3 ms·

I'm a bit worried about creation of a loophole similar to emission and safety exemptions for "light trucks" in the US that made SUVs and pick-up trucks explode

by pornel 4y ago

I'm a bit worried about creation of a loophole similar to emission and safety exemptions for "light trucks" in the US that made SUVs and pick-up trucks explode in popularity. A common-sense exemption for actual work tools ended up making it most profitable to promote and sell ridiculously oversized cars to everyone. In the end it backfired on both safety and emissions overall. An exemption for sports cars could similarly be abused and backfire if people who would prefer to continue driving their 4-cylinder cars will have only V12 as the only option.

hammock 4y ago
For those curious about "the loophole": In the 1970s, the United States government established regulations on vehicle emissions and safety standards through the Clean Air Act and the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. These regulations required automobile manufacturers to meet certain emissions and safety standards, which led to the production of smaller and more fuel-efficient cars. However, a loophole was created for "light trucks," which were exempt from many of these regulations. This exemption was intended to benefit small businesses and farmers who used pickup trucks and vans for their work. In the 1980s and 1990s, automakers started exploiting this loophole by producing larger and more powerful "light trucks" like SUVs and pickups. These vehicles were classified as "light trucks" even though they were often used for personal transportation rather than work purposes. Since these "light trucks" were exempt from many emissions and safety standards, automakers could produce larger and less fuel-efficient vehicles without facing the same penalties as they would for passenger cars. As a result, SUVs and pickups exploded in popularity, as consumers were drawn to their size, power, and perceived safety. This loophole has since been narrowed, and many SUVs and pickups now have to meet the same emissions and safety standards as passenger cars. However, the legacy of this exemption lives on, as SUVs and pickups continue to be popular in the United States.
- credit_guy 4y ago
  The way I was told the story, was that there were two exemptions, one for sports cars, and one for utility vehicles. So, just to be sure, the new cars were baptised "Sport Utility Vehicles", which is obviously non-sense, a vehicle cannot be at the same time both sports and utility.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - dylan604 4y ago
    What if your sport is competing with other utility outfits on how fast and how much you can achieve? This is exactly how loopholes are found. Forget the spirit of the law and look at the letter of the law.
l1tany11 4y ago
You could write it in such a way where there are constraints. In California you can register a kit car. These cars are not compliant with many regulations. However it’s limited to 500 a year. Which is nothing. Ferrari now makes 13k cars a year. The previous boss put the cap at 9k iirc. They don’t make as many as they can sell. Neither does Porsche. These companies can do just fine with production caps that are completely reasonable environmentally.
njarboe 4y ago
The selling trucks to everyone was probably more due to that fact that in 1964 the US imposed a 25% tax on imported light trucks to retaliate for a European tax on US chicken (google chicken tax). This highly motivated domestic manufactures to promote truck purchases (and later SUVs). 60 years of marketing and here we are. The tax is still in effect.

by pornel 4y ago

hammock 4y ago

For those curious about "the loophole": In the 1970s, the United States government established regulations on vehicle emissions and safety standards through the Clean Air Act and the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. These regulations required automobile manufacturers to meet certain emissions and safety standards, which led to the production of smaller and more fuel-efficient cars. However, a loophole was created for "light trucks," which were exempt from many of these regulations. This exemption was intended to benefit small businesses and farmers who used pickup trucks and vans for their work. In the 1980s and 1990s, automakers started exploiting this loophole by producing larger and more powerful "light trucks" like SUVs and pickups. These vehicles were classified as "light trucks" even though they were often used for personal transportation rather than work purposes. Since these "light trucks" were exempt from many emissions and safety standards, automakers could produce larger and less fuel-efficient vehicles without facing the same penalties as they would for passenger cars. As a result, SUVs and pickups exploded in popularity, as consumers were drawn to their size, power, and perceived safety. This loophole has since been narrowed, and many SUVs and pickups now have to meet the same emissions and safety standards as passenger cars. However, the legacy of this exemption lives on, as SUVs and pickups continue to be popular in the United States.

credit_guy 4y ago
The way I was told the story, was that there were two exemptions, one for sports cars, and one for utility vehicles. So, just to be sure, the new cars were baptised "Sport Utility Vehicles", which is obviously non-sense, a vehicle cannot be at the same time both sports and utility.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- dylan604 4y ago
  What if your sport is competing with other utility outfits on how fast and how much you can achieve? This is exactly how loopholes are found. Forget the spirit of the law and look at the letter of the law.

l1tany11 4y ago

You could write it in such a way where there are constraints. In California you can register a kit car. These cars are not compliant with many regulations. However it’s limited to 500 a year. Which is nothing. Ferrari now makes 13k cars a year. The previous boss put the cap at 9k iirc. They don’t make as many as they can sell. Neither does Porsche. These companies can do just fine with production caps that are completely reasonable environmentally.

njarboe 4y ago

The selling trucks to everyone was probably more due to that fact that in 1964 the US imposed a 25% tax on imported light trucks to retaliate for a European tax on US chicken (google chicken tax). This highly motivated domestic manufactures to promote truck purchases (and later SUVs). 60 years of marketing and here we are. The tax is still in effect.