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Re-activateThis year, as gas prices head for $4 a gallon in New York, it seems like every Japanese carmaker is showing a tiny micro-car at the Javits center. Most look kind of like an egg sitting on a roller skate. They have room for two, or a very cozy four passengers. They are powered by gas engines of up to a motorcycle-sized 660 cc. Or, in many cases they dispense with a gas engine altogether and run on electric power.
More than a mere novelty, these tiny cars can be instructive. These automakers are building them to meet a market demand in Japan, where they are subject to only one-fifth the tax burden of other cars. Still, in Japan's compact cities, car buyers are demanding electric cars. The government doesn't mandate them, and the electric versions are subject to the same tax burden as the gas-powered models, but the drive is there.
In Japan, these tiny models are referred to as Kei-cars, or keijidosha, which literally means "light automobile."
Americans will remember a different type of K-car. As I was walking across town Tuesday night, I passed an immaculately kept Dodge Aries wagon from the 1980s—a rare site anywhere today, much less in Manhattan. It was surprising how small the Aries looked compared with the modern Toyota Camrys and Volkswagen Jettas surrounding it. Not nearly as small as the Japanese Kei-cars, however.
On the surface, the Kei cars look much more interesting and promising than the K-car. Now, more than ever, size matters. And these models show that people can get by with less vehicle.
See the 2008 New York auto show coverage.
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