Overall, I doubt this is going to be taken as "Go ahead and offer a 1968 spec 426 Hemi in the new Charger." While we will need to wait and see to find out exactly what these changes really are, I suspect the main one we'll see for cars is scaling back the ramp-up in fuel economy standards.
And there are a couple real problems with the way the aggressive ramp-up in standards has been implemented at this time. One, it's often easier to game the system than deliver the real intent of the regulations. The aggressive marketing of the 4XE (and passive-aggressive marketing of the regular Jeep) is a good example - the 4XE fits the letter of what the law calls for and delivers some great improvements on paper, while for a lot of actual buyers, it delivers the same mileage for a bigger price tag.
But that's far from the worst way that the system gets gamed. The way fuel economy rules were written, they didn't expect large trucks to get the same mileage as small cars, and so the EPA's standards allow trucks to use more fuel. But the targets they wrote for large trucks were much easier to hit than the targets for small cars. The result has been that many manufacturers concluded that it wasn't worth it trying to hit the small car targets, and usually focused on making trucks instead - or finding ways to tweak a car design to get it classified as a truck, compromising its fuel economy in the process. In this case, it's likely less stringent passenger car requirements might have led to a better average fuel economy by making it easier to build relatively fuel efficient passenger cars.
The other problem with turning up efficiency requirements was Charles Issawi’s Laws of Social Motion.
The Pace of Progress
Society is a mule, not a car. One cannot just press on the accelerator and go exactly where one wishes. The animal can be prodded, but most of the time it will go at its own pace, often straying from the path. If pressed too hard, it will kick and throw off its rider.
And they've pressed too hard. EVs can work for an affluent suburban dweller who buys or leases a brand new car every three years - which so happens to fit the profile of a lot of politicians and bureaucrats. Me, I hear EV advocates saying "Don't worry, EV batteries should last 10 to 12 years!", look in my carport, see a pair of 12 year old daily drivers, and read that assurance as "You're berkleyed." Apartment dwellers wonder where they're going to charge EVs at night. Rural dwellers are confronted by scenarios like the Cybertruck that arrived at a farm and, when it wouldn't . Maybe the efficiency rules aren't an EV mandate, but a $100,000 family car with carbon fiber bodywork and a three cylinder engine is also not a desirable solution.
The mule has thrown its rider.
