Kei Central

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To be fair I have to imagine a Suzuki Twin isn't actually that great to drive in standard form, so while I'm not a big stance fan I guess it's a good basis for that treatment...
 
I just discovered there is a garage here in Seattle called Sodo Moto that specializes in gray imports of cars 25 years or older. They've got a trio of Cappucchinos for $8k to $9k and a Beat for $7k. They have non-kei cars, too, including cars from Europe. I'm going to have to check them out soon.
 
I might be slightly bending the rules, but Japan classes it as a kei car so im gonna post it here:
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Despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of Kei-class cars is designed and manufactured in Japan, the regulation doesn't actually exclude foreign cars.
The first Smart ForTwo for instance was sold as Kei car in Japan

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And - as I just now happily learned - Caterham sells an 80HP version of the Seven in Japan that can be registered as a Kei car with special permit :drool:

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as I just now happily learned - Caterham sells an 80HP version of the Seven in Japan that can be registered as a Kei car with special permit :drool:

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Doesn't the car need to have around 60 horsepower though?

Not trying to be factual, I really forgot if you do need to be 63 HP or less.
 
Doesn't the car need to have around 60 horsepower though?

Not trying to be factual, I really forgot if you do need to be 63 HP or less.

Usually yes, Caterham even brought a detuned example to the licensing inspection. The way they tell it though the authorities deemed it a disadvantage to Japanese customers to homologate it with 63HP, so they granted it a special permit to get Kei classification with its full 80HP.
Oddly enough no other manufacturer seems to have tried to do the same as far as I'm aware, even though their engines wold likely be easily able to produce more than the agreed-upon 63HP. My guess is that they just want to keep fuel consumption as low as possible and are afraid of scaring away potential customers if they'd up the power, especially since the tax incentives for Kei cars were so drastically slashed in 2014.
 
I might be slightly bending the rules, but Japan classes it as a kei car so im gonna post it here:
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When that car was sold new, it wouldn't have been considered a Kei car in Japan. Up until 1976, the maximum displacement for kei cars was 360cc's. So the Fiat 500 having a 500cc engine would not have made it a kei car back then. Of course, if the car was built today it would be.
 
When that car was sold new, it wouldn't have been considered a Kei car in Japan. Up until 1976, the maximum displacement for kei cars was 360cc's. So the Fiat 500 having a 500cc engine would not have made it a kei car back then. Of course, if the car was built today it would be.

That brings up a question: Can you get a Kei-class plate for a car that wasn't eligible when new but would be now? That's admittedly a point I've never thought of yet.
 

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