Ford has settled allegations with several attorney generals that the automaker “falsely advertised the real-world fuel economy of its C-Max hybrid vehicles and the payload capacity of its super-duty pickup trucks.”
In a press release, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said an investigation found that Ford made “fraudulent and misleading” claims about the 2011-2014 F-Series Super Duty, which has an excellent payload capability. They allege that competitors exceeded Ford’s payload rating, so the automaker came up with a “fraudulent method” to retrieve the title.
Also read: 2022 Ford Super Duty Released with New Chrome, New 12-Inch Infotainment System
The method could extend things a bit because Ford used a decent truck that lacked basic items such as an extra wheel, tires and jacks as well as a radio. The center console has reportedly been replaced by a “mini-console” to save weight and add extra pounds to the most advertised payload capacity of its super-duty truck – enough to restore the “best-in-class” title for Ford. For. “
Attorney Generals allege that Ford never intended to sell such a depressed truck to customers and only used “fraudulent calculations for advertising purposes” জন্যand to calculate the actual payload capacity of individual super duty trucks intended for sale to customers. Did not use. “In short, the Ford Payload is known to have lost the crown so they came up with a ‘creative’ solution.
Towards the fuel economy, the ghost of the C-Max is making a cameo. The group of attorney generals has complained that Ford made “several misleading presentations” about the 2013 and 2014 C-Max’s fuel economy, claiming to have “competitive advantages over other vehicles in the same class.” Among their claims, Ford incorrectly presented that distance consumers could drive in a tank of gas, strongly driving style would not affect the real-world fuel economy of vehicles and claimed higher real-world fuel economy than other hybrids.
They point to a series of C-Max videos known as the “Hybrid Games” that feature the best model of the Toyota Prius / Prius V. The problem was that these ads “fraudulently implied that C-Max cars provide higher real-world fuel ৷ economy and driving performance, which was not the case.”
Attorney Generals also noted that Ford would downgrade C-Max’s fuel economy rating. The model was “initially claimed” as 47 mpg city and 47 mpg highway, but those numbers were eventually reduced to 42 mpg city and 37 mpg highway. However, as Reuters noted, Ford paid the owners $ 550 (£ 440 / € 513) for the drop.
Ford did not admit wrongdoing and settled the issue for $ 19.2 (£ 15.3 / € 17.9) million. While this is not too much, Attorney General Platkin said, “Consumers may pay more than expected at the pump because of manufacturers’ misleading claims about their car’s fuel economy. Today’s decision sends an important message that we will hold accountable any vehicle manufacturer that deceives customers about their real-world ability to drive a car. “
