Are automakers inflating the fuel economy of their vehicles?
The Environmental Protection Agency reportedly is planning a crackdown on gas mileage claims by automakers after it found the fuel economy for the 2013 Ford C-Max gas-electric hybrid was less than the automaker had boasted.
Ford is reducing the combined city-highway mileage estimate for the C-Max to 43 mpg from 47.
According to the Detroit News, the EPA allows automakers to assign the best mpg rating in a family of vehicles to an individual vehicle. In this case, the C-Max was given the 47 mpg rating for the Ford Fusion hybrid. The C-Max, which competes with the Toyota Prius, was the only vehicle in its hybrid class that did not undergo its own fuel economy test.
Consumer Reports found that the C-Max got 10 fewer miles per gallon than Ford claimed. The EPA then did its own test and also discovered an exaggeration.
The 32,000 people who purchased and leased the vehicle can expect a check in the mail, according to the Detroit News: $550 for those who bought it and $325 for those who leased.
The EPA is expected to increase testing of vehicles to ensure more accurate reporting on mpg stickers affixed to showroom vehicle windows.
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