under these rules, and why fight (aka lobby) so hard to remove them? Goofy imports cannot be that much of an existential threat to new car sales to justify this much effort.
And as I’ve said before: if simply being old or pre dating the current FMVSS regulations was enough to revoke a vehicle registration, we wouldn’t have Model Ts or 1950s cars allowed on the road either, but we do.
If I had to theorize, I’d say they’re creating a playbook. Start with a small group of owners, so they have few resources for a fight, and few members of the public-at-large will care. Get that very small percentage of vehicles banned, forge relationships with politicians and bureaucrats, learn the arguments that will be used against you in court. Rinse, repeat…
Here in Seattle, there are multiple dealers of Kei and RHD cars within 15 minutes of my house.
Here in Seattle, there are multiple dealers of Kei and RHD cars within 15 minutes of my house.
Kudos to whoever came up with the “Pure Michegas” concept and graphic!
Kudos to whoever came up with the “Pure Michegas” concept and graphic!
They should just get some speeding tickets over 25 mph in Michigan
They should just get some speeding tickets over 25 mph in Michigan
Here in Wisconsin it’s ok to drive your side by side ATV down a lot of roads but it’s not ok to drive KEI vehicle.
The reason is the ATV lobby is huge here and were able to persuade the politicians through “campaign donations “ to allow the ATV drivers to use the roads.
Plus the ATV drivers at least here in the far north are driving from bar to bar……read into that what you will.
Given Wisconsin’s affection for heavy drinking, I doubt very much that they’re the only habitual DUI folks.
This is also happening in the far south (?) of Wisconsin, from what I’ve seen and been told.
You can drive anything you want, any way you want, on the street here in Milwaukee… apparently
Around here its atv – three and four wheel, dirt bikes, snowmobiles, piloted by everyone from kids through seniors. As long as they stay off 400 series highways they are free to roam.
Here in Wisconsin it’s ok to drive your side by side ATV down a lot of roads but it’s not ok to drive KEI vehicle.
The reason is the ATV lobby is huge here and were able to persuade the politicians through “campaign donations “ to allow the ATV drivers to use the roads.
Plus the ATV drivers at least here in the far north are driving from bar to bar……read into that what you will.
Given Wisconsin’s affection for heavy drinking, I doubt very much that they’re the only habitual DUI folks.
This is also happening in the far south (?) of Wisconsin, from what I’ve seen and been told.
You can drive anything you want, any way you want, on the street here in Milwaukee… apparently
Around here its atv – three and four wheel, dirt bikes, snowmobiles, piloted by everyone from kids through seniors. As long as they stay off 400 series highways they are free to roam.
I’ve read these articles from the beginning…and I more and more feel sorry for these people whose titles have basically been stolen from them even after doing everything right. It should be stood up against for the principle of the matter. I don’t have a Kei vehicle but way back when I find out about them thought they were awesome and still do. I love the Honda Beat and Suzuki Cappuccino!
I have to say FUCK THE AAMVA…just FUCK YOU…you shouldn’t exist and I hope you cease to exist, fuckers
I’ve read these articles from the beginning…and I more and more feel sorry for these people whose titles have basically been stolen from them even after doing everything right. It should be stood up against for the principle of the matter. I don’t have a Kei vehicle but way back when I find out about them thought they were awesome and still do. I love the Honda Beat and Suzuki Cappuccino!
I have to say FUCK THE AAMVA…just FUCK YOU…you shouldn’t exist and I hope you cease to exist, fuckers
It makes no sense. There are so few of these things. So few people even know they exist. Ford and GM aren’t hurting in new car sales because someone buys a Honda Acty instead.
Maybe Crazy Bob’s Used Cars loses a few sales of USDM pickups because someone realizes a Suzuki Carry is a better tool for what they want to do, but again, probably a drop in the bucket.
Doesn’t look like you can see where AAMVA’s funds come from very easily, so guess it will remain speculation as to who is pushing for this.
It is successfully making me wary of buying a kei truck though, so mission accomplished there.
It’s because some old crank on the board of that organization heard thirdhand from some other old crank that kei trucks are un-American because Fox News said so or something, and from that point on he made it his mission to ban them across the country.
It makes no sense. There are so few of these things. So few people even know they exist. Ford and GM aren’t hurting in new car sales because someone buys a Honda Acty instead.
Maybe Crazy Bob’s Used Cars loses a few sales of USDM pickups because someone realizes a Suzuki Carry is a better tool for what they want to do, but again, probably a drop in the bucket.
Doesn’t look like you can see where AAMVA’s funds come from very easily, so guess it will remain speculation as to who is pushing for this.
It is successfully making me wary of buying a kei truck though, so mission accomplished there.
It’s because some old crank on the board of that organization heard thirdhand from some other old crank that kei trucks are un-American because Fox News said so or something, and from that point on he made it his mission to ban them across the country.
I hate those AAMVA assholes.
I hate those AAMVA assholes.
