Keicar

Keicars (K-cars), also called keijidōsha (in Japanese: 軽自動車), are small passenger cars as well as trucks. They are mainly sold in Japan, because there are some tax and insurance relaxations and an exemption from the usual requirement of certification of park space that one has adequate parking space at his or her home or has contract for a parking spot.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

These relatively relaxed standards came from the post-World War II days when most Japanese were too poor to buy a full sized car, yet had more than enough money to buy a motorcycle. To promote the growth of car industry as well as to offer an alternative delivery method to small business and shop owners, Keicar standards were created. In Japan, the cars feature yellow licence plates, earning them the name "yellow-plate cars" in English-speaking circles (black numbers on yellow background for private use and yellow numbers on black background for commercial use). The keicar field is very competitive, so that manufacturers are in a constant race to provide better performance, utility, and fun within the keicar regulations, driving the pace of technological innovation, which then spreads to the rest of their automobile line. As a result, keicars are available with turbo-charged engines, automatic transmission, continuously variable transmission, 4-Wheel-Drive, Hybrid Gasoline-Electric engines, air condition systems as well as car navigation systems.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Japanese: When used as an adjective, Japanese refers to anything that originates from Japan. It may refer to more than one article:...

Cars: Cars is:...

Truck: :For further uses of the word truck, see Truck (disambiguation)....