CADA anti-Right Hand Drive Propaganda
Propaganda is a strong word, but that's the only thing I can call this. CADA, the Canadian Automobile Dealer Association, has obvious reasons to not like right hand drive vehicles. RHDs are great value and cut into their bottom line. You can buy a new Skyline for.... $99000... depending on your options, or a 95 that's with some performance modifications and low mileage for $12000 or less.
The propaganda in question is this pamphlet. It outlines how these cars are unsafe and don't pass safety standards. Of course, they have no backing for this data and it's all very one sided. Which is why I define it as propaganda. There are no real strong arguments here, just statements. This is amplified by the fact that the backing is CADA, an association that is designed to make money.
I should mention that I don't know when this was published, since they don't cite a date. If they would have cited sources for information and data, we could try to pin down approximately when it came out... but unfortunately they do no such thing.
I honestly don't know why they're so up in arms about it. I don't think people that are interested in specialty cars such as RHDs are likely to by a car from a dealer. New or used. They should accept the change, and maybe even get into the market! Why not! They're complaining that they're losing sales, while ignoring a new market.
Thought I'd share this, as food for thought.
rob
edit: updated price of Nissan GT-R (aka... skyline) to CAD price off website. My estimate of $44k was apparently off by more than 100%.
Right hand drive postal vehicles
Canadian RHD Postal Truck
I monitor right hand drive news via google alerts, and an interesting article keeps popping up. Apparently rural mail carriers don't have RHDs.... I see them all over the city (and they're really really cute, as you can see [source]). I can say, that only makes sense. Apparently postal carriers aren't allowed to get out of the vehicle to deliver the mail.... so..... yeah... RHD makes total sense for them. I know that the states uses RHD Jeeps for rural mail carriers (Postal Pete says so). I know that a 'postal carrier' is a good loophole to allow any year of RHD vehicle into the states. Now, they just need to justify Skylines and the like as postal vehicles and they're golden!
The reason this piques my attention is that Canadian right hand drivers can use this as an argument if/when Canada tries to take away our cars. If they state they're 'unsafe' our argument is that if they are unsafe for us, they are unsafe for their employees who use them on a daily basis. Hopefully we never have to use that, but, we've got to create arguments now in case the day ever comes.
rob
Kei cars coming to North America as Smart Car Killers?
There is the possibility! Clearly they would have to meet safety and North American standards (read: not as RHD), but it'd sure be neat! The car in question is the Mitsubishi i, which is actually bigger than the Smart ForTwo. I really hope that they leave the engine as is, personally, since I feel that North American cars have more power than most people need!
Check out this Edmunds.com video if you are interested.
Cheers,
rob
Kei Vehicles
A somewhat new sight on North American roads are Kei class vehicles. These vehicles come in many forms including trucks, vans and even cute little cars. They are cars that qualify for special insurance rates in Japan, much like scooters have in most provinces. There are restrictions on the vehicle's height, length, weight, power and engine size. Due to these restrictions the vehicles, especially the trucks, are quite utilitarian. It's quite obvious why Japan would encourage the use of these vehicles in Japan. Their emissions are minimal and they're small. If your country has a dense population like Japan the benefits are huge.
The really great things about these vehicles is the options. Since they're so limited in so many ways the manufacturers have beefed them up in different ways. Most of the trucks have options like Four Wheel Drive with diff lock. Some of the trucks have factory dump truck beds (which is ridiculous and amazing to watch) and... AM radios. I listen to a lot of CBC now.
Kei Cars
Nissan Figaro
The cars are much less utilitarian, and easily the cutest vehicles on the road. The Nissan Figaro is the prime example of this. It's the first right hand drive car I remember seeing. It blew my mind in how it didn't look like any car I'd ever seen in real life. If Minnie Mouse drove a car in real life, this would be it. And that's not an insult. Honestly, I'm not sure if it's actually a Kei car, since it has a 1L engine, which is larger than the 660cc limit on Kei vehicles, but otherwise it meets the requirements. If it's not it deserves an honorable mention.
Honda Beat
One car that for sure meets the Kei restrictions is the Honda Beat. A little convertible roadster that shows that a 660cc and 65hp limit doesn't mean it can't be flashy. I've seen one of these booting around Winnipeg and was quite impressed. It has the Civic styling with an inline 3 motor. The engine is mounted behind the driver for a mid engine, rear wheel drive layout. Due to the mid engine mount the car has great weight distribution and fantastic handling. Just because it's a Kei car doesn't mean that it can't be excessively fun.
