We received lots of reader response to our item on California’s proposed tire regulations meant to reduce tire blowouts on roads and highways and save on fuel, even though we have the safest tires today and the best fuel efficiency since Henry Ford started rolling out the Model T.

One irony here is that the same people who want to mandate new tires are the ones who wanted to mandate and subsidize electric vehicles. Yet latest estimates are that EV’s wear out tires 20% to 30% faster:

EVs deliver near-instant torque, which is a plus, but it’s hard on rubber. Quick launches (even “normal” ones) can scrub tread because the tire has to transmit that immediate force to the road….

Batteries add significant weight, often making EVs noticeably heavier than comparable gas vehicles. More weight means more force on the contact patch (the part of the tire actually touching the road), which increases wear.

And if you drive a larger EV (SUV or truck), that effect can compound quickly.

It’s clear that the real goal of the politicians in Sacramento is to simply get people out of their cars. That would increase the ridership for the glittering new $125 billion+ state-of-the-art high-speed rail system that travels from Los Angeles to downtown San Francisco.

Oh wait! We forgot. They still haven’t laid the first track. And if it ever is completed, it won’t start or end in LA or San Francisco. Never mind.