President Trump appeared to say that Americans are going to be allowed — isn’t it great? — to buy small, inexpensive vehicles that are not currently available for sale in America, because it is illegal to sell them in America. Models such as the little pickup made by Toyota — the HiLux — being one of them. Also, the so-called “Kei” cars, which are abundant in Japan but unavailable here. “You’re not allowed to build them,” the president said, which isn’t exactly true. The manufacturers — Toyota, for instance — could build them here. There’s nothing illegal about that. The illegality occurs when a manufacturer of a non-compliant vehicle — i.e., a vehicle that does not meet every single Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) and federal “emissions” requirement (which these days means chiefly the “emissions” of carbon dioxide, which has nothing to do with pollution) — offers it for sale. Specifically, offers it for sale for use on what are styled “public” — meaning government-owned — roads. (RELATED: Longing for the Era of Economy Cars and Real Fuel Efficiency) It is legal to buy vehicles like the Roxor, which looks like the original WWII-era Willys Jeep. And what are called side-by-sides, such as the Can Ams you can find at motorcycle stores. But they are only legal for off-road use. (RELATED: Less Is Still Too Much) “I have authorized the secretary (of transportation) to immediately approve the production of these cars,” Trump said on Wednesday. Italics added. “Approving the production” is not the same thing as allowing the sale. “Approving the production” is not the same thing as allowing the sale. As explained above, there is no law precluding any vehicle manufacturer from producing vehicles in America that aren’t legal for use in America — on “public” roads, at least. The reason that vehicles such as the HiLux Champ are not produced in America is that it makes no economic sense to produce them here, for two ought-to-be-obvious reasons. The first being it would be absurd to produce a vehicle meant for use on public roads that cannot be used on public roads, because it couldn’t be sold in numbers high enough to make it worth trying to sell them. It’s fine to buy a Roxor or side-by-side if you have a farm or enough land to knock around on — and enough money to buy a fun toy to play with in the field. Most people have neither. They need a vehicle they can drive on the government’s — whoops, “public” — roads. But the government does not allow it. So most would never even consider buying a For Off Road Use Only Toyota HiLux Champ or any other such vehicle. The second thing is that producing vehicles here is more expensive than it is to produce them elsewhere. The HiLux that Toyota can offer for sale in other places for $16,000 would probably cost $25,000 if it were made in the USA, on account of the much higher manufacturing costs in the USA. More finely, the much higher regulatory compliance costs imposed on manufacturing anything in this country. Trump has yet to meaningfully address this elephant in the room. (RELATED: ‘Defrauding’ the United States) There’s another elephant that needs addressing. Low-cost vehicles such as the HiLux Champ pickup (and the little EV I recently wrote about — the Micro Microlina — that costs half as much as the last expensive EV Americans are allowed to buy) are not-compliant. Some of them have no airbags at all, and most have too few to be compliant with federal “safety” standards. It is doubtful any of them could pass federal side-impact/rear-impact and other such “standards.” Making them compliant would make them just as expensive as the cars we’re “allowed” to buy. And while none of them pollute, their “emissions’ (of CO2) are a problem, as regards regulatory compliance. They have engines that run all the time — unlike the hybrids being shoved down our throats, which achieve compliance by cycling the engine off as often as possible. When they are off, they “emit” no CO2 and are thus compliant. These hybrids — the ones we’re allowed to buy — naturally cost more because adding hybrid equipment — 48 volt electrical systems, an additional battery pack, and electric motors, etc. — costs money. Un-hybridized models cost less, but they are not compliant. Catch meet 22. So, in order for Toyota or any other vehicle manufacturer to be legally able to offer for sale vehicles like the HiLux Champ in this country, the federal regs mandating such things as multiple airbags and many other such things would have to be set aside. But they have not been set aside. More finely, the apparats that emit them have not been set aside. Until they are, any talk about such vehicles being “allowed” is wishful thinking at best and disingenuous at worst. Trump could just decree the “safety” and “emissions” regs null and void. That would change everything — in a good way, if you support the notion that other people ought to be free to decide for themselves whether they’re willing to “risk” driving a vehicle without airbags because it would enable them to buy a new vehicle they can afford to own. That this is controversial in America says a lot about what America isn’t anymore — which Americans intuitively know. When was the last time you heard an American say, It’s a free country? Well, Trump could make it a lot freer — at least insofar as the vehicles we’re allowed to buy. Note — because it is important — that no one would be forced to buy an airbag-free vehicle. They would merely be available, so that people who prefer not to buy a vehicle with airbags (and so on) would be free to buy them. The problem is that Trump is up against multiple federal regulatory apparatchiks, including the Department of Transportation (which encompasses the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), as well as the EPA. He can “authorize” Sean Duffy to “allow” the production of noncompliant vehicles in this country. But that is a very different thing from authorizing their lawful sale to Americans. The apparats are not going to go quietly into that goodnight. But at least it is being talked about — and perhaps the fact that the president is talking about it may gin up the needed public/political support to get the federal apparat out of our business as regards the kinds of vehicles we’re “allowed” to buy. Americans have gotten used to the federal government deciding that. It is long past time to end that. Here, at last, is a real chance to make America something more along the lines of what America used to be. Wouldn’t it be great? 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