Posted on 08/26/2026 5:43:21 PM PDT by BenLurkin
California-based tire giant Dunlop has compared the state’s sweeping new green tire mandate to its dud High-Speed Rail project — warning officials to prove it works before forcing the rules on millions of drivers.
Darren Thomas, president and CEO of Dunlop Tires North America, issued a withering rebuke of California’s newly approved replacement-tire efficiency rules in remarks to the California Post.
Thomas said regulators risk repeating the mistakes of California’s massively over-budget bullet train by pursuing environmental goals without sufficiently testing the real-world consequences.
...
The tire boss implied that the new rules, which will phase out the sale of replacement tires that don’t meet the state’s energy-efficiency standards, were rushed through for the wrong reasons.
The rules by the California Energy Commission target a tire’s “rolling resistance,” or how much energy it takes to keep a tire moving down the road. Lower resistance means cars use less gas or electricity from better mileage, which Democrats claimed will help affordability and reduce emissions.
But that ban on high-resistance replacement tires, which kicks in 2029, has sparked backlash as critics warn of a surge in prices as the industry scrambles to replace as much as 70% of the tire market.
Thomas told The Post that meeting the rolling-resistance requirements is technically feasible. The problem, he added, is that the rules don’t truly consider what happens to the tire’s other aspects, such as traction, weather performance or tread life.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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Will their fuel efficient tires cause more crashes when people cannot STOP as quickly?
Retire Newscum.
The point here is not “tire efficiency”. It is to destory car ownership with impossible destotic “mandates’.
Or frosty roads at higher altitudes when the car flies off the cliff.
How about when drivers stop replacing their tires because they have become so expensive. Bald tires and blowouts can be expected to cause more injuries and deaths.
Then they have to buy newer vehicles that are more complex with government mandates or not be able to afford a car at all.
the democrats are now tire experts ,LOL
Rolling resistance = traction
EVs use up tires a lot faster because of the extra weight of the vehicle and don’t forget the damage to the roads
Exactly.
A steel rim on asphalt will have Gavin Newsom "rolling resistance".
Not to mention destroying car ownership and despotic mandates!
I’ve read that EV tires wear out 20% faster than regular tires. Plus there’s the increased road damage, as you noted.
But all this will be a moot point once every major California city is connected by high-speed rail.
Projected cost: Zillions
Projected completion date: Never
Outlaw boiling water.
Yep, I run all terrain tires on my four wheel drive Jeep because I live in snow country here in California. The mandated tires would be extremely dangerous in my area during Winter not to mention killing the four wheel drive industry including tourism in California.
Somewhat related to this; does anyone know how, that is, what rule, regulation, etc., has made it so that cars have headlights that can make Stevie Wonder see, while the rest of us become Stevie Wonder? FFS one cannot walk the streets in an urban environment, stop to look down the street to see if it’s okay to cross, and not be blinded by these modern headlights. Just who is responsible for this; or, is it entirely the response of the industry, for “efficiency”?
I wouldn’t mind the government making all these decisions if the weren’t so stupid,
It’s like making toilets use only 1.5gal.
You should outlaw boiling water. It’s just a huge waste of energy. You can’t make the water any hotter
rebuke of earl
Winnie Mandela was partial to Firestone.
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