Guest Post by Eric Peters
Dystopian movies are entertaining to watch – when reality isn’t dystopian. We snickered when John Spartan – Sylvester Stallone’s character in Demolition Man – was honored by his hosts with an evening out at . . . Taco Bell. In the dystopian future of 2032 portrayed in the movie, Taco Bell is the fanciest, most exclusive and only restaurant left. To dine there is considered a very special treat.
And it was – for the people of this dystopian 2032.
Because that’s all there was.
Everything had been consolidated and homogenized; what remained was very “exclusive.”
That was on film – and 31 years ago – when such a thing was only plausible in a dystopian future time.
Well, here we are – almost.
It is rather interesting to observe that the date portrayed in the 1993 movie – 2032 – is precisely the date given for our vehicular dystopia to arrive. It is the date by which two thirds of new vehicles manufactured will have to be at least partially electric (that is, hybrid-electric vehicles) because such vehicles are the only ones that can realistically be manufactured since only such vehicles stand any chance of complying with the tightening corset of federal regulations that will apply by then. The chief one being a really sneaky reg that is designed to effectively outlaw vehicles that aren’t at least partially electric – and the rest entirely electric and very expensive – without saying that quiet part out loud.
The regs don’t say it’ll be illegal come 2032 to manufacture vehicles that aren’t at least partially electric; they merely say the vehicles manufactured by that date must average better than 50 miles-per-gallon, an impossible trick for any vehicle that isn’t at least partially electric to perform. And even so, the only partially electric vehicles that can manage 50-plus MPG are small hybrids like the Toyota Prius. The rest will be culled – leaving only fully electric vehicles as the alternative to small hybrids such as the Prius.
In other words, people who’d like a large vehicle – such as a truck or an SUV – will have to be able to afford an electric one. Like the “electrified” version of the Cadillac Escalade, styled the “IQ” – which will sticker for in the vicinity of $130,000 to start when it becomes available later this year as a 2025 model. If that’s a bit rich, you might be able to afford the “electrified” iteration of the Chevy Silverado pickup, which you can buy right now for just shy of $80k.
If you can’t afford to buy it, you won’t be able to own it.
Bingo!
See how that works?
The federal government isn’t banning cars that aren’t at least partially electric. Look in vain for the law. There isn’t one. The evil little weevils who nest within the apparat of the federal government have gotten smart, in the way that a cockroach is smart enough to scurry back under the stove when someone turns on the light in the kitchen. They know it might get people’s backs up if they were to read in the paper that the federal apparat had declared it would be illegal, come 2032, to buy a vehicle with an engine (and nothing else).
They just say vehicles will need to average 50-plus MPG. Fait meet accompli.
This is how they silently got rid of the big (and big-engined) family sedans and wagons Americans used to routinely own – that Americans could afford in pre-weevil times. And liked very much. Combine the two and you have a reason for the manufacturers to offer them, which they did.
Lots of them.
They are all gone now. The last one of them – the Ford Crown Victoria, with space for six and a standard V8 – was retired after the 2011 model year. “Retired” isn’t really accurate, either. Ford stopped making them because Ford could no longer afford to continue making them.
Muscle cars – the real ones, which were really economy cars with big engines and a low price – have been gone for generations. There are still a few high-performance cars left, such as the Ford Mustang – but they are rich men’s cars now.
The rip-tide effect of this weeviling has been carrying us along toward a very real dystopian future that’s already here. Witness the Taco Belling – so to speak – of engines. It is already a kind of special treat to find a six cylinder engine under the hood of any car.
It used to be common to find a six under the hood of modestly prices family cars such as the Chevy Malibu and Ford Taurus and Toyota Camry.
There are no cars left on the market that still even offer a six cylinder engine for less than $50,000. This includes luxury-brand cars such as the BWW 5 Series, Mercedes E-Class and Audi A6. They all come standard with little fours.
Perfect for an evening out at Taco Bell.
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