Daihatsu Basket concept vehicle
K car has an entirely different meaning in Japan. Here in the U.S. the term K-car refers to the not lamented and now gone K cars built by Chrysler in the early 1980s (little front-drive sedans that made airbags popular in the U.S.) However, in Japan K-car is a class of car that uses tiny motorcycle-like engines of 660cc and below. It’s a tax thing, folks. The Japanese may claim it has to do with having a small carbon footprint and a tiny appetite for gasoline, but owners of vehicles of this small size in Japan get a big tax break.
At the recent Tokyo Motor Show Daihatsu (part of the Toyota Empire and the only Japanese brand in recent times to be removed from the U.S. market) showed its concept convertible pickup truck called the Basket. It’s a tiny pickup truck that uses a removable hardtop to cover the front seats and a canvas top to cover the rear seats. In addition, the rear seats fold down to create a longer pickup truck bed.
Also of note: the seats are covered in a linen-look material, and the simple speedometer and retro look radio appear to be place on the dashboard, not mounted in it. Don’t look for this vehicle, if it does go into production, to come to the U.S. The Daihatsu Basket is too small to pass U.S. crash tests and the engine will most likely not meet U.S. emission standards.
The Daihatsu Basket is based on the Daihatsu Mira chassis and is powered by a three-cylinder gasoline engine with a displacement of 660cc.
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