There are a lot of arguments about whether or not hybrids save money, or even break even. That said, it was obvious that the EPA estimates were way out of line. Since then, of course, the EPA has developed a new mileage rating system. Too late for John True, though.
But after 6,000 miles of driving, True said he averaged 32 mpg in mixed city/highway driving. So in March, True, an Ontario, Calif., professional jazz piano player, filed a class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Riverside, Calif., in what appears to be the first legal challenge of the mileage claims of hybrid vehicles.
The lawsuit claims American Honda Motor Co. has misled consumers in its advertisements and on its Web site. The suit notes that while the Environmental Protection Agency and automobile window stickers say “mileage will vary,” some Honda advertisements read “mileage may vary.” Source: Detroit News
Laying the burden of the suit on “may” vs. “will”? Not sure about that. And honestly, these are EPA estimates. No car ever achieves their EPA estimates (at least, not the old ones) and how you can pin the blame on Honda … I don’t know. One thing for sure, as a Prius owner, I can tell you, you can’t drive these hybrids like a normal car if you want to maximize MPG. I had to learn how to drive it properly (and the center console “video game” was a great help), and I have averaged 47 MPG over the life of the car.
July 17, 2007 at 5:10 am
In 1984 I purchased a Nissan Pulsar NX. It was cool, it was fast, it got 48 mpg (real). Need I point out the complete lack of real progress in the last 23 years?