False Advertising? Angry Hybrid Owner Suing Honda Saying Car Doesn’t Get 51 MPG
- Posted on December 30, 2011 at 1:22pm by
Becket Adams
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Heather Peters is taking Honda to small claims court for what she says are the fuel economy shortcomings of her Civic Hybrid. When she originally purchased the vehicle, she did so in the hopes that it would save her money at the gas pump. However, Peters claims that the car does not deliver the advertised 51 miles per gallon (mpg) highway and 46 mpg city fuel efficiency.
“Of course I didn’t expect to get exactly [50 mpg], but it never got even close to that,” said Peters in a FOX interview. “On its best day, it was getting 41-42 [mpg]; generally in the high 30’s.”
She claims things only got worse from there.
“They did a software update that was intended to save the battery so that they didn’t have to pay $3,000 to replace it and now I get 28 or 29 [mpg],” Peters said.
But why has Peters decided to opt out of the proposed class-action lawsuit settlement in favor of small claims court?
The New York Times explains:
A proposed settlement was rejected in March 2010…the settlement contained too little of value for the plaintiffs.
Under the terms of the earlier settlement offer, Civic Hybrid owners who were willing to trade in their car could receive a $1,000 coupon toward a new Honda; class members who wanted to keep their hybrid were eligible for a $500 coupon. The coupons could not be used toward the purchase of another Civic Hybrid – new or used. (Honda also offered to provide a free DVD of tips for achieving better fuel economy.) The revised settlement adds $100 cash payments.
Peters, who says she’s a former corporate defense lawyer, explained that the only people who would be rewarded with the original settlement would be the lawyers who would make millions in fees under the agreement. The actual hybrid owners, the ones who paid thousands over sticker price for the “hybrid premium,” would walk away with nothing but coupons and an instructional DVD.
“You’re taking the matter to small claims court. What do hope to accomplish there?” asked the FOX news host.
“Well, at first I just wanted some common courtesy. I still am absolutely stunned that Honda has never called me to discuss this,” said Peters to a surprised FOX host.
But what’s her ultimate goal?
“In small claims court, I can sue for up to $10,000 — it’s very easy.”
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Comments (134)
LoudAmerican
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 3:12pmGOOD FOR HER!
Personally speaking – I am sick of the corporate conning of the consumer.
… and people on the right can’t understand why so many people lean to the left while we constantly get ripped off and deceived by the corporate right. To hell with business (and political) integrity!
BOTH SIDES have that damned ENTITLEMENT MENTALITY which is destroying our social fabric.
Report Post »Rowgue
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 3:44pmThere is nothing political about a company‘s product not delivering on it’s claims. That’s just false advertising plain and simple.
The entire alternate fuels auto industry however is a direct result of far left leaning groups lobbying the government and the governments resulting complete subsidizing of the phony industry. If the government wasn‘t subsidizing these companies and forcing them to make these crappy vehicles then they wouldn’t make them. A company left to it’s own devices will create products that their customers actually want or they will perish.
Report Post »turkey13
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 4:59pmAbout 5 or 6 months ago my neighbor – late 60′s bought a new Honda (not hybred) and the dealership drives it more than her. I’v convinced her that she needs to contact a lawyer and sue them under the Lemon Law.
Report Post »Marci
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 6:07pmLOUD–Agree with the person who says a company not delivering on their claims is not political. If you lean to the left, it’s because you bought into something that you think is in your best interest. NOT because of your misguided hatred of corporate America. The real culprit here if you want to get political is the green nonsense. There is NOTHING green about that car or the others they are pushing. It trades one so-called “bad” trait for another. I think this woman is right to sue, but again, it isn’t a left/right issue. If not for corporate America, you wouldn’t have such affordable technology options–hence, you would not be sitting there on a pc giving your opinion. Furthermore, if not for our military and free enterprise, you wouldn‘t be saying anything that wasn’t a pre-approved cookie cutter statement. Hate corporations and the right if you must, but acknowledge what those on the left do to further along everything you say you hate as well.
Report Post »gordogordo
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 6:45pmInstead of complaining about corporations, you should complain about the federal government. The fuel economy numbers on the sticker are EPA estimates of fuel economy, not a company’s internal estimates of fuel economy. Honda may or may not be gaming the system, but the economy is tested in a way required by the EPA.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/printGuides.shtml
Report Post »Old_Bones
Posted on December 31, 2011 at 2:00amMaybe, but in this case and many others it is the lawyers who scam the “class”.
