Filed under: Budget, Sedan, Government/Legal, Marketing/Advertising, Hyundai
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‘Your mileage may vary.’
We’re all used to seeing those words at the end of any advertisement that mentions fuel economy, and we all know what it means: Not all drivers will get the same mileage, and oftentimes what you get will be lower than what it says on the car’s window sticker.
That explanation may not hold water with Louis Bird of Sacramento, California, owner of a 2011 Hyundai Elantra.
“I feel like Hyundai took advantage of me. Hyundai’s advertisements about the ‘40 MPG’ gas mileage of the Elantra instantly caught my attention. I bought the car thinking I would be seeing major savings at the pump and getting over 500 miles per tank, but Hyundai fooled me… I have not saved any money on gas and have been driving the Elantra for well over a year now. It is frustrating and disappointing. I never would have bought the Elantra in the first place if I hadn’t seen Hyundai’s ads boasting about gas mileage.”
Bird has filed a suit looking for class-action status in Sacramento County Superior Court. The lawsuit “seeks to stop Hyundai from illegally using gas mileage numbers in its advertising of the Elantra without government-mandated disclosures.” Naturally, damages are being sought for California owners of 2011 and 2012 Elantra models. As you can see above, the 2013 Elantra is still advertised with a 40-mpg rating on the highway, a figure arrived at by the EPA and, as Hyundai points out in a press release, by independent sources like Popular Mechanics and Car and Driver.
From what we can tell, Consumer Watchdog, the organization is bringing the lawsuit, is alleging that Hyundai failed to “disclose certain information when mileage estimates [were] provided in their advertisements,” thereby deceiving consumers into thinking the Elantra would provide better mileage than its competitors.
Scroll down for the press release from Consumer Watchdog and a response we received from the automaker. We’ve also included some video advertisements for the Elantra. So far, we’ve been unable to find any ads that don’t include the expected industry-standard disclaimers about varying mileage and city versus highway fuel economