In the US: 1986 Honda City Turbo II "Bulldog"

North America was never privy to the Kei class of micro cars that Japanese automakers unleashed on their domestic market. Part of that makes sense: most Americans do highway driving, and most highway driving here is fast, hard and furious; in other words, impractical for all but the biggest and toughest of cars. On the other hand, there is something undeniably alluring about the compact dimensions, frugality and efficiency of cars like the Honda City.

The is a first generation City that debuted in 1981. The body was designed to be as tall as possible to fit four seated adults comfortably. It is over 6 inches shorter than the Civic of the same time.

Styling takes inspiration from the classic subcompact cars of Austin Cooper and Fiat but with a stark and an angular twist. No space is wasted, and everything is placed where it should be.

This particular example is the coveted Turbo II, which feature a wider track, flared fenders, special paint and matching alloy wheels. Underneath the hood is a turbocharged 1,231cc inline 4-cylinder ER engine that produces 108 horsepower to the front wheels.

It was also available with the Honda Motocampo, a tiny foldaway scooter that fit in the trunk. The seller has one such Motocampo and will include it in the sale for the right price. I can't ascertain whether it was the original unit sold with the vehicle or not, but it could be a neat inclusion if it's of use to the next owner.

The City was never officially sold in North America, so it's extremely unusual to see one here. The seller says this example was imported in 1987 and has a VIN from New Hampshire and a clear title and registration from Arizona.

The seller says they have restored the vehicle and it now has new fluids, timing belt, water pump and fuel system cleaned.

This is a rare car in above average condition. Japanese car collector's take extra notice.

Available here on ebay in Phoenix, Arizona with a Buy-It-Now of $15,000 and the Make Offer option.

2003 Suzuki Transrover

I love micro trucks! Why aren't we privy to these here? All of the major Japanese automakers offered "kei" cars in their domestic market. A couple of small vans were officially imported to North America, but I'm pretty sure we missed out on the micro pickup trucks, which are awfully well-built, fuel-efficient, and practical. Oh, and cute. But therein lies the problem. Try to win over the F-150 crowd with a cute pickup.

What I haven't seen before is a Suzuki variety, almost identical looking to what Honda and Toyota put out.

Although there are no badges I can make out on the vehicle, it appears to be an eighth generation Suzuki Carry, produced from 1985-1991, although the seller calls this a 2003 "Transrover" (which sounds cool at least). The year could very well be true, as these were sold under a variety of nameplates for a long time. They also say it is from the Philippines, so production could still be going on there. The Carry also hold the notability of being the only car in history to be sold as a Chevrolet and Ford at one point.

The seller says it has only 28,561 kilometers which is only about 17k miles. They say everything works great, and they are just getting rid of it because it was used in a scrap yard and they don't want to ruin it. It most likely has a small three or four-cylinder engine under the hood powering the rear wheels.

Unfortunately, having bought the vehicle in the Philippines and never used it on the road, the seller seems to have never registered it and do not have a title. But they have "all the papers from the Republic of the Philippines." Who knows what that means. But if you check with your DMV and see how they process vehicles that seemingly weren't properly imported, you may have an opening. Otherwise, this will only be good for use on your own private scrap yard lot.

See? It may be cute, but it was used for tough work after all.

Available here on ebay in Lebanon, Oregon with no bidders and a Buy-It-Now of $3,550.