Report Post »Kevin The Elder
Posted on December 31, 2011 at 5:54amLast night I was listening to a CD containing ‘Old Time Radio’ shows, such as The Shadow, Amos n Andy, etc. The sponsors of one of the shows was a former car manufacturer that produced the Nash 600. I’m guessing the year was around 1950 and at that time the car got 31 miles per gallon. and for all I know, their competitors might have been producing cars that performed better. It seems obvious that if government hadn’t intervened with regulations over the ensuing 60 years our autos would be doing MUCH better, perhaps well over 100 miles per gallon. Look for candidates who intend to push to dismantle government, by closing the unnecessary and reducing the rest via attrition and ease of regulations.
Report Post »hud
Posted on December 31, 2011 at 9:52amGordo has it right the Feds put out these numbers, and every day some of little o’s a**holes squeeze corporate testicles till their eyes bulge, then impose more asinine regulations that make it impossible to turn out great vehicles.
Report Post »theaveng
Posted on December 31, 2011 at 8:10pmShe’s going after the wrong people.
It’s the U.S. EPA that publishes those numbers, and therefore their responsibility to deal with flawed tests that the EPA performs. The car manufacturer has no control. I DRIVe a Honda Insight Hybrid and the EPA said it would get 70mpg and I actually get close to 90mpg.
It all depends on how you drive. The EPA does its highway testing at 55mph, so naturally if you go faster than that, like the typical 85mph on I-95, you’re going to get lower miles per gallon. That’s commonsense
.
Report Post »theaveng
Posted on December 31, 2011 at 8:14pm>>>deceived by the corporate right.
BTW you got your sides mixed-up. It’s the left that hands-out special regulations that favor the corporations. Also bailouts (like TARP). And “stimulus” which is really corporate welfare for GM and others.
.
Report Post »ScottG-CO
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 7:11pmGordogordo is exactly right. Blame your “green” government!
Report Post »heavyduty
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 3:05pm99% of the cars will never get the MPG that the companies claim.
Report Post »THEUNKNOWNPATRIOT
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 3:11pmHey Heather, my Lexus gets 3MPG better in city driving than stated on the sticker and dead even for HWY…drop Honda and go with Toyota!
Report Post »southerngal
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 6:26pmI get 58 mpg on a trip with my 2011 Prius 2. about 8 mpg less in the winter around town. NY VT CA and a few other states require Hybrid mfg to warranty the battery to 150000 miles. I hope she wins and then everyone else takes them to small claims as well.
Report Post »2theADDLED
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 8:55pmSince this is a foreign car I believe they may be confused was that MPG or KPG ?
Report Post »If it is the latter it may be true.
Besides since when are we concerned with truth in advertising after all B.H.O. was not truth in advertising or did we just overlook it ?
saranda
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 11:09pmDo you really believe that KPG is the metric version of MPG? More evidence of the dumbing down of the Excited States of America.
Report Post »RedDawn-2012
Posted on December 31, 2011 at 2:57amAddled, you funny! Metric mileage is measured in liters/100km, so the Civic is rated about 4.2/4.4 using that system.
Report Post »Detroit paperboy
Posted on December 31, 2011 at 9:08amMy daughters regular civic gets 36 mpg, and for ten thousand less, you can buy a lot of gas for ten Gs…
Report Post »2theADDLED
Posted on December 31, 2011 at 10:47am31.0685596 Miles = 50 Km
Report Post »HumbleMan
Posted on December 31, 2011 at 5:09pmIn Europe, I can’t speak for Asia, mileage is quoted the other way around, how many liters of gas for 100 kilometers. The lower the number the better.
I bought a Ford Hybrid Escape in 2010. Great car, it was supposed to get 33 highway and 38 city (yes better at low speed). After 2 years, the average mileage was 32.8. Not bad! And this is a 4WD vehicle!
Not surprising it doesn’t qualify for any federal tax break (like many hybrids).
Report Post »ScottG-CO
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 7:12pmSee Gordogordo’s reply above- it’s NOT the “evil corps” it’s the green devil government.
Report Post »hauschild
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 3:01pmWhat kinda idiot believes no inflated numbers of the hybrids? My goodness people are thick (not just physically) these days.
