Massachusetts Introduces Bill To Legalize Kei Cars

By most metrics, Massachusetts is a fantastic state to live in. It isn’t cheap, but you get a lot for your money. Unfortunately for the people who live in Massachusetts, the state’s Registry of Motor Vehicles is full of a bunch of jerks and decided to ban kei cars. The enthusiast community pushed back, though, and lawmakers have now introduced legislation that would legalize kei cars, the Drive reports.

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State Representative Steven S. Howitt’s HD.5357 would create a legal definition of a kei car that lines up with the original Japanese rules about size and engine displacement. It would also force the RMV to implement an inspection and registration process for cars that are imported under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards’ 25-year rule and require it to approve the registration of any cars that met the safety standards in their home countries.

“The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles shall honor the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and shall register all vehicles 25 years or older as of the date of manufacture that were imported in compliance with 49 C.F.R. § 591, including vehicles classified as ‘Kei cars,’” the bill says, essentially leaving no way for the RMV to wiggle its way out of this one.

Those adorable little kei cars aren’t hurting anyone, and if anything, more people should be driving cute JDM vans with difficult-to-source parts, so it’s nice to see lawmakers standing up to the tyrants who have banned them. Still, there’s no guarantee that this bill will pass in the House, much less get signed into law. If you live in the state, it’s time to start calling your state lawmakers’ offices demanding they support the bill. A grassroots movement of JDM enthusiasts got this bill introduced, and dammit, a grassroots movement can get it passed.

If we keep the pressure on them, we can make this happen. And then we can get similar laws passed in other states. The kei-haters may have institutional inertia on their side, but we’re going to beat them. I simply refuse to believe otherwise.