Does anyone remember that Trump promised Americans they’d soon be able to buy what he called Tiny Cars? The term does not really refer to size as much as compliance. The Tiny Cars Trump talked about are vehicles – often but not exclusively small – that are available in Japan, Europe, India and Central and South America but aren’t available here because they do not comply with various federal mandates, such as the one requiring multiple air bags (never mind whether people want to buy them).
Which is why they are inexpensive. Which is the real reason why we’re not allowed to by them.
There’s a whole roster of cost-adding line-items postulated by the federal bureaucracy that must be complied with before any vehicle is legal to offer for sale here. Note the italics, which are there to emphasize the fact that no one has ever been forced to buy a vehicle without air bags or the various other federally mandated line-items people are forced to buy. In other words, there was at one time the freedom to choose whether it was worth spending the extra money to buy a car with air bags – back when they were optionally available. Some (not many) did choose to pay extra for the air bags because it was worth it – to them. But if someone didn’t want to, they didn’t have to. Like the way people were once free to wear seat belts – or not.
As it ought to be.
After all, it is their “safety” – and their money – and people have a right to buy whatever they wish to buy with their money. That used to be part of what was once called the American Way. It was also why Americans used to say, it’s a free country.
Note that no one says this anymore.
Because choice has been outlawed. More finely, it has been out-regulated. If you want a new vehicle, you have to pay extra for the air bags (as well as all of the other line-items mandated by the federal government). This is why you cannot buy a Tiny Car. Never mind whether you want one.
The government says this is al for your own good, of course. The same government that said the drugs they pushed on people that didn’t immunize anyone but did injure tens of thousands (possibly millions) of people were “safe” and “effective.” Note that the government also tried mightily to deny us the choice as to whether to be injected with those drugs, too. It also denied us the choice to enter stores that people were never forced to enter, if they were afraid of catching a cold.
Anyhow, the cars Trump promised – in his usual glib, unserious way – would be available are obviously not available. Technically, he promises they could be made here. As if that mattered given they cannot – legally – be sold here. They are like the $5,000 rebate checks Trump said the government would be sending us all, courtesy of the Department of Government Efficiency – which has disappeared along with Trump’s other campaign trail promises.
They are never going to be available, either. Not unless the regulatory compliance regime is dismantled – and that stands about the same chance of happening as us getting those $5,000 DOGE rebate checks and the IRS being abolished because the federal government gets all the money it needs to function via Trump’s tariffs.
One of the chief reasons why the regulatory regime will not be dismantled, by the way, is because the car companies that benefit (that profit) from its existence would never allow it. They would howl bloody murder and – much more to the point – wield their lobbying power to assure such a dismantling will never happen. Why? Because of this thing called regulatory capture. It’s an arcane term economist use to describe a situation in which established players benefit from regulations that are too onerous and costly for would-be competitors to comply with. In the current context, regulatory capture means it would be a competitive disadvantage for the established car companies that currently (effectively) own the market for new vehicles in the United States to have to deal with the competition from low-cost Tiny Cars that are low-cost to a great extent because they do not have air bags and did not have to be designed around air bags.
Put another way, it would make government-approved/air-bag-laden cars uncompetitive. It would impose pressure on the established car companies to cut costs, in order to make what they have to sell competitive with the non-compliant cars. This would be very difficult for them to do, by the way – because the vehicles they have to offer were designed around the air bags and so merely deleting the bags would only trim a little expense. The sunk costs are just that.
Trump could exempt what he styles Tiny Cars from the air bag regs – as well as the other regs – but do you suppose the established car companies would ever stand for that? In such a scenario, they’d be stuck trying to sell their air bag-equipped vehicles vs. much cheaper cars without them.
Besides – as a matter of precedent as well as of principle – if the federal government were to grant an exemption from any regulation pertaining to “safety,” it would at a stroke undermine the government’s prior, decades’ long insistence that such regs are necessary for “safety.” It would be something like the feds granting an exemption from income taxes for some people – but not others.