Report Post »e7705
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 2:46pmIsn’t electricity generated by coal? So an electric car essentially runs on coal, does it not?
Report Post »trolltrainer
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 3:34pma hybrid car runs on gasoline.
Report Post »EchoHawk
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 3:59pmDepends on where you are, in the Pacific N.W. there are coal fired electricity generating plants but the vast majority of electrical power come from hydroelectric dams, so your hybrid might run on water and gravity.
Report Post »trolltrainer
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 4:14pmno…MY hybrid runs on gasoline. It has an internal combustion engine that uses brake regeneration to charge a battery.
Of course some hybrids are now offering a plug-in capability too, so that you can charge the battery with electricity and get the first hundred miles or so on battery alone. But this is not how the majority of hybrids work.
Report Post »GOA_AMD65
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 2:40pmMy 1992 Jeep Wrangler gets 14.4 mpg. I don’t want to listen to this woman complain about her mileage on her new car.
Report Post »Amica
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 6:29pmSo…because there are vehicles out there with worse mileage, she has to just accept the fact that the product she paid for does not perform as promised? Really?
Report Post »canada 1958
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 2:35pmi own a smart car desil gets 60mpg in city i also have a 1928 ford and it gets 28 mpg so we have not come to far .
Report Post »abbygirl1994
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 2:44pmYears ago I had a Subaru that got 35 miles to the gallon, now the peices of junk get 20 something. What happened?? Bureaucrats thats what!
Report Post »Transmogrifier
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 3:01pmAbby – No, the reason is Subaru’s stupid decision to make all of their cars full-time AWD.
Report Post »booger71
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 3:07pmMy 76 Corrolla got 40 miles/gal, the difference between 76 and 2011, government required smog control devices that suck the gas out of an engine.
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on December 31, 2011 at 12:14amI used to own a 92 cadillac eldorado with over 100k on the odo and a 4.9L v-8. That car averaged 28mpg on the highway and 25 combined. My wife now owns a 2008 pt cruiser with an inline four and it gets 21 combined if we’re lucky. I’m soooo glad to see that all of the EPA regulations have led us to so much progress. Does anyone else know what a good mileage car releases alot of in its’ emissions? Anyone? A fuel efficient car will release as much CO2 and NO2 as is stoichiometrically possible. Now what does the EPA and CARB limit on gas powered vehicle emissions??? CO2 and NO2 and NO. So all of our emissions “laws” are making cars less efficient for the sake of the “environment”. You tell me what is better for the environment… an average fuel economy of 80 mpg with a higher percentage of CO2 and NO2 in the exhaust per unit fuel burned, or an average fuel economy of 30 mpg? For me, the answer is simple.
BTW, I know why diesel won’t work in a gasoline engine, but why won’t gasoline work in a direct injection diesel engine? The gasoline will combust under high heat and pressure, so what gives? I know that the gasoline will wash down the cylinder walls and it is less viscous which may interfere with the injector pumps, but shouldn’t it physically be possible to run a direct injection diesel on gas? They have already started to use direct injection on gas engines in order to bump up compression ratios while virtually eliminating knocking that comes from pre-detonation
Report Post »JP4JOY
Posted on December 31, 2011 at 8:08pm@SGTB
Report Post »Gas fires too well in a diesel engine! You can run it but with a compression ratio of 20:1 in the diesel and 8.5:1 in a gas engine it will burn so hot it melts critical parts. Valves, seats, pistons etc. By saying you can run it I only mean it will run but not a good idea. A little diesel in your gas tank (1 quart to 10 gals) will clean your fuel system nicely for a lot less than that injector cleaner stuff.
Scooder
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 2:30pmI get 10mpg in my BIG suv and I love it.
Report Post »Jezcruzen
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 2:30pmI drive an eleven year old Chevy Suburban. Gas mileage is awful. But, its paid for. Has been for years. I spend a lot less for gas per month than what a hybrid car payment would be. Plus, its a great ride, plenty of room, and four wheel drive. Suckers!
Report Post »hud
Posted on December 31, 2011 at 10:03amGas mileage is an estimate at best, with a lot of outside factors, like wind, coming into play. Got a 99 Maxima in Dec ‘02 for $9000, and it averages 21-22 mpg for all these years, and it’s pretty damn fast.