Here’s the contact form for the AAMVA:
https://www.aamva.org/about/contact-us
Feel free to contact them with your questions about their hatred of Kei vehicles and your overall opinion of their organization.
I mean unless everyone here wants to start paying them dues, they don’t give a shit about what you have to say. You aren’t a member.
Maybe. Still it gets the message across that the public, or at least a very vocal portion of it doesn’t appreciate their bullshit and are willing to fight them on it.
It would be terrible, just terrible, if they were to suffer a DDOS attack, or start receiving hordes of junk mail.
Here’s the contact form for the AAMVA:
https://www.aamva.org/about/contact-us
Feel free to contact them with your questions about their hatred of Kei vehicles and your overall opinion of their organization.
I mean unless everyone here wants to start paying them dues, they don’t give a shit about what you have to say. You aren’t a member.
Maybe. Still it gets the message across that the public, or at least a very vocal portion of it doesn’t appreciate their bullshit and are willing to fight them on it.
It would be terrible, just terrible, if they were to suffer a DDOS attack, or start receiving hordes of junk mail.
Hopefully this will get people off their butts in Michigan! I wonder about the war, vs the battles, though. No one is going after the AAMVA, as far as I can tell.
Hopefully this will get people off their butts in Michigan! I wonder about the war, vs the battles, though. No one is going after the AAMVA, as far as I can tell.
Fun to live in a country where a group of unelected people you’ve never heard of can influence laws that will affect the rest of us and there’s literally nothing you can do about it. But sure. We definitely have a democracy.
If voting made a difference, it would be made illegal.
Land of the Free, My Ass.
Fun to live in a country where a group of unelected people you’ve never heard of can influence laws that will affect the rest of us and there’s literally nothing you can do about it. But sure. We definitely have a democracy.
If voting made a difference, it would be made illegal.
Land of the Free, My Ass.
It fascinates me how dedicated some people are to outlawing Kei cars and trucks. Like, could you imagine your life having so little meaning and substance to it, that you have chosen that hill to die on? I mean, what percentage of vehicles registered in Michigan are Kei trucks/cars? 0.01%? Less? As others have said, the irony of Michigan outlawing those cars, while not having any vehicle inspections, is not lost on me. A poorly maintained rust bucket is more likely to cause harm to another person than a Kei truck. Regarding top speeds, there’s lots of antique cars that you can legally register and drive that can’t hit 70mph. And it’s not like someone is going to buy a Kei truck and not be aware of the speed/safety limitations that exist. They aren’t exactly sitting on the corner of every used car lot.
If these people actually cared about safety they’d be lobbying for vehicle inspections, better driver training, routine driver exams before drivers license renewals and especially for the elderly. Some of the worst driving I see is from people clearly too old to drive safely. But that would require actual work, and it’s easier to bitch about something you personally don’t like than it is to actually use that energy to make a positive difference. “I don’t like something, so you can’t have it” is just fucking exhausting for those of us who want to enjoy our lives in ways that do not impact other people at all, in the slightest.
Sadly, from an outsider’s perspective, “I don’t like something, so you can’t have it” seems to be a strong legislative argument in the USA these days.
It fascinates me how dedicated some people are to outlawing Kei cars and trucks. Like, could you imagine your life having so little meaning and substance to it, that you have chosen that hill to die on? I mean, what percentage of vehicles registered in Michigan are Kei trucks/cars? 0.01%? Less? As others have said, the irony of Michigan outlawing those cars, while not having any vehicle inspections, is not lost on me. A poorly maintained rust bucket is more likely to cause harm to another person than a Kei truck. Regarding top speeds, there’s lots of antique cars that you can legally register and drive that can’t hit 70mph. And it’s not like someone is going to buy a Kei truck and not be aware of the speed/safety limitations that exist. They aren’t exactly sitting on the corner of every used car lot.
If these people actually cared about safety they’d be lobbying for vehicle inspections, better driver training, routine driver exams before drivers license renewals and especially for the elderly. Some of the worst driving I see is from people clearly too old to drive safely. But that would require actual work, and it’s easier to bitch about something you personally don’t like than it is to actually use that energy to make a positive difference. “I don’t like something, so you can’t have it” is just fucking exhausting for those of us who want to enjoy our lives in ways that do not impact other people at all, in the slightest.
Sadly, from an outsider’s perspective, “I don’t like something, so you can’t have it” seems to be a strong legislative argument in the USA these days.
What baffle me the most is Michigan is ok with David registering his POStal truck and Swiss Cheese on the road, but banning Kei truck that are probably in way better conditions than DT’s entire fleets in Michigan?
(Not intented to roast you here David lol, just throwing out facta here lmao)
Yeah being from Chicagoland and now living in Northwest Indiana I used to take 80/94 into Illinois for work and there would be some massive heaps coming from and going to Michigan with Michigan plates that were held together by the sheer will of ratchet straps or duct tape or the last bit of metal that hasn’t turned to dust yet. (Not that there are not the same heaps with Illinois or Indiana plates also)