[xzins]

This section is troublesome:

§ 563.6 Requirements for vehicles. top Each vehicle equipped with an EDR must meet the requirements specified in §563.7 for data elements, §563.8 for data format, §563.9 for data capture, §563.10 for crash test performance and survivability, and §563.11 for information in owner's manual.

I can see a government lawyer easily construing that underlined section to mean that the vehicle is ALWAYS required to have that capability; ergo, that capability cannot be removed.

It does not say "cannot be removed", but saying "must meet the requirements" is very troublesome.

[Renderofveils]

I can see a government lawyer easily construing that underlined section to mean that the vehicle is ALWAYS required to have that capability; ergo, that capability cannot be removed.

Yep. Done rather simply by arguing the definition of "equipped" as meaning "initially installed on the vehicle" instead of "currently installed."