Report Post »quicker
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 2:27pmThe bottom line is the more that they have to put on the engines for pollution the harder that engine has to work.My 09 Ford Ranger with 5 speed and 4 cly.get28 MPG.Strip off half of the pollution devices and it would get more mileage.
Report Post »BetsyRoss1513
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 2:21pmIsn’t this not unlike blaming the shoelace factory when your shoelace breaks because you pulled too hard?
Report Post »It’s OPERATOR ERROR. It’s pretty common knowledge that if the OWNER does not take care of the equipment, the equipment will not take care of the owner. Was it a maintenance issue? Did she run on bald tires? Did she use the right fuel? Did she get regular tune ups and oil changes? Is she driving all city miles, highway miles, or a mixture? Is she punching the accelerator coming out of intersections?
It’s truly amazing what kind of PETTY things people find to crab about all the time….. s m d h…..
oriondma05
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 2:21pmGreatest car ever – 1992 Honda Accord with manual transmission. 26-33 miles per gallon if driving alone and you can pick one up for around $1500 and do some minor work. No hybrid needed.
Report Post »Babylonandon
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 11:50pm2005 Accord LX 4 cyl. automatic 24-26 city, 33-34 highway and I usually drive 62-67 in a 55 zone and 72-77 in a 65 zone.
Report Post »COFemale
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 2:17pmI will never buy a hybrid or electric vehicle. I’d rather walk or ride a bike; they are both more efficient.
Report Post »smithclar3nc3
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 2:20pmhttp://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_37/b4099060491065.htm
Report Post »COFemale
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 2:09pmI would like to know if the gas mileage is based on flat ground? In other words are the mileage of 50 mpg highway 40/42 city for sea-level driving? I guarantee you, you put one of these cars in the Rocky Mountain and/or high altitude cities I’d be surprised if they got anything over 25 mpg. Also if the engine isn’t calibrated for high-altitude, you will also lose efficiency.
I couldn’t discern where this women lives from this post. Further investigation is needed.
Report Post »trolltrainer
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 2:19pmYeah, we live in Florida and frequently drive into the Smokey Mountain National Park. We do see a difference at altitude. The mileage does not go down much but the car loses power in the mountains. I reckon a tuneup for altitude would fix it though. It still has enough get up and go but it is definitely noticeable. I would love to see if it could make some of the higher passes in the Rockies.
Report Post »countrysideflair
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 2:04pmI had a 1993 Honda Civic VX, I got a consistent 50+ mpg for combined driving (mostly highway). Nice car, so I immediately went out and bought a 2004 Nissan Titan… 16mpg on a good day!
Report Post »Firefighter 538
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 1:54pmI have a FULL SIZED Chrysler with a V6 and I get 30 Hwy & 25 City. They can take the “Cramp Wagons” off the road along with all the “Fire starter electrics” . If they want to go “green” they can ride a horse!
Report Post »mjhoman
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 1:51pmFunny! I thought you couldn’t sue any more for false advertising? I have been seeing it all over the place. Besides that, what about all of the tricks and hoops people are made to jump through, like at the grocery store using their store card to save money? If you go there every week, then you are a loyal customer… so why the card? What will it be next? Businesses are not there to really help the customer any more, or make things easy, it’s about what they can get customers to do, and make more money. It seems lots of people do not mind all the games. If it contimues, every time you buy something it will take you an extra thrity minutes to go through the proceedure and fill out all of the paper work and contracts. But I guess I am just a cranky older guy? And like some of the comments here… it is accepted as the norm to lie and decieve. Than people wonder how things get the way they do? Government, schools, educational system, etc. Unless people start voicing their dislike for the lies, no on can expect it will ever change. So to anyone who has a problem with this… the masses control the outcomes… until more wake up, you might as well forget things getting any better. All one has to do is look to the pharmaceutical companies and track the deaths and lawsuits. That does not stop them from manufacturing harmful drugs that do not cure anything.
Report Post »StanO360
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 2:13pmYou need to change who you do business with! Costco, Henry’s Market, Amazon, Verizon, Virgin Mobile, Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club and many other companies I exchange business with all provide good services at fair (if not great) prices. Personally, I know a lot of people helped by big drug companies, never met one that was harmed.
She’s not suing for false advertising, but not a product being mis-labled. It’s like selling an apple and calling it an orange.
