DISCLAIMER: this is NOT an ad. I just share car designs that I find cute/silly. Fuck cars.
this post was submitted on 08 Aug 2023
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this reminds me of everyone's childhood nightmare, the maruti omni
Honestly I wish minivans were more popular here in Europe, everytime I see one of these Japanese designs I'm like oooo silly little van :3
They used to be (see: Bedford Rascal) but then people started thinking they'd like to keep their legs in the event of an accident
Damn didn't know they were dangerous. Though recently I saw a very cool new electric minivan clearly inspired by the likes of the one I posted, I'll have to look for it
Kai trucks are made to fit within a size limit for vehicles in inner cities in Japan, as a result there's a whole load of odd tiny vehicles still available today.
The closest we get in Europe now are the "heavy quadricycles", but again they're made for a specific legal niche (or for specific jobs, like the Aixam Mega Truck for things like park maintenance).
Either way, small vehicles are unfortunately unsafe because there's no crumple zones, so outside of slow-burning town centers they're a bad idea (and in town centers it's better to not have cars at all) so we're unlikely to see more cute tiny vans in the future ... except for things like the electric truck you saw, which can cover commercial needs in zero emissions areas, but again specialised use.