I wouldn't say they're growing on trees over there, but those kinds of vans aren't abnormal in the asian countries. When I visited Japan, a lot of the minivans had real bashing bumpers and 4 low.
Auto manufacturers are already selling vehicles in the US which aren't legal in CA, look at the diesel liberty.
Also, it's not uncommon to see minivans and regular cars with snorkels in tropical hurricane regions. When I was in Grand Cayman last summer practically every car there had a snorkel.