Kei Trucks
Daihatsu Hijet
This post wouldn't be complete without a photo of a minitruck. Kei trucks are the workhorse of Japan. They're small, goofy looking and amazing. They can haul about as much as a 1/4 ton truck, can convert into a flatbed and many have four wheel drive. I drive mine (which is the photo) year round in Winnipeg. The four wheel drive handles the Manitoban deep freeze handily. The problem with the trucks is that they're geared down more than the cars. I have a 4 speed in my truck and 100km/h is a bit of a chore. The five speeds are more capable of running at highway speeds. The road noise is an issue for some people. The road noise is pretty noticeable due to the (usually) mid mounted engine. It's right behind the driver and there is very little noise dampening material. Apparently the Subaru Sambar is better than other mini trucks in this regard. It has a rear mounted 4 cylinder as opposed to a mid mounted 3 cylinder. It apparently can do highway speeds handily and isn't too noisy to boot. Parts are the real issue with the (and all) Subarus.
Kei Vans
Mitsubishi Bravo
The last type of Kei vehicle is the micro van. This name has always cracked me up since the trucks are called mini trucks but the vans are micro vans being that mini van was taken. These vans are basically the same as the trucks, sharing many components. They often have four wheel drive with diff lock, just like the trucks. They have much more luxury features like power retracting glass roofs, power windows and nice upholstery (which is very much lacking in the kei trucks). I haven't heard if they are slow like the trucks, but I can only assume that they run about the same speeds as the trucks.
Regulations
Here are the specifications that Kei vehicles must adhere to.
- Maximum Length: 3.3 m
- Maximum Width: 1.4 m
- Maximum Height: 2 m
- Maximum Engine Size: 660cc
- Maximum Horsepower: 63 hp
As taken from Wikipedia, so take it as a grain of salt.
Kei cars are fun, different and hilariously fun. Kids point and laugh at my little red truck regularly since it looks like a big toy. And well, it is! And I love it for that. If you're looking for a right hand drive, don't overlook a Kei car as an option. If you're just booting around the city you can't go wrong.
For an incomplete list of Kei cars click here for Kei trucks click here and for Kei vans click here.
Rob
Right hand drive chat on Kijiji
I've been following this thread for a some time now. Someone on Kijiji has been complaining about the "recent flood of japanese right hand drive vehicles" on Kijiji. They go on to state that they are "dangerous and not to mention inconvenient in a left hand drive country"
Ok... has this person ever driven one? This argument is just full of holes, not to mention that it's the wrong place to bring up this argument. I can't tell if this person is a troll and just looking to start an argument.
At any rate, the thread is worth a read if you're looking for a laugh at someone else's expense.
http://forum.kijiji.ca/post-7471974.html
rob
ps. I found my truck on Kijiji, and it is indeed a good place to look for right hand drives!
What are the controls like in a Right Hand Drive car?
This question isn't as simple as it might seem. I'll tell you what I know, and then I'll tell you what the internet knows.
To get it out of the way I'll tell you straight off that the pedals are in the same order as LHD cars. Accelerator on the far right, then the brake to the left of that and then to the left of that, the clutch... if you have one. So, this carries over no problem.
The shifter is still in the middle of the car. No shocker there. For cars with manual transmissions you'll find that they have the same shift pattern as LHD cars. It's actually quite natural to shift with the left hand. My opinion is that 75%+ of the world is right handed. So, why would we make the majority of the population shift (the easy job) with their dominant hand and drive with the less useful hand?
My radio, though I don't know about others, is backwards. The volume knob is on the far right and the tuner is on the far left.... confuses the heck out of everyone. But that might be a one-off.
Ok, now for the messy part. The signal lights and wiper controls. These are opposite on right hand drive cars. So, you'll probably turn on the wipers when trying to signal a few times in the first week.
BUT
That's only in Japanese vehicles. Or, I should say, the common layout for controls in Japanese vehicles.
I've been told that right hand drives in the UK have the signal controls on the left, much like North American LHDs. The learning curve might be a little simpler for North Americans in this instance. But, after talking to a few Brits before this post it sounds like it's more of a mixed bag of signal light control locations.
If you're considering a right hand drive and are worried about the controls, don't be. I switch between right and left hand cars on a regular basis and it's never an issue. I'd say I choose the wrong control and turn on the windshield wipers about once a month because I switch back and forth... but most people wouldn't even notice that something went wrong as long as you don't panic.
Rob