<div id="readability-page-1"><figure> <figcaption> This picture taken on August 31, 2017 shows Honda Motor's new N-BOX mini-vehicles at its headquaters in Tokyo. </figcaption> </figure> Tiny kei trucks from Japan have a new fan: President Donald Trump. Trump expressed admiration for the pint-sized autos during a briefing with reporters to announce his plan to gut fuel economy standards. “They’re very small. They’re really cute,” Trump said. “And I said, how would that do in this country? And everyone seems to think, good, but you’re not allowed to build them.” Kei vehicles, which are built to satisfy Japan’s light vehicle regulations, are enjoying surging popularity in the automarket — including here in the US. Sales of kei trucks tripled in the last five years, with around 7,500 total imported just last year, according to data from Japan Used Motor Vehicle cited by CNN. <figure><blockquote>“They’re very small. They’re really cute.”</blockquote></figure> Comparing them to the Volkswagen Beetle, Trump said he was authorizing the US Department of Transportation “to immediately approve the production of those cars.” “He gave me the directive to clear the regulations on this, which we have,” US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at the briefing. “And so if Toyota or any other company wants to make smaller, more affordable cars, fuel efficient, we have cleared the deck so they can make them in America and sell them in America.” A spokesperson for USDOT did not immediately respond to questions about what specific authorization Trump gave Duffy. Indeed, the regulation around the legality of kei vehicles in the US is spotty. Federal rules allow for the import of mini trucks so long as they are 25 years or older, while state laws surrounding their on-road legality and registration are less clear. The vehicles would also need to comply with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, which dictates everything from steering wheel placement to vehicle weight. That said, many states have rules allowing low-speed vehicles like golf carts, so its conceivable that kei trucks could slip through under those provisions. Whether they would sell, though, is another question. Kei vehicles, short for “keitora,” meaning “light truck,” have strict guidelines around engine, size, and power limits. And while they certainly have a following in the US, they are probably too small for the majority of American buyers. That said, they have a small but growing fan base in the US, specifically because they represent an antidote to the giant SUVs and trucks that dominate our roads today. On Instagram and other social platforms, enthusiasts sell kei merch and post memes to tens of thousands of followers. Of course, the purpose of the briefing was to announce the rollback of strict fuel efficiency rules put in place by the Biden administration. Trump said the goal was to make cars more affordable, but most experts predict that any savings from lower-priced vehicles will be offset by higher fuel costs over time.</div>

CARS

特朗普總統對日本的輕型卡車表示讚賞，稱其為 “可愛”，並宣佈計劃通過放寬法規來允許在美國生產輕型卡車。輕型卡車因其小巧和燃油效率高而受到歡迎，但在美國面臨監管挑戰。特朗普的指令旨在使汽車更具可負擔性，但專家警告可能會導致燃油成本上升。輕型卡車在美國有一小部分追隨者，與主導市場的大型車輛形成對比

特朗普邀請 ‘可愛’ 的日本輕型卡車進入美國市場