Kei cars are the antithesis of the big American SUV. Where EPA regulations effectively penalize automakers for building smaller, more efficient cars, Japan's Kei car regulations cap size, weight, and power to just fractions. Kei cars aren't just small, they're also pretty cheap, a fact that has made them a sales success in Japan and highly desirable as a gray-market import, particularly by people
![A cute, cheap death trap? Japanese Kei cars banned by yet another US state](https://cdn-ak-scissors.b.st-hatena.com/image/square/2af918fd3792cebd549505ffb6222e2125f97d4b/height=288;version=1;width=512/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.arstechnica.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F08%2Fno-kei-cars-760x380.jpg)