That’s not going to happen, either. The government letting go of power i has acquired would be something like Abe Lincoln agreeing that the Southern Confederacy had a right to leave the union.
It’s a shame it was all talk.
But then, that’s how they keep us voting for them every four years. Just the same as Lucy keeps Charlie Brown believing that – this time – he’ll actually get to kick the football.
. . .
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Do you have a point or are you just trying to blackpill / shame people into not voting? Doomer_Coomer.jpg
Tomorrow I will feed the scantron into the machine so that my vote is counted toward the predetermined outcome. Fraction Magic!
Check this out – a pretty practical electric car which actually looks nice (except its will never be allowed in the west!)
https://youtube.com/shorts/TbLcaf5I0LE?si=
trump promises expire in 24 hours
It’s a shame the Republicans don’t control the House, the Senate, and the Presidency.
Because they could just easily pass laws if that was the case.
https://i.postimg.cc/7w5mkjpR/x6Brn-EV.png
Also, regulatory capture is when the entities that a government agency is supposed to regulate somehow gain control over the regulatory agency. The FDA is a prime example of this.
Other examples of regulatory capture include the CDC, FCC, etc., and yet for years, we’ve been made to believe that without these government agencies, those industries would “Run wild” lol.
Trump’s promises? Trump says all kinds of things – in this video a doctor diagnosis Trump as delusions of grandeur going psychotic:
Why Trump’s Delusions Are So Dangerous: Therapist | The Daily Beast Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWZtInPMrjs
Before Trump went off the deep end, he is a con artist, he loves to make grandios promises so people love and worship him as savior, but when it comes to policy he slips
Trump gets his advice from this thing:
https://i.imgur.com/tEoCOI6.jpeg
“Trump could exempt what he styles Tiny Cars from the air bag regs – as well as the other regs . . . “
Uhm. No he can’t.
This is why we can’t have nice things
Except for two (steering wheel & passenger side dashboard) there is no actual law requiring airbags.
The rest of them are in there in order to comply with various administrative regulations. Which the president absolutely could modify or eliminate with the strike of a pen and a phone call.
It seems rules are impossible to relax with the government, it’s like a ratcheting strap of oppression.
All those additional airbags aren’t required, directly, but they are used to pass NHTSA side impact standards, and the IIHS gives cars better ratings if they have various additional kinds of airbags. So, if Trump (or anyone) relaxes these rules, just imagine the screaming, “Trump allows car companies to kill passengers”, or more likely, “Removal of airbag mandates disproportionally harms black, trans, lesbians”.
I’m sure there would be such screaming. Heck, there have been people screaming over the recent reduction of “Recommended vaccinations” for children…..people screaming hysterical reactions like “Trump and RFK Jr want children to DIE from vaccine preventable diseases!”
And he just can’t endanger his 2028 re-reelection campaign…
We vote, because we have (pretty much) agreed that it is better to check in with the people and throw them a bone once in a while, than to run the risk of angry mobs burning down warehouses & worse.
That is, more or less, the agreement.
Which, in case no one has noticed, has been breaking down for quite some time now.
I’ll take one of those $20k Dolphin Mini models that are hot sellers south of the border.
They probably do fight repealing the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, the existence of the FMVSS and NTSHA no doubt prevents new competitors entering the market.
Can’t imagine the car companies care either way about kei & tiny cars.
Japanese manufacturers of them are Honda, Mazda, Suzuki, Toyota, Subaru. But they aren’t exclusive, Ford, GM, Fiat, Citroen, Renault, VW makes tiny cars for China and Europe.
I’d think if anything allowing them would bolster their bottom lines, selling a small car that they’ve already designed for a global market is better than selling no car.
They have to know there’s a market worth it. A few frothing at the mouth enthusiasts on a microtruck forum is in the noise for them. They mostly have imported a 25 year old one under the exemption clause so they’re probably not going to buy a new one anyway.