Report Post »BlackCrow
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 1:50pmProblem is those fuel mileage numbers do NOT come from the car company, they come from the EPA. While the government is doing their emissions tests on every model year they establish those mileage estimates. They do those tests on a stationary dynamiter under strict test conditions that have little to do with real world driving. The car manufacturer has no control over those tests and can claim no responsibility for those numbers.
She needs to sue the EPA. Good luck! It’s been tried before without success.
Report Post »Gary Fishaholic
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 2:00pmI believe your right that sux’s!
Report Post »Just A Private
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 2:26pmwhile you may be right, if i was selling a product to human beings I would verify this before I put in all my commercials, flyers, mailings, window stickers, etc.
Report Post »caleejr
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 1:45pmI remember our buick century as a kid in the 80′s that was PRE-Fuel injection….and it was getting between 30 and 33 mpg. and that was with a carburetor. if the gov’t would stop FORCING the impossible on engine makers, the technology would come with the consumer demand. My buddy worked for Freightliner in NC…the diesel regulations imposed by the feds held up the manufacture of semi’s because no one could still produce the HP and meet the emissions and MPG requirements.
Report Post »ZAP
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 1:44pmShould of bought a VOLT and really got screwed
Report Post »mrsalvage2
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 1:43pmHe needs to thank the Fed. controlled EPA Monroney Label
Report Post »Grasshopper42
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 1:42pmGet off this site . . .
Report Post »Baddoggy
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 1:34pmIf you are stupid enough to believe the hype of the hybrid, you deserve what you get. They will never work, never “rescue” the enviroment and will always have to be propped up by Government money. Total BS crap! Besides that, if i run over you in my truck, you die…
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 1:40pmHow is the Toyota Prius propped up by our tax money?
Report Post »trolltrainer
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 1:48pmBaddoggy, you never cease to amaze me! Your posts are getting dumber and dumber. Are you sure you are not encinom?
We have a 2007 Prius. (yeah, yeah, oh no! and all that…). It has 130,000 miles on it now, has never had any major work done to it, is still a tight car, and still gets a solid 50 MPG. It has gotten as low as 45 with a dirty air cleaner and continual interstate driving but once you hit city and stop and go traffic it popped right back to 50 MPG. I would happily buy another one.
You claim to be 60. You should be old enough to know that only a fool talks about things he does not understand.
Report Post »kickthecan
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 1:50pmJefferson,
Report Post »They are propped up through government tax credits and rebates.
GhostOfJefferson
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 1:54pm@Kickthecan
True, I forgot aboutt those. However, most hybrid owners are second hand owners, the original “owners” buy them for the credit and sell them quickly. Many of them are quite decent automobiles in their own right. Not a solution to all the world’s problems by any means, but the technology of the Toyota‘s I’ve driven is quite sound, and certainly not financed the way the GM Volt was.
If I’m not mistaken, and I may be, the tax credit thingy is ending with Obama. I could be wrong on that, thought I heard it recently though.
Report Post »Gary Fishaholic
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 2:03pmA good friend of mine is on his second Prius over a 175 thousand on the first one so bought a second he tells me he routinely gets 50 miles per gallon in the city and almost that on the highway.
Report Post »booger71
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 3:09pmWe have a 2007 Prius. (yeah, yeah, oh no! and all that…
Report Post »==================
Wait for the sticker shock when you have to replace the battery.
trolltrainer
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 3:47pmBooger,
Why would I do that? I will just get a new one and sell her for whatever I can get. Warranty is up anyway, when she starts acting up we get out from under her. TBH, we very rarely keep a car this long, it is just that the durn thing still feels new.
I understand all the arguments people are making here. If you can keep your $1500 beater running then great! But if you are going to buy a new car anyway then the $24,000 we paid for the Prius was an average price for what it is. No, it is not as cheap as a $15,000 base economy car but the trim on the car matched any other mid 20s car of the same year. It gets 50MPG, which was the biggest selling point, and it cost much less to maintain than most any other car I have owned to date. A couple sets of tires, brake pads, a few oil changes…It has been a great car. I don’t care green from red and I figure God is the only one who can save this planet. It is simply a car that gets great MPG. Heck, we would think seriously about the Volkswagen diesels except diesel fuel is so much more expensive than gas.
