Bringing ‘Cute’ Tiny Cars to America Calls for Rethinking our Roadways

Automakers like Fiat are betting that Americans are ready for the tiny cars that even President Trump has called “really cute,” writes Adele Peters in Fast Company. 

But as Peters and others point out, U.S. regulations prevent the large-scale import of what are known as kei cars and trucks. “Right now, the U.S. only allows the Japanese vehicles to be imported when they’re at least 25 years old, under regulations aimed at classic cars. But despite the restrictions, kei trucks are the largest class of vehicles being individually imported to the U.S., with around 7,500 arriving last year.”

Newer kei cars can haul heavier loads, drive faster, and have more safety features. However, many still don’t have airbags or other safety features required in U.S. vehicles. A piece by Kea Wilson in Streetsblog USA points out that even if the Department of Transportation reduced regulatory barriers to importing kei cars, “the kei car revolution is still unlikely to hit U.S. roads anytime soon. And that's largely because of size of those (large) roads themselves, and the gargantuan cars that would likely remain on them even if every automaker in America embraced the whiplash and started pumping out Matchbox cars for the common man.”

Ultimately, Wilson notes, making kei cars competitive in the U.S. would require a reimagining of our roads and infrastructure, as well as changes in the size and design of other cars on the road. “And if we did that, we'd see even tinier, cuter mobility options start to emerge — like the bike, the scooter, and the humble sidewalk.”