"Outlaw your car" sounds like such an outrageous phrase, and technically speaking, it isn't true — but only barely. What practical difference is there between outlawing something, and regulating it out of existence?
That's exactly what the EPA intends to do this week with strict new rules going forward against gas- and diesel-powered cars and light trucks.
Expected as soon as Wednesday, the Biden EPA "is poised to finalize emissions rules that will effectively require a certain percentage — as much as two-thirds by 2032 — of new cars to be all-electric," according to Inside EVs. Politico sells the expected rule as one that would "tackle the nation’s biggest source of planet-warming pollution and accelerate the transition to electric vehicles."
The rule would require carmakers to cut their average emissions of carbon dioxide by 52% between 2027 and 2032. EPA projects that the standard would push the car industry to ensure that electric cars and light trucks make up about 67% of new vehicles by model year 2032.
Originally set to be announced in April of 2023, but again according to Inside EVs, it "received a strong rebuttal from dealer groups, car manufacturers, and petroleum companies."
"Many said the U.S. was not 'ready' for such an aggressive EV push, as prices remained higher than internal combustion cars on average and the nation's charging infrastructure is rather lacking."
Under the new rules that the EPA is set to announce, that will all change — not by making EVs any cheaper but by imposing such strict emissions requirements on gas and diesel engines that most buyers won't be able to afford a traditional car or light truck in the years after 2027.
And, if we're being brutally honest, right now the EV industry needs all the official help it can get from Washington. Despite billions of dollars in tax credits for EV purchases, sales seem to be plateauing. Tesla's rapid growth has stalled like a Model 3 in an arctic blast, Fisker automotive has "paused" manufacturing of new vehicles while it tries to secure new funding, Ford is moving away from EVs production in a big way, and Toyota is looking smarter than ever for keeping most of its focus on hybrid vehicles.
I'd also add that despite even more billions in subsidies to build more EV charging stations, they aren't exactly sprouting like mushrooms all up and down the nation's interstate highway system as promised.
Environmentalists were of course disappointed when the Biden administration failed to impose its EV vision on the nation last year. There might have been a political motivation in the delay, waiting until an election year to finalize its big push to force EVs on us whether we want them or not.
I could be wrong, but what the timing indicates to me is that the White House wants this rule to rally Biden's EV-loving base (not to mention the grifters and parasites profiting off the mandates), while giving the broader public time to forget before November rolls around.
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