Report Post »Link8on
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 5:09pmEPA required fuels in the USA blend Oxygenated compounds that have less energy per gallon.
In addition gas stations often have at least 10 % Ethanol at the pump.. Again, less energy per gallon vs circa 1985 gasoline fuels.
Combine it all together, most vehicles get less milage than before.
Not sure what type of fuel Honda got the civic tested on for that 50+ mpg stat.
Report Post »babylonvi
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 9:26pmAnswer to above: Until 12/31/2010 there was a federal rebate for buying a hybrid car. ref: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/tax_hybrid.shtml
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on December 31, 2011 at 12:30am@ Ghost of Jefferson, You are also forgetting that the gov’t buys hybrid and natural gas vehicles from the big three instead of cheaper and more economical vehicles. The federal gov’t rarely ever buys cars or trucks. They lease them , which is a sham in and of itself. Nevertheless, the regulators and procurement specialists from all of the federal agencies decide what cars to buy and who to buy from. So if the fed wants to use your tax dollars to spur wasteful innovation like hybrid tech, all they have to do is express to the big three that they want to buy hybrid vehicles. And viola! You get the chevy volt.
As for the Prius, in its’ decade long stint as the forerunner in hybrid vehicle technology, we have given out millions if not billions in tax incentives to both the buyer and producer of this vehicle. And even with all of the incentives and high sales, Toyota has just in the last year started to turn a profit on any of the Prius vehicle line. This is because the cost of production and development was more than the sale price. They took a dive on these cars to sell more regular cars. Even GM has said that the volt is to lure people in so they can sell them a cruze with the same mileage, better ride, better performance, and at deep discount in comparison.
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 1:32pmDuring the early 2000′s my wife and I drove from CT to Va or NC very frequently in our Jetta diesel wagon and always got 48-50MPG and once while alone I got 55 MPG. Great vehicle.
Report Post »StanO360
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 2:18pmOur old Honda CRX (roomy 2 seater hatchback) got 45-50+mpg back in 1987. The Suzuki/GM car did the same as well.
Our expectations for cars have changed so much, my 2009 Mazda6 4cyl matches the specs of a 20yr old moderate sports car and gets 30mpg. If they settled for 1990 sedan speed and performance it would probably be 35mpg.
Report Post »trolltrainer
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 4:24pmBack in the mid 80s me and a buddy were making good money flipping VW Rabbit diesels. We had all the tools and would buy junkers and swap parts and get rebuilt cars. As a rule they all got solid 50MPG though the automatics were never as efficient as the 4 and 5 speeds.
I miss those cars, who would have thought back then about saving one or two for the future…But boy would I like one now…
Report Post »garyM
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 1:30pmLike that’s the first time they lied about average miles per gallon!
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 1:28pmThe only car… that ever, positively, surprised me… was the Ford Escort… which in 1993 delivered 38 mpg… so I bought a 2nd one… and I still have one!
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 1:40pmThe Honda CRX (forget which model, the crappy low powered one, was it a DS or something, I don’t remember) fairly consistenly got in the high 40‘s low 50’s, back in the 1980′s, as I recall.
Gas mileage is usually only as good as the driver behind the wheel. If you drive like most people do, which is to day like crap, you’re going to get minimal mileage, even if you’re in the most perfect MPG car every created. I strongly suspect that Honda has a “reasonable driving habits” exemption somewhere that will put this gold digger in her place.
That said, if they made a software update that conclusively lowered *all* of that particular model, then the class action suit is the best recourse, as it is based on fact and is the most honest.
I was been able to easily hit the 54-60 mpg range when I had to rent a Prius about a year ago. It’s all in how you drive. Don’t smash the accelerator to the floor to get up to speed, don’t jack rabbit between lights or to pass on the freeway, don’t speed (at all), suddenly boom your gas mileage shoots upward. Nobody does that though.
Heck, I can reliably pull 42-47 mpg in my 2006 Matrix when traveling cross country, which is not a hybrid by any stretch, just by knowing how to drive in a manner that is reasonable and calm. Anybody could, really. It just takes common sense and self control.
Report Post »trolltrainer
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 1:52pmThis particular car might have a problem, this is the first I have ever heard anyone complain about the Honda for this. The dealer should try to make this right, the publicity will not be good for them. It would be better to just give her another car.
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