Manufacturers have to know tens of thousands of actual customers are interested.
They seem to think there is more profit in very expensive vehicles being mass produced for tens of customers.
I’m not sure why.
But the situation is reverting to something like it was pre-Henry Ford. Yes he was a jackass (every important person is, it’s as much of a law as gravity) but he revolutionized the entire economy.
Cuz its all bout the BANK LOAN.
The Brownstone Institute had a good piece up recently making the case that these various government agencies, such as the FDA, have been doing what’s in the best interest NOT of the masses, but the interests of the industries they supposedly regulate. The same could be said of the CDC (as seen during COVID), the FCC, and other government agencies, and yet, there are people who think that if these various government agencies were eliminated, corporations would run wild. The ironic thing is, many corporations, such as Big Pharma and Big Food, are “running wild” WITH the existence of these agencies.
https://brownstone.org/articles/what-if-the-fda-were-eliminated/
Democrats running for office have been doing much the same thing for years. They promise voters X, but after getting into office, Y happens instead. A good example of that would be former president Barack Obama, who also ran on “No more wars!” but we had MORE wars under him than under his predecessor, George W Bush. Obama also expanded the security/ surveillance state that was launched under his predecessor. And yet, there are people who STILL think that putting Democrats back in power is THE answer to the problems we’re facing.
One thing Democrats running for political office are laughably running on this year is “Affordability”, but many Democrat governors & politicians have been shoving all sorts of new and increased taxes down their citizens’ throats, claiming it will only affect the wealthy, that it’s necessary to stop _____, solve _____, or fund a particular state government department. But what usually happens when new taxes are passed or existing taxes go UP? Practically everything gets MORE expensive, and yet, people buy the narratives around taxes over and over again.
Putting the FMVSS in the shredder might be a start but, you’d have to dismantle the DOT and the EPA and salt the fields where they stood to have a chance of ending this regulatory madness.
Bottom line, GovCo is disease. The regulators are the symptom. Instead of trimming the branches we need to hack at the root…I’ve heard that somewhere…
‘The cars Trump promised – in his usual glib, unserious way – would be available are obviously not available.’ — eric
It is long past time to expect consistency from a vain, mentally ill narcissist. This week he has been brutally mocked for posting a meme of himself with Jesus, and spewing abuse at the pope. So in typical gilded hypocrite fashion, the Orange Flake is going all biblical on us:
‘On April 21, President Trump is scheduled to read Scripture via video message from the Oval Office during the 6 p.m. EST hour, followed by Dr. Ben and Candy Carson. The President will read from 2 Chronicles 7:11–22.’
https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/articles/president-donald-trump-read-scripture-030200401.html
Savor some of the words in this ancient rant, which concerns the mythical King Solomon:
’17 If you will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules, 18 then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.’
‘[but if not] 21 Everyone passing by will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ 22 Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.’
Uggghhh. This passage concerns Israel — the Judeans of 2,500 years ago, not the apartheid state founded in 1948 — though many ziotards won’t get the distinction. As usual with the tribal god Yahweh, admonitions are accompanied by dire threats of destruction, as well as absurd claims of past favors such as parting the waters of the Red Sea to ‘bring them out of Egypt.’ Because of their two-and-a-millennia hatred of Egypt, we Americlowns have to pay $2 billion a year to the odious Egyptian dictatorship to leave little Shitrahell alone.
Don’t even think about reading the verses preceding this passage, in which Solomon sacrifices 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep in a barbarian orgy of burnt offerings and smoldering animal fat. This Bronze Age horseshit makes me sick. God damn Trump for reading this vile heresy.
Indeed, Jim!
And then we have Hegseth reciting “Biblical” quotes from Pulp Fiction!
It might be harmless if their holy book was Winnie the Pooh or The Velveteen Rabbit. Nothing bad would come of twisting and distorting those tales.
But the Old Testament contains some vile hate literature, as well as constant, confounding references to ‘Israel’ which the little secular apartheid state gleefully exploits to rape, destroy and murder.
