Possibly. I don’t follow automakers generally, but I really wonder if you can be worse than cars with batteries that spontaneously combust while parked, or cars with batteries that are entirely unshielded and placed lower than the axel and fenders, making it the first thing to be hit by any debris on the road.
Considering the quality of Chinese EVs lately, we don’t even need to do tariffs. Just force random safety testing on them and we can basically bar the entire line. Simply include proper collision simulations and battery safety tests. These EVs already spontaneously combust in transit and there’s already been several container ships that’s gone up because of them.
Such tests can be universal and will help maintain local production quality as well.
Not to mention foreign slave labour that’s subsidized by a government intent on taking as much of the western world with them when they crash and burn.
Not only that, but Chinese industry is declining so hard right now that even the EV industry is on the verge of failing with record number of companies in the middle of shutting down, so relying on Chinese EVs is not just asking for destroying our local industries, but also have our supply vanish the moment the Chinese are unable to deliver once they can’t even get half the parts to build them due to all the tarrifs that are being put on them.
Then there’s there’s all the stories of Chinese EVs spontaneously combusting that keep popping up before being covered up. I think there’s been at least two cargo ships that went up after the EVs they were carrying suddenly caught fire, then all the thousands of EVs that caught fire after minor bumps due to a lack of safety features. Even the Russians are saying no to Chinese EVs lately due to how bad they are.
Interesting they’re blaming the Liberals when this decline’s been going on for at last two decades now, at least relative to global wealth. Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised to see that relative standard of living compared to the rest of the world, we’ve been declining the entire 40 years on average.
And looking at the trends, we’re headed right towards another recession on top of a housing bubble burst, so no matter what anybody tries, we’re looking at another decade of decline before there’s even a chance of things getting better. The moment the housing bubble crashes, we’re looking at a similar situation to Japan’s lost decades, and we can only hope to ride it out half as well as they have.
I have a strong suspicion that this won’t be a guaranteed income in the near future. There’s already human testing for life extension treatments, so it won’t be a surprise that in twenty years, we’ll see a serious decline of profits both for funeral homes and in elderly care facilities making them both rarities.
That said, I do think that cremation or something similar should be a subsidized if not a free government service. Being charged an arm for dealing with a tragedy is just plain exploitation and there should be alternatives for those who aren’t in the best positions. There’s already so much paperwork and other things people have to deal with, it’s a wonder that this hasn’t been a major public issue for decades now.
Considering that Brexit got through and that’s exactly what’s happening in the UK (amongst countless other problems), don’t bet against them trying something stupid like this (regardless of when or who’s in power).