They are Japanese cultural icons, easily recognizable by their diminutive size and yellow license plates. But unlike their even smaller anime cousins, such as Pokemon, kei-jidosha (subcompact cars) have remained a completely domestic phenomenon.
Soaring fuel prices and economic and environmental uncertainty, however, seem to warrant another look at the world's most modest class of vehicle.
The category name kei comes from a reading of the kanji character for "lightness," but there are actually no weight rules for these cars. Their size is determined by restrictions on body size and engine displacement. In 1949, the Ministry of Transportation offered special tax breaks on vehicles no more than 2.8 meters in length, 1 meter wide and 2 meters high. Engine displacement was capped at 150 cc.