1958–2010s · partial research
360 & Kei-Car Lineage
Japan's first mass-produced kei car and the small-displacement lineage that followed it — the 360, R-2, Rex, Sambar, Vivio, and Pleo — almost entirely a JDM story, with the 360's brief and famously rocky US import chapter as the exception.
Scope
Japan-first; the 360 was imported to the US 1968–1970 by Malcolm Bricklin's Subaru of America. R-2, Rex, Sambar, Vivio, and Pleo were JDM-only.
Coveragepartial as of 23 July 2026
Chassis and generation ledger
The researched eras
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01
1958–1970
360 →
Japan's first mass-produced kei car; imported to the US 1968–1970.
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02
1969–1981
R-2 / Rex →
Kei-car successors to the 360, JDM-only.
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03
1961–present
Sambar
Long-running kei van/truck; later generations Daihatsu-based.
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04
1992–1998
Vivio
Includes the supercharged RX-R performance trim.
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05
1998–2010
Pleo
First generation Subaru-built; later generation Daihatsu-based.