Quote:
|
Originally Posted by willravel
I can appreciate that, but this leaves us in a common place: either Honda knew and didn't disclose, or they didn't know and they're all idiots. I call it Bush syndrome. I think it's reasonable to assume that Honda knows what kind of typical mileage their hybrids would get, as the cars go through endless testing before production and considering this is a hybrid, it must have been tweaked to get the best mileage Honda was willing to give.
|
OK, take a deep breath, will, because you're not going to like this.
Ready?
You're wrong. Absolutely, completely and utterly wrong.
At least about Honda.
Honda did not come up with the methodology for calculating the MPG for vehicles. That is and always has been the baliwick of the EPA. If you don't like it, complain about them, not Honda. The current testing methodologies also are an EPA creation.
The original testing standards were in place for decades until they changed a few years ago. That's why most cars took a noticable drop in MPG. The test itself was created artificially high milage, but all automakers had to use the same test to calculate the averages.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by willravel
As you say, a good salesperson never lies. But what about those who inform the salesmen? I've known car salesmen, and they're not all upper management or mechanics. A lot of them simply get their information from the brochures and from more knowledgeable managers. There is a lie or an omission somewhere between those who tested and noted the abilities and features of the car and the salespeople. It was in that mess that the mistake was made. Someone knowingly allowed the incorrect or misleading figures of the EPA to be put on the window of the car, and all the "results may vary" business can't excuse deliberately misleading by not putting a correct and authentic figures for customers.
Maybe I should put it this way: what if the next Kia Rondo advertises "top speed: 155 mpg, results may vary"?
Just because you said the word "salesmen" doesn't mean the whole thing is about salesmen. As I've said above, the typical salesperson probably has no idea what kind of mileage the thing has until they read the sticker in the window. This is about omitting correct information in order to deceive customers.
|
It's not Honda's fault if the NATIONAL STANDARD is calculated in a faulty way, especially if all other cars are, by law, using the same standard. You're right in that salesmen (or really marketers) have much to do with the problem. The government required that all cars be tested using the same criteria and that those results be posted in every new car for sale. Have a problem with the government beaurocrats who got it wrong, not the carmakers just following the law.