California has just created a black market for tires. They didn’t mean to, but they did.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Issues & Insights<\/a> posted an article on the new tire regulations in California.<\/p>\n The article reports:<\/p>\n Which state has the highest retail tire prices in the country?\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0not a data point that anyone, as far as we know, compiles, but artificial intelligence suggests that\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0California. What we can be sure about, though, is that in about three years, California drivers will be paying more for tires than they are today.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Significantly\u00a0more.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0happen because the tire makers and retailers will suddenly raise prices. It will happen because California\u2019s hyperactive government launched yet another new rule last week. Beginning in 2029, all new replacement tires sold in the state will have to be \u201cat least as energy efficient<\/a>, on average, as tires sold on new vehicles,\u201d according to the California Energy Commission, which bragged that it had \u201capproved the nation\u2019s first replacement tire efficiency standards.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Supposedly the rule will help consumers pocket extra cash due to the tires\u2019 low rolling resistance. The CEC estimates the savings will reach $1 billion<\/a> a year in gasoline and electricity costs.<\/strong><\/p>\n Companies that actually make tires and therefore might know what they are talking about say that the savings are a third-rate tall tale. The new compliant tires will cost far more than the few extra dollars each the CEC reckons. During the rule\u2019s comments period, Goodyear said prices could spike by hundreds of dollars per tire while the rule will eventually eliminate about 70% of current replacement tire market<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n The article concludes:<\/p>\n It\u2019s painfully obvious that California will regulate anything, without conscience, without prudence, without remorse, with no regard for the consequences. It\u2019s a single-party state where elected officials and unelected functionaries know no bounds.<\/strong><\/p>\n There are state lines, though, and Californians will cross them to buy the tires they want and the tires they can afford. Enterprising off-the-books merchants will buy contraband tires in Nevada, Arizona, Oregon and elsewhere and sell them in California outside the normal channels to avoid the regulators.<\/strong><\/p>\n Who knows, some might feel the rule is the straw that finally breaks their backs and sends them fleeing the state as so many others already have because policymakers continue to make living in California an intolerable burden.<\/strong><\/p>\n The California legislature is giving residents another reason to leave the state.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" California has just created a black market for tires. They didn’t mean to, but they did. On Wednesday, Issues & Insights posted an article on the new tire regulations in California. The article reports: Which state has the highest retail … Continue reading