The Drive seemed into not solely Massachusetts’ ban on kei vehicles, however the group that appears to be backing these bans in a number of states: The American Affiliation of Motor Car Directors, which seems to be the supply of among the ban language. From the Drive:
House owners whose vehicles are already registered have additionally been warned that their tags might be revoked, and that they’ll’t be renewed. The RMV is reportedly refusing to even title the vehicles, in accordance with The Autopian, leaving house owners with issues reselling their autos, too. These modifications are mirrored on the RMV’s web site, the place the state acknowledges the exemption to the identical rules it makes use of to justify its crackdown. Whereas states do actually have the authorized authority to resolve what autos will be registered, the RMV wouldn’t have gotten as massive of a backlash if it truly found out what a kei automobile is first.
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First, the partial record contains the Toyota LiteAce van and associated TownAce pickup—neither of that are kei-class autos. Second, the rules for figuring out autos not on the instance record can even apply to domestically made, FMVSS-abiding vehicles. Particularly, it calls out autos older than 25 years with VINs shorter than 17 characters, which might naturally embody pre-1981 home vehicles. Lastly, we now have purpose to imagine the RMV didn’t write the record itself, as an similar record was beforehand revealed by the Pennsylvania DMV to help its personal ban.
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The [American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators] is a lobbying group that rose to notoriety in JDM proprietor circles when certainly one of its inner paperwork was cited as a purpose for banning kei vans in Rhode Island. The doc, since relocated on (or deleted from) the AAMVA web site (mirrored above) advocated for ceasing registration of “mini-trucks,” which is how the group referred to kei vans on the time. It up to date this verbiage to “off-road autos” to argue for his or her ineligibility in June 2021, instantly previous the Rhode Island ban. That occasion successfully set the precedent for the coverage enacted this yr in Massachusetts, the place house owners have noticed a outstanding connection between the RMV and AAMVA.
Colleen Ogilvie, secretary and treasurer for the AAMVA’s northeast area, can also be the Registrar for the Massachusetts RMV. In response to the Regulation Workplace of Patrick J. Murphy, the Registrar “can revoke your […] automobile registration […] in the event that they subjectively decide that your operation of a automobile poses a direct menace to public security.” In different phrases, the Registrar can rescind automobile registrations arbitrarily, which can clarify how the agenda of a non-public curiosity got here to be state coverage.
The full piece over on the Drive is price a learn, because it delves into the connections between the AAMVA and DMVs across the nation — in addition to investigating simply why the AAMVA has such disdain for cute little Japanese runabouts. As of final week, it appears the RMV is again down, as officers are reviewing the ban and paused the coverage of revoking registrations whereas it considers the ban. Fans within the state are giving the battle their all in hopes of preserving the flexibility to drive the autos they love. Optimistically, they’ll win.
