American automaker Ford is on the hook for millions after it made false claims about both the fuel efficiency of its hybrid C-Max and the payload capacity of its Super Duty truck.
Ford Motor Company has agreed to pay $19.2m in a multi-state settlement over false advertising allegations. The settlement was announced today by 40 state attorneys general and the District of Columbia, all of whom were involved in the case.
The investigation revealed that the automotive manufacturer made false claims about the fuel economy and payload capacity (the maximum weight that a given vehicle can safely carry) of some of its hybrid and pickup truck models between 2013 and 2014.
In particular, the case concerns Ford’s 2013 decision to lower the advertised fuel economy ratings on its C-Max compact hybrid vehicle. In essence, the company put out advertising that misrepresented the distance that a driver could cover on a single tank of gas in the C-Max and claimed that driving style would not impact the automobile’s real fuel economy. The company also claimed in its marketing that the vehicle offered better fuel economy than competitors’ hybrid models.
These issues were evidenced in Ford’s ad campaign for the vehicle, ‘Hybrid Games’, which pitted the C-Max against the Toyota Prius in a series of videos. The ads suggested that the C-Max got 47 miles per gallon (mpg) both on freeways and in urban settings. In reality, however, the C-Max’s fuel economy rating sat closer to 42 mpg in urban areas...
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