as much as i hate Tesla this is a pretty blatant attack on Tesla by Trump
i guess The Donald never really got over Elon calling him a pedophile
Elon really should learn to watch his fucking mouth or quit drugs
Basically until now Tesla used to sell credits to other car companies so they could cover their shortfall of not being able to meet CAFE standards … this was major source of revenue for Tesla … now not only have CAFE standards been relaxed by a whopping 15 mpg but the trading of credits itself was scrapped completely …
This not only eliminates a major source of revenue for Tesla but also makes it much harder for Tesla to compete with companies like GM now that they no longer have to aim for insane 50 mpg standards …
They are also closing the loophole that made car companies switch from cars to crossovers … the article says it is estimated that cars ( as opposed to SUVs ) market share will grow from 30% to 70% … this is HUGE
so to summarize these changes are really bad for Tesla, not so great for SUVs and really great for Sedans
expect to see the extinct American sedan come back from the grave while Tesla heads nowhere
1 Like
to give you some perspective the old target was 50 MPG which is what Camry Hybrid has been getting for almost a decade now and Hybrid is now the standard and only available drivetrain on the Camry. Under old target of 50 MPG automakers would have to either build EVs or buy credits from Tesla basically for every car that is less efficient than Camry Hybrid.
NOW with the 35 MPG target it’s closer to that of regular ( non-hybrid ) Accord which has 32 MPG
which means that Automakers will be able to sell mostly regular cars ( like Accord ) and cover the shortfall with a small number of Hybrids ( like Camry ). no EVs will be needed.
my guess is of course in 2028 AOC or some other democrat will win and change the regulations again but as things stand right now EVs, SUVs and Tesla are fucked in US, and even Hybrid market share will probably shrink.
the new regulation heavily favors regular sedans like Honda Accord.
Maybe with sedans getting a regulatory boost we will also see a resurrection of the station wagon as well.
that’s definitely a logical assumption but unfortunately literally like a week or two ago i have finally given up on my SUV hate and now want an SUV
so long as the SUV is BMW XM of course
what might happen though with these regulations is we may get a new type of vehicle altogether …
a Crossover was already a hybrid of Wagon and SUV … and now we may get a hybrid of wagon and Crossover …
basically carmakers had to jump through certain hoops to have their vehicle classified as “light truck” in order to be eligible for more lenient economy standards … but if that goes away people might still want Crossover STYLE vehicles but they will not need to be designed with any kind of meaningful ground clearance anymore for example … which could improve ride and handling while still giving people tall riding position they like and the associated safety and interior space …
and as i said these regulatory changes were made by republicans and can just as easily be undone by the democrats who are poised to take over …
however everyone in the industry knew that the loophole that allowed crossovers to avoid fuel economy standards of cars was stupid … i believe now that the loophole is closed they will never be able to open it again … when it was originally created Crossovers basically didn’t exist … they were created BY this loophole and ended up taking over the entire market … so when it was originally created it seemed like no big deal because hardly anybody drove SUVs back then … but by current year it was obvious to EVERYBODY it was a huge mistake …
so i believe the lesson was learned and the mistake won’t be repeated.
rather what democrats will probably do is they will raise the MPG targets back up and also restart the trading of the credits.
also i think Elon will go in hard on the side of democrats in 2028. his bet on Trump was one of the worst mistakes of his life.
if everything goes as i think it will ( democrats repealing most of the changes but keeping some ) we will still have EVs and Crossovers but Crossovers will have lower ground clearance and better aerodynamics while Sedans will make a partial comeback however it won’t be a complete reversal from SUVs back to sedans … because once you’re used to the tall driving position it’s hard to go back.
OK i am confused now.
Elon is sitting next to Trump giving his usual pitch about how everything will be awesome if you just give him more money etc.
I thought trump kicked him to the curb ?
Or did Elon himself give up on Electric Cars ?
Is it all about “autonomy” now ?
Should i read the art of the deal ?
I won’t though.
1 Like
re: SUVs, I thought there were serious issues with BMW engines that you have discussed in the past?
BMW reliability is roughly average for premium cars
Japanese cars are most reliable. Italian and British cars most UN-reliable. German cars in the middle. Only an insane person would get a Range Rover or Maserati out of warranty but when it comes to German cars vs Lexus you trade off reliability for performance so it’s a trade-off.
as for BMW versus German rivals like Audi, Porsche and Mercedes - it is less reliable than Mercedes, about as bad as Audi, and cheaper to fix than Porsche.
Reliability is NOT a core value for BMW but they aren’t incompetent like the British and Italians, nor do they make their cars expensive to fix on purpose like Porsche.
Mercedes is the German brand you’re most likely to be able to keep on the road in the long term - the problem is Mercedes doesn’t make good plug in hybrid SUVs … and their plug-in Hybrid sedans and wagons while good are not made in USA which means they are subject to 15% tariff
only SUVs ( from both Mercedes and BMW ) are made in USA
what BMW XM has going for it is that it’s a Plug-in Hybrid that is made in USA.
i drove the BMW X5 Plug-in Hybrid and it was TOO SOFT. i didn’t feel confident - it kept feeling like it’s about to roll over - and in fact in the Moose Test:
the X5 leaned so much the wheels momentarily lifted off the ground completely …
by contrast the XM
is completely planted
now obviously if you get X5M it will NOT be sloppy but it’s not a Plug-in Hybrid. i also don’t like that X5 body was designed to accommodate the optional 3rd row and because of that has very ugly roof line that is too tall in the back. for the new generation 2027 X5 they dropped the 3rd row option and the roof line is normal now, but a new X5 is more expensive than used XM and will probably still be sloppy.
anyway it’s not like i actually have money i am just engaged in these theoretical debates with myself …
1 Like
