Closing the barn door after the SUV is gone

The American love affair with big cars is well known.  Less well known is the fact that SUV's (with their appalling mileage) were not subject to the same emission standards and mileage regulations as other passenger vehicles because they were classified as trucks.

So now the Obama administration has finally ended this absurdity....as of 2016!!!   As of that model year SUV's will be subject to much more stringent regulations.  The minimum mileage requirement of 29 MPG is three times that of the Hummer.

This move is a welcome change and is long overdue.  However it is so long overdue that it is practically unnecessary.  High oil prices have sent SUV sales figures plunging.  People who drive these monstrous vehicles are met with dirty looks and open scorn.  People aren't buying them anymore.

The point has been made that the government funded bailouts of GM and Chrysler gave them the leverage needed to force through these regulations.  I wonder if it is lost on many that had these regulations been in place 10 years ago, GM might have been producing smaller cars sooner and may not have needed the bailouts when their profitable SUV divisions began bleeding red??

The SUV classification as light trucks survived the administration of a Texas oil President as well as that of a Bubba from Arkansas.  A cynic might suggest that the Obama administration made this "courageous" decision at a time when the SUV voters are fewer than ever.

Don't get me wrong.....i'm glad the classification was changed.  However any economic and environmental benefits have already largely been accrued by higher oil prices.  This change will have minimal effect.  The Feds have closed the barn door long after the horse is gone.