Higher Mileage Already Exists Despite CA and EPA...

The Answers Are Out There- In Japan.

While California valiantly fights for cleaner emission / higher mileage cars against the Bash Administration's Environmental Protection Agency (sic), it also remains part of the conspiracy that limits access of Kei-Trucks to American streets and highways.

Kei-trucks (Kei-Jidosha) are street-legal work trucks in Japan. They have 600cc engines and get phenomenal mileage, have features including 4WD, and are affordable as new vehicles for the mass of workers at the bottom of the pyramid who are forced in the US to drive gas-guzzling second-hand pickups.

K-trucks can be driven anywhere on Earth- except on American public roads. And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is yet another Detroit / Big Oil Conspiracy.

You can see these cute little buggers on satellite NHK TV Japan rescuing typhoon victims, carrying construction materials, working on farms and having a generally fun time:



I Want This Truck

good post and so true. my wife is from france, i was blown away the first time i went to visit her family. the smart car is one thing, but the general petite-ness of all the cars and trucks was shocking. the idea that we can not do that here is about as sadly false as it can get.

funny, i tried to find some good pictures of what i am talking about but they seem to be 'blacked out' on google tossers....

anyway thanks for pointing out the obvious truth, a star for you.

Thanks, Animal. Maybe we've spotted an opportunity for some rich ATS philanthropists, to ramrod through an alternative world-car approval legislation or even dealership. Americans also make similar vehicles that cities allow Parking Meter Enforcement to drive on streets made by a company called Cushman.

I see those around sometimes, mostly like stated above, as parking enforcement vehicles. They would work well for putting around doing some yard work and light farm/contruction work but other than that Americans dont want them as daily drivers. They are too used to their big vehicles on the wide open roads. The two driving style are too different. Europe for the most part stay in a close area so a small vehicle is needed. Long distance then they take a plane or train. In America they drive or fly and do it often.

Its not a conspiracy its difference in culture.

if they were allowed in cities it would probably work. i can't see driving
them on the expressway. getting hit by a motorcycle would kill the
inhabitants. i've seen one of those in nebraska and it was used on the
jobsite....

It is not a matter of different tastes- it is a matter of Federal and State legislation that prevents innovation and downsizing of on-highway vehicles beyond a certain minimum oil-consuption target. We hear futuretech TV shows blowing hot air about futurecars made from unobtanium and powered by exoticum that will be available 'in the future', when cars with equal or better gas mileage Exist- Right Now! If Henry Ford reappeared in a wormhole, he couldn't sell new Model T's for on-highway use under the current law.

There is an ultracool passenger van and 4WD truck being made in Oklahoma (now if that ain't American, what is) that gets phenomenal mileage. I am starting a letter-writing campaign to get this class of vehicle approved for use on-road. If Amish can drive buggies on the street, why can't I drive a Tiger?

By the way, I commute to work on a 100 mile-per-gallon Honda motorized bicycle. I am not alone. And I love what all the money it saves me buys for my family and I. These smaller vehicles pollute less, use fewer scarce resources, save gas, and are a joy to drive and park. Hard to get dead in a crash at 25 MPH; these could revolutionize the Oil Crisis and make war un-neccesary.

Tiger is making electric, gas, diesel, and hybrid models: TIGER TRUCKS.

The military is also using these- Hummers aren't the only 'mules'

A Loophole In The Regulations

There are certain circumstances where these vehicles can be driven by citizens on city streets.

Check out these articles:

Wikipedia: LSV's

DMV Nevada LSV's

DOE LSV's California

NHTSA LSV's

My Dad still drives at 85 years of age, and as he ages I want him to drive something he can't go too fast in. These would also prevent a lot of teenage deaths. Although one can be run down by a faster vehicle, at least one cannot create too much carnage by one's own accident.

Saw a movie called The Straight Story.. An old Soldier rides a lawn-tractor to Wisconsin to see his brother- all street legal under the LSV/Farm Vehicle rules. Then, I found this site: Small Farm Utility Vehicles and this one: Neighborhood Electric Vehicles. I want a Kawasaki Mule

[edit on 8-1-2008 by Chakotay]

And now LSV's are headline news- in India:

Two Thousand American Dollars Buys A New Car - In India.

Americans have completely forgotten the Real Deal. Simple, honest cars cost less, are fun to drive, and are easier on the environment.

My bike is from here:

Island Hopper Bikes.

Our freedom of choice is limited, not by physics- but by crooked corporate-sponsored 'laws' mandating big, wasteful cars.

[edit on 10-1-2008 by Chakotay]