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Originally Posted by The_Jazz
All automakers are required to show the MPG in every commercial for every vehicle. Sometimes its hidden in the fine print, but it has to be there. Dealers work under different rules, so you need to make sure who's add you're reading.
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Reading or seeing, the hybrid car movement, including the Prius, Civic, and Escape, have all advertised how they get better mileage. This was not a forced EPA number, this was them bragging about how their cars use less gas. You must see a difference between simply showing a number and openly suggesting the number is reliable as a selling point.
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Originally Posted by The_Jazz
Why in the world would a salesman EVER tell you that the milage would be lower? He has no way of knowing about that. Besides, the sticker itself says "your milage may vary".
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If the salesperson wanted to be truthful, they could tell the truth. If they wanted to be passive, they just don't talk about it. That's not what they do, of course. They're as blissfully unaware as the buyer. Honestly, I'm not sure why the salespeople are even an issue here. They're hardly experts. Just the other day I was at a Mitsubishi dealership and the man wanted me to look at a third generation Eclipse. We're in the middle of the fourth generation. I *think* he was just repeating a slip from a manager, but the point stands. The salespeople are not mechanics. They don't have access or are trained with better information.
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Originally Posted by The_Jazz
It's not misinformation. That's where you're wrong. The test results are reproducable. The problem is that its difficult to do so and virtually impossible under real-world conditions. That makes this hard data, albeit worthless. They're passing on the information that the government created, and they don't always benefit from it. Ever heard of an SUV? The exact same data is on the window sticker of one of those.
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The test should be simple. 100 cars are driven under different conditions and that data should be recorded and then given to the consumer.
You can bet your ass if the government said that the Hummer H3 got 9 mpg when it actually got 12 mpg, they'd be going nuts. Honda has consented to and passed on and promoted the incorrect information because it is beneficial.
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Originally Posted by The_Jazz
What you want is for Honda to have been misreporting the MPG for their vehicles even though that was 1) against the law and 2) would have put them at a competitive disadvantage.
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What would have been ethical would have been to not suggest the information is correct. They simply don't push the incorrect information.
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Originally Posted by The_Jazz
Again, you're tilting at windmills here. Don't be mad at Honda. Be mad at the EPA.
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It's hardly futile when people are being detrimentally effected by this. I'm disappointed in the EPA for not doing their jobs. I'm frustrated with Honda for taking the misinformation and using it to help to fool customers.