Tiny Cars: 'AMAZING!!!'

"The first time I visited Japan, I couldn't help noticing all of the things that it does better than the United States. I rode bullet trains that top out at 200 miles an hour and spotted vending machines that serve fresh fruits and vegetables. But the worst part was the car envy: Why are America's city streets clogged with enormous SUVs and trucks when we could instead have the Suzuki Hustler?"

"The Hustler, and others like it, is a kei car: short for kei-jidosha, meaning "light vehicle." Kei cars (pronounced kay) are a category of Japanese cars restricted to small dimensions and engines. They come in all shapes and configurations in Japan: tiny delivery vans, hatchbacks, pickup trucks, even sports cars with gull-wing doors. They're an indelible part of Japan's automotive culture, with a reputation for enchanting foreign visitors."

"President Donald Trump is apparently the latest to succumb to their charm. In the Oval Office last week-flanked by auto-industry executives celebrating America's new, weaker fuel-economy standards- Trump gushed about the little cars he saw on a recent trip to Asia. "They're very small; they're really cute," Trump said. Honda and other Japanese companies "do a beautiful job" of making these micro-cars, he said, "but we're not allowed to make them in this country." Two days later, Trump doubled down. "I have just approved TINY CARS to be built in America," he posted on Truth Social. "These cars of the very near future are inexpensive, safe, fuel efficient and, quite simply, AMAZING!!! START BUILDING THEM NOW!""

Japan features highly efficient transportation and inventive small-vehicle solutions, including bullet trains and vending machines offering fresh produce. The Suzuki Hustler exemplifies a kei car: a compact, boxy micro-SUV with four-wheel drive, a hybrid engine, substantial storage, and a low price around $12,000. Kei cars are defined by strict size and engine limits and appear as vans, hatchbacks, pickups, and even sports cars with gull-wing doors. Kei cars play a central role in Japanese automotive culture and draw admiration for practicality and charm. Political figures have noted the scarcity of similarly small, affordable cars in the United States and expressed interest in domestic production.

Read at The Atlantic