Give them European fuel prices, and they'll convert quickly.
this post was submitted on 22 Dec 2025
165 points (98.2% liked)
News
33724 readers
4240 users here now
Welcome to the News community!
Rules:
1. Be civil
Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.
2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.
Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.
3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.
Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.
4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.
Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.
5. Only recent news is allowed.
Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.
6. All posts must be news articles.
No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.
7. No duplicate posts.
If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.
8. Misinformation is prohibited.
Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.
9. No link shorteners.
The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.
10. Don't copy entire article in your post body
For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Can USians stop being dependent on cars for transportation?
Can we unfuck our infrastructure and bring all of our jobs/utilities/amenities closer?
Would if I could
Public transit stops running by the time I'm off work
How about huge overweight and expensive kei cars?
I generally like mine (Nissan Dayz Rooks HS ~2018). My two biggest complaints are lack of power for certain driving (like with 3 passengers and luggage uphill) but some have turbochargers, and secondly that the smaller footprint does make them feel much more flimsy in windy conditions. I've been blown around the expressway and felt like I was going to get blown over on a couple of occasions. Otherwise, I am quite happy. I still try to walk/train/cycle/motorcycle first, but sometimes that's not possible or practical.
I have wanted a Kei truck since I first saw one. It's me sized and I love them.
I drive a manual Miata. I’d absolutely love an Autozam AZ-1 (Autozam is a Mazda brand). I also ride motorcycles. The Miata is actually harder to use than the motorcycles in American traffic due to its height. If you want to turn and a truck/SUV pulls up on your side you’re just stuck staring right at the middle of their door panel, zero visibility. On the motorcycles my head is at least high enough to see through their windows. Obviously this wouldn’t be an issue if the other driver didn’t pull forward to the absolute limit but that next to never happens.
For reference:
Waste of a story. Kei cars would be terrible for most American commuters. Small cars would be good, but not kei. Too small, too dangerous, too bad in the snow, too likely to break down, too slow for expressways.
I love my kei, and I would never suggest it for the average American. This is common sense, too. Anyone who researched the matter a little would say the same.
Too small, too dangerous, too bad in the snow, too likely to break down, too slow for expressways.
As someone who lives in rural northern Japan and drives his kei car on the expressways and in the snow: what? I've also never broken down. I don't think kei cars are perfect, especially not mine, but this makes no sense to me as most people, including those living in Aomori which is the snowiest major city on earth, drive kei cars all year round. We do have winter tires here, unlike the all-seasons I used in the US.
Right? I always viewed them as local runabout trucks. This is for trades people doing urban/suburban stuff. Not commuting on freeways - though of course people would do that with them. Kei cars are no different than say one of the small Smart or Fiat cars. Not great choices for safety at speed on freeways, but doable for local use.
Everyone I know has been begging for smaller cars for years. Idk why everyone thinks people don't want them. No one said they didn't want them it was just decided for us by some CEOs. That seems to be how all of the opinions of "Americans" are formed. Same way the CEO of my company says we all love to go into an empty office and do all of our work online. It's just bullshit
Not just CEOs. Tax and emissions law in the US discourages smaller vehicles and encourages personal vehicles large enough to qualify as "light trucks". https://publications.lawschool.cornell.edu/jlpp/2024/11/25/the-unchecked-rise-of-trucks-and-suvs-in-america/
I bring this up every time people talk about vehicle sizes and people always treat me like a conspiracy theorist.
You're 100% right tho. It just means other people aren't interested in the truth. I used to be ignorant too until someone made that comment and i looked into it a little. Between emissions and safety standards we really push the prices of vehicles up ourselves with all the rules we've put in place.
I think the thing is when they do make them, they’re a shitty American car and nobody wants that so the Detroit execs blame us and go back to making luxury tanks for the wine moms.
I think the REAL issue is that when they sell those little cars people do buy them, but they are people who would have bought a larger more expensive car if that little car wasn't available.
We have a little Honda fit. Great car. Also a pretty popular car that you see on the road all the damned time. Honda still sells the car globally, but they stopped selling it in the US. Not because it wasn't selling, but because it was selling to people that would have bought HRVs or Civics (which cost more) instead.
load more comments
(16 replies)
load more comments
(5 replies)
There's a much higher markup on large luxury vehicles so no manufacturer wants to waste their time on smaller cheaper ones.
load more comments
(1 replies)
Honda fit owners were born ready!!
Best car im thinking of another
I guarantee if vehicles were properly regulated here, and the Big 3 here had to suffer actual consequences for their piss-poor choices, smaller cars would be a more popular choice.
Regulations have partly caused the car size problem. Manufacturers have gas mileage targets/requirements, but they're scaled based on axle length. Essentially this means they can make small efficient cars, or big expensive cars.
Properly regulated, i.e. closing up all the loopholes.
load more comments
(5 replies)
Why leave it to car brains to determine if they like it? The people driving F350 GMC Yukon zero visibility death machines will never. Too bad.
Regulate the size of cars and stop pedestrian/biker deaths.
Regulate the size of cars and stop pedestrian/biker deaths.
I think that's the point of the USA, though. You're not allowed to indulge in nature, only industry.
Once the electronic industrial dystopia is fully formed, they will start pimping nature for money.
Most Americans aren't like me, but I love my Smart car. I got into it late, I thought the cars were really goofy and stupid when they hit the scene. It's now my favorite car of all that I've owned, including my previous Porsche Boxter S. The Smart car was $6k used, it costs a little over $20 to fill up with gas, the 6 gallon tank takes just under a minute. It's still a manual which I love and it's so easy to drive. There is no extended hood so you never worry about scraping things when turning. The turning radius is insane by the way; the wheels turn to almost 90 degrees. I only need 1.5 lanes to make a U-turn and the power steering and clutch is very light. It also goes plenty fast which I was concerned about, I don't feel scared driving on the highway in it at all. It really doesn't feel small when you're in it until you look behind and remember that the car just ends as far as your arm can reach. Smarts are made by Mercedes so they're good quality. It's a shame they were discontinued in the US, but I'm not surprised at all.
load more comments
(2 replies)
I already love them
I owned a Ford Festiva, made by Kia, in the 90s. But at that point, I had a fully developed penis and did not need a truck. The 4 doors were for the excess women this attacted.
load more comments
(3 replies)
load more comments
(6 replies)
view more: next ›