Tamer Nahed
@Tamer_Alnoaizy
‘One of the most brutal scenes in human history was captured live on broadcast.
‘Paramedics tried to rescue the journalists who were targeted inside the hospital. As soon as the rescue operation began, an Israeli soldier targeted them again.
‘A moment the world must never forget.’
https://x.com/Tamer_Alnoaizy/status/2044925677309141479
To our eternal shame, we subsidize this sadistic butchery. And Trump cheers it on.
‘two-and-a-half millennia’ hatred of Egypt
Now maggie gets to hear their big daddy the traitor piss vile jew pseudoreligious garbage die rectly in their ears.
Yaaay!
Figures Trumpenstein will read from the Old Testament; I suggest he read 1Samuel 8-16, where it lists all the wonderful things a king will do, as in be careful what you wish for, you might get it good and hard..
I think your timeline is a little off. Solomon was more like 2,900 years and change ago. Moses and the Exodus somewhere between 3,200 and 3,400 years and change ago. I lean more toward the earlier date.
But I’m being nit-picky. A strong case *can* be made that the modern state of Israel is *not* to be confused with the biblical nation.
Hows that old saying go? “Promising the fools much and delivering them little makes the fools happy” or something like that. The more I hear a politician promise something, the more I know that I’m hearing a future lie.
Apparently on April 17, 1964: The Ford Mustang was formally introduced, with a base price of $2,368.
In a totally unrelated question: Does anyone have any experience with FCS or Top Notch struts from Rock Auto? I had a catastrophic strut failure yesterday on my old car. I’m OK, the car seems OK but I need a new front tire and strut, sway bar links too as the old ones will never unbolt. They don’t have a matched set of Monroe’s or Gabriel’s available. I’ve tried the ones from Napa but the spring height was wrong for the car.
Sorry to hear about the car, Landru –
Rock Auto seems to have an ok reputation; the stuff I have bought from them has been ok. Hopefully, others will chime in as well. I will ask my mechanic friend what he recommends.
Thanks. I pulled the Contour out of storage yesterday so I’ve got wheels again. Looks like the AT205 Reseal worked in the tranny as it didn’t dump fluid on the floor over the winter. The rust is creeping deeper into the underside of the Camry which is why I’m looking at the more budget minded parts instead of Moog. With close to 200K on the original but well maintained drivetrain I probably wouldn’t put a tranny or engine into her now.
what is the year make and model? (I hate sounding like the pimply clerk at AdvanceAutoReillyZone)
2002 Camry, base model.
You might try Detroit Axle. I used them once for an ’03 Mazda Protege5 suspension parts and was very satisfied.
Here’s a link to camry suspension kit
https://tinyurl.com/3ve8xn87
Thanks.
Car-part.com, enter make, model and year and the part required and it will list all the salvage yards in North America that have the part and phone numbers to get in touch.
NS, thanks for the car part tip!
You’re welcome
I have used FCS struts on a RX350 and a 2013 Pilot. They operated very well on the 350 but on the pilot, they didn’t seem to do anything.
They’re a cheap alternative to KYB and deliver a similar ride. I don’t think KYB is all that its cracked up to be.
The FCS struts seem to make a little noise on the Pilot. for that car, they get a C. On the 350, they were an A-. It might be the car, not the strut. Or I got a better set on the Lexus (that’s sold now). Hope that helps.
KYB = Kills your back
Keep Your Bilsteins
Did the struts on the daughters Acura MDX, twice R&R due to upper mount creak (KYB). Lots of lube, back to OEM Honda upper mounts. Also the tie rod ends were iffy also made noise. Rear shocks lower bolt impossible to remove that went to a shop. I’ve never seen anything so difficult to sort out, what a PITA. Rides OK the stock struts were a better ride.
BTW, never, I mean NEVER EVER IN A MILLION YEARS, buy from Parts Geek.
You’ve been warned.