California bureaucrats want you to believe they’re saving you money. That’s the sales pitch.
Buy the tires the government approves, use less energy, save money. That is a total joke.
Sounds great, until you ask the obvious question:
If these tires are really so much better, why do unelected bureaucrats have to eliminate your ability to buy the others?
California’s new replacement tire rules don’t just encourage drivers to buy more efficient tires. They create a government-controlled standard that will determine which replacement tires can and cannot be sold in the state. And by the time the stricter phase arrives, opponents warn that a massive percentage of the tires currently available to California drivers could disappear from the marketplace.
So let’s stop pretending this is simply about saving people money at the gas pump.
This is about the government deciding what choices you’re allowed to have. And California is selling it as a favor. And Gavin Newsom is supporting it.
The California Energy Commission says the program will reduce energy consumption and save drivers money. But that calculation assumes the government can force the market toward a narrower group of approved products without creating consequences for price, performance, durability and consumer choice.
That is a pretty big assumption when we’re talking about the only four pieces of rubber connecting your vehicle to the road.
And apparently, the people making these decisions think they know better than drivers, tire engineers, manufacturers, mechanics, performance enthusiasts, truck owners and anyone else who actually has to live with the consequences.
California regulators don’t have to take the tires off your car. They have figured out something much easier. Control what can be sold, and eventually control what you can buy.
Your existing tires aren’t suddenly illegal. Nobody is coming to your driveway with a tire gauge and a tow truck.
But when it’s time to replace those tires, the choices available at your local tire shop, dealership or online retailer could look very different.
And when the state tightens the standards again in 2033, that’s when this experiment gets really interesting. Because California isn’t just asking manufacturers to make better tires. It’s forcing manufacturers to meet a government-designed formula balancing rolling resistance, wet grip, performance and other requirements, while consumers are left wondering what happens to the tires that don’t fit inside Sacramento’s preferred box.
The people defending this regulation keep talking about efficiency. Fine. But tires are not appliances. You don’t plug them into the wall and measure how much electricity they consume.
Tires involve compromises. Grip; wet braking; dry braking; handling; ride quality; load capacity; durability; tread life; off-road performance; winter capability and price.
You don’t get to magically improve one characteristic without engineers having to balance it against everything else.
That is why there are thousands of different tires on the market. Customer each have different demands and that’s why there are choices.
A tire designed for a commuter car in Los Angeles does not need to do the same job as a tire on a pickup truck, a performance car, a family SUV, a vehicle driving through mountain snow or a car carrying a heavy load.
But California’s answer is increasingly simple:
We’ll decide what is efficient enough and what you must buy.
And if the tire you want doesn’t meet the state’s requirements? Too bad.
The bureaucrats have already made the decision for you. The danger here is not just the loss of choice.It’s the cost. The tire industry has already raised concerns and are completely against this policy. These requirements could make replacement tires substantially more expensive. When you eliminate products from a competitive marketplace and require manufacturers to redesign, test and certify products to meet a new regulatory standard, somebody pays.
And here’s a hint. It won’t be the California Energy Commission. It will be you. And I promise the price will be much higher.
The single mother trying to replace four worn tires or a college student driving an older car is not the same tire buyer as the
contractor with a work truck. Or the retiree trying to keep an aging vehicle safely on the road.
The small tire shop whose customers already ask one question before anything else: What’s the cheapest tire you’ve got?
California thinks those consumers need saving from their own decisions. That should concern everyone. Because when government bureaucrats start deciding that consumers cannot be trusted to choose between a more expensive, more efficient tire and a less expensive alternative, we’re no longer talking about consumer protection. We’re talking about control.
And California’s influence doesn’t stop at the state line. California is one of the largest vehicle markets in America. Manufacturers don’t always want to build one product for California and another for the rest of the country. We have discusses that with car brands and now its tires.
So when California creates a new regulatory standard, the consequences can spread far beyond California and it will. That’s why drivers in New York, Texas, Florida, Ohio, Arizona and everywhere else should be paying attention.
Today, it’s tires. Tomorrow, it will be something else connected to your car. California regulators are telling drivers this will save them money. That is a joke because we all know it will not!
The tire industry is warning about cost and availability. Drivers are already struggling with the price of vehicles, insurance, repairs, higher fuel costs (especially in California) and replacement parts. And Sacramento’s answer is to make another basic automotive necessity subject to government approval.
Here’s the question nobody inside the California Energy Commission seems interested in answering:
If these government-approved tires are truly cheaper and better for consumers, why not let consumers decide to buy them?
Why eliminate the competition or narrow the choices. So instead they create another government compliance system.
Why does an unelected commission get to decide which tires California families can buy for their own vehicles? Because once the government decides that your choices are too inefficient, too expensive, too dangerous or simply not environmentally acceptable in their eyes, your opinion becomes irrelevant.
They’ll make the decision for you. And then they’ll call it saving you money. Absurd.
California isn’t protecting drivers from expensive tires. It may be creating a marketplace where expensive tires are the only choices left. And if drivers can’t afford them? It could force them to drive across state lines and buy them there.
Apparently, that’s just another unintended consequence Sacramento will discover after the rules are already in place.
Check out my full commentary on this story: https://youtu.be/Yh70d5p3LaQ
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