The other day, Trump promised to “roll back” federal gas mileage requirements (CAFE) but – as per usual with Republicans – not get rid of them altogether. That way, they can be rolled forward when the guard changes again. That is how mending – but not ending – works. But there is something Trump could do to actually help Americans struggling with the near-doubling of the cost of gas his decision to start this war triggered.
He could live up to his promise to make it so Americans could buy Tiny Cars – his term for the class of small, inexpensive cars (most cost around $15k or less) thhat are easy-on-gas (most average 40-plus MPG) that Americans aren’t allowed to buy – because no car company is allowed to sell them to Americans.
They are allowed to sell them to pretty much everyone else.
Does anyone remember Trump’s promise? I know – it’s hard to keep track of all the ones he hasn’t kept. Like the promise to not start wars in the Middle East.
Well, what Trump promised was that he would make it so that any company that wanted to manufacture Tiny Cars in America could do that. It was an interesting promise, because nothing legally prevented any company that wanted to from manufacturing Tiny Cars in America. The thing is, why would they do that when they’re not allowed to sell them to Americans? They have to be shipped to other countries, where the people are free – that word! – to buy them and that would cause them to be more expensive because it costs more to manufacture just about everything (aside from porn) in America and then the cars would have to be shipped to the other countries where people are free to buy them. That makes about as much sense as ordering sushi from Japan.
But – to be fair to Trump – he did deliver on his promise. It’s just that most people thought he was promising something else. This is Trump’s art. He says things that people want to believe he said. When he says – as a for-instance – that he’s going to “roll back” federal gas mileage requirements (CAFE) many people believe it means these requirements are going to be ended. They also want to believe the “rolling back” will take effect right away or at least soon. They do not understand that it takes years for the “rolling back” to take effect – if it ever does – because it’s not like the car companies can just change their model lineup like that – snap finger – and ship a new lineup of different models to their dealerships. Even if Trump’s “rolling back” isn’t rolled back the other way in a little more than two years from now – when there is at least a 50-50 chance that the next federal supremo will be opposed to Trump’s having rolled them back and will just roll them forward again – it would take about four years for the effects of Trump’s “roll back” to be noticeable at new car dealerships.
That’s the best-case scenario.
The worst case – for the car companies – would be rolling the dice on that 50-50 chance the edicts won’t be rolled forward come 2028 – and losing that gamble. In that case, they’d have thrown a lot (say it like Trump gripping the podium) of money at R&D and tooling up to make new vehicles that will suddenly be difficult to manufacturer and sell due to the shifting political (regulatory) winds.
Would you gamble potentially billions on a 50-50 shot?
Probably not. Probably the car companies aren’t going to, either. In which case, Trump’s “roll back” amounts to nothing – of a piece with his promise that Americans were going to get a $5,000 DOGE rebate based on all the “savings” uncovered by Big Balls and his team. And that promise about how Americans’ energy costs would be cut in half. Maybe Trump believes these things when he says them. Perhaps because he believes – in his glib and facile way – that it’s just that easy to promise (and deliver) such things.
When he can’t deliver, he just forgets he promised.
He could, however, fulfill his Tiny Car promise – because it would not require a vast wheeling around of mighty industrial machinery, a tooling up to make new things. All it would take is for Trump to lift the currently-in-force regulations that effectively bar Tiny Cars from being sold in America. These regulations chiefly pertain to what is styled “safety” but in fact what’s at issue is whether the Tiny Cars have multiple air bags, back-up cameras and can roll on their roofs without the roofs crushing – among other such criteria that have to do with crashworthiness, which is not the same thing as “safety.” A car without air bags and so on may not offer as much occupant protection if there is a crash as a car with air bags and so on; but that doesn’t have any bearing on whether the car is more likely to crash. Smaller cars are inherently less crashworthy than larger (sturdier) cars. But smaller cars have the virtue of being more agile, which is a help when it comes to avoiding crashes – and they are usually lighter, which generally means they use less gas.
There are Americans who would probably like to be able to buy a car like that – even if it doesn’t offer the same degree of crash protection. Neither does a motorcycle – and Americans are still allowed to buy and ride them. So why shouldn’t Americans be allowed to buy and drive a Tiny Car, if they want to?
After all, a Tiny Car is safer than a motorcycle. And no one would be forced to buy a Tiny Car – just as no one is forced to buy a motorcycle. The freedom to choose would be there, that’s all.
Of course, that’s a term lately in disrepute. Which is why Trump’s promise will not be kept.
Again.
. . .
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