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Date: 10/17/2023
GRANBY — When looking to name his new Japanese kei car import shop in town, Jason Aller was looking for something that related to who he is. Naturally, his love for the 1980s led him to the name, Rajikaru Imports, which can be translated to “radical imports.”
“I came up with that because I’m a big 80s buff and I like the stuff from that era,” Aller said with a smile, adding that while the translation was not exactly perfect due to the language barrier, but he spoke with a colleague of his in Japan who confirmed Rajikaru worked for what he was going for.
Aller told Reminder Publishing he decided to open Rajikaru Imports after being introduced to Japanese Kei — pronounced kay — cars through a coworker at his job. Aller has worked at a Honda dealership for over 25 years and is currently the parts and service director at his dealership.
“I had a mechanic and one day he drove in in one of these little Honda Acty trucks [one model of a kei car]. I never had seen one ever and I saw the Honda badge on the front and thought, ‘What is that?” Aller said. “I couldn’t take my eyes off it, and I instantly just said, ‘I gotta have one of these things.’”
Aller quickly found out these cars have been increasing in popularity due to the threshold of time being met on an American import law. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety administration, the U.S. has a 25-year import law which prohibits vehicles less than 25 years old from being imported or purchased in the country if they don’t comply with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. After 25 years, any vehicle that does not comply with these standards can be lawfully imported.
Aller eventually found a seller and ordered his own kei car. Within the same time period, he sold an old school bike collection he owned for many years due to a great offer and thought to himself maybe there was an opportunity for a new hobby in the kei cars.
Aller went on to order three more kei cars that were to be sold and after selling them quickly he opted to transition the interest in these cars into his own new business.
“I found out you can only sell three to five cars a year in the state without being a dealer, and then after that you need to get a dealers license or you can get in trouble,” Aller said. “I sold three of them so fast, all of them were gone like within a week, so I went out and spent several months trying to get all this stuff done.”
According to Aller, once he found the 185. W State St. space in Granby, he was relieved to set up shop back in the area he grew up in.
“I’ve been coming here since I was a little kid. I remember being 8-years old and I’d come in with my mom and she would shop around the building, and I would go buy coins and stamps,” Aller said with a laugh. “This place has been around my whole life, and I thought I would just love to get in there.”
Aller had spent two weeks in Japan over the course of the last month as he visited the country for the first time in his life. While there Aller met two Honda associates he has been working with via skype for the last few years and also to also look for future deals on more kei cars to be imported to his new business.
Aller expressed many great things about the country, it’s hospitality and overall culture and recommends the trip to anyone who would be interested. He added it was eye-opening to see the stark differences in Japanese culture compared what we are used to in the states.
One difference in the cultures from what he was described and observed is that in major Japanese cities there aren’t many people who own cars, and that public transportation was very efficient throughout the country, thus giving Japanese residents more options in travel. Because of this, the kei cars that are imported all have very fair gas mileage for their ages. Aller added his current lot of cars are all models between 1994-1997, all have very low mileage and are all in very good condition.
According to Aller, while the popularity in these cars has been growing in America it is not the typical antique car to show off and drive in style. While that is absolutely still possible, many farmers and blue-collar workers use the vehicles in Japan and now that they are in the states, are being used for the same reasons.
Aller added the sides of the bed of these trucks can be opened up to create a wider base for things to fit on the back. He also noted that due to these imports mostly coming from southern Japan, there was less wear and tear over years from salt on the roads as it doesn’t snow there. He also noted there are mini vans he imports as well and as an example mentioned an electrician bought one for his side work from home, showcasing the many uses for the cars on top of their antique status.
Aller added most cars go between $5,000 and $10,000 and encourages anyone in town to stop by just to check them out in the lot. The cars can be seen when driving by the location across from the Dollar General on Route 202.
Rajikaru Imports is open Wednesday through Friday from 6-8 p.m. due to Aller’s day job, and open on weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. He added he hopes people still check out the store even if not interested in purchasing a car as they have merchandise available and will be adding more Japanese items and food products to the store to celebrate the Japanese culture.
Aller added he is excited to continue forward with the new passion and hopes to continue sharing the love for the unique Japanese models.
“I thought I didn’t really need this thing, but I have to have it. I’m a car guy, I’ve worked for Honda so long and when I saw that Honda badge, I thought I just gotta have it,” Aller said. “Right now the business is just starting out but I have 30 cars that I just reserved in Japan. I’m gonna really keep hitting it hard and feel like this is going to work out good because there cars are really, very popular right now.”)