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Oh don’t worry, everyone already knew lol
Yes, that's how national standards work.
You also can't import a Japanese-made vehicle to the US until it's 25 or more years old because the safety specs are different.
And almost all US market vehicles are not up to Canadian standards - starting with the Canadian requirement to have driver adjustable headlight elevation trim...
Man...that would be an awesome feature...
I could swear my 80s accord had that feature
Those were some of the best cars I've ever seen. My dad got 400K miles out of his
Especially for vehicles that tow trailers and the trailer tongue weight pushes the angle of the whole vehicle up...
Of course we don't have them in the US because, unlike Canada, we have far too many drivers who would adjust them up just to be jerks blinding other drivers on purpose.
That's just what they want you to believe. Cars have to be 25 years old before they can be imported, because Mercedes dealerships where butthurt about ⅕ beamers being imports four decades ago.
Technology connections on YouTube touched on it in a video, if I recall right domestic sales went up a couple percent for Mercedes dealerships, no where remotely close to +20%.
It used to be a thing where you could get a job driving brand new BMWs around Europe until it hit like 6,000km so they could be imported to the US cheaper as a "used" car.
Why wouldn't they just put them up on a dyno and just spin the tires?
I would expect the job wasn't just "we'll pay you drive around non-stop for 9 hours/day". I bet it was probably more like "use this car for your commute and stuff, but be sure to have it up to 6km in X weeks" or something like that.
It would probably take a long time to run up 6k on a dyno, completely occupying that dyno for just one car. Doubt that would have been worth the cost of one (or multiple) dynos.
That makes sense. Or even as simple as perhaps renting out the car or something like that. But with extreme restrictions about cleanliness and such or something, I don't know. Thank you, your ideas absolutely helped
Because it's more fun!
Not only that but Toyota as an example does a lot to localize their products. So for example, a Toyota built in the Northern parts of North America will have better winterizing. Whereas a Toyota built in a coastal area like much of Japan will be resistant to salt water spray.
While OP is trying to imply that Toyota is selling crap to American's because they think Americans are so stupid they'll never noticed, the fact is that a car built for Japan will not last as long in America as a car built for Americans.
the fact is that a car built for Japan will not last as long in America as a car built for Americans.
This was really noticeable with 1970's japanese vehicles. They weren't great. But they improved.
If that's true, it's dumb, Not like Americans ever move from one region of the nation to the other and take their vehicles with them.
I doubt it is.
Then why doesn't Toyota and Nissan do something about it? It's their product, regardless of where it's made.
Also why are they shipping vehicles with software created for North America then acting like it's Americans faults that features don't work or only come in English, French and Spanish.
Sounds like they're making bad decisions and trying to blame it on cultural differences
Saving face is a much bigger priority in japan than in the US, and since its americans working in the us, why even bother
The issue is when you build in North America, you have to deal with local parts suppliers for all parts and subassemblies. Then you have a problem of the North American culture of poor quality control and maximizing profit margins only. So you can have a great design, which works in Japan with Japanese suppliers, but then it falls apart with local parts makers in Canada and US. Some sub-assemblies cross the border 2-3X which just amplifies the typical shit quality of manufacturing in North America.
Don't forget having to pay a bunch of lazy Americans high wages vs hard working and loyal Japanese drones who get paid less. I'm not exaggerating, loyalty to your employer is huge in Japan.
Welcome to capitalism everything you buys is the worst version someone can legally sell you for the most they can charge.
The imports are just to placate Trump around tariffs, and it's not worth it to them to improve all cars made in America
So they're warning any Japanese buyers that if they buy it, they're getting the lower quality models
They are probably only sending the bare minimum to make Trump happy. They don't want to sell American made cars and trucks in Japan, so they are doing it badly.
Didn’t they already document this in Gungho with Michael Keaton?
We don't need giant, dangerous, shitty trucks like that here.
40 years ago Alexi Sayle joked about moms driving giant Range Rovers to the shops.
40 years ago range rovers weren't particularly big, nor much of a soccer mom car compared to what it is now
It's the same customer: People buying the absolute largest car sold with features like off-road 4 wheel drive that they have absolutely no intention of using.
If Range Rover offered a 3,000 kg car in 1985, soccer moms would have bought it.
It was a very different car. If you wanted the absolute largest, you bought American. Even in 2026, Range Rovers are small compared to what GM has to offer, but in the 1980s, the difference would've been even bigger since the Suburban and its derivatives have grown less. Go back to the early 80s or 70s and the Range Rover wasn't even offered with 4 doors yet, it was even smaller.
Put it this way: A Volkswagen Golf estate is now about the same size as the first 4 door Range Rovers. A regular Golf is a tiny bit shorter than the original Range Rovers (2 door). Current VW Passat is significantly bigger.
If you wanted the absolute largest, you bought American.
No one in Britain bought American made cars in the 1980's because they weren't officially imported. American imported cars were grey market that needed extensive conversion to be legal.
It was still far from a "big" car. A contemporary Mercedes S-Class was nearly half a meter longer than the 4 door Range and that's a sedan lol.
Range Rovers are now as big as luxury sedans were in the 1980s.
I saw one of their trucks in the UK yesterday as a company vehicle and I'm mad about it. A Toyota Wildtrak. On a road, owned by an estate agent, and in one of the flattest countries in the world.
wait until they start taking their dogs around in the bed because they don't want to mess up their precious off-road interior
buncha nancy asses
America is a shit place to unload shitty shit on the dumb, insecure shitheads
Yeah, we noticed.
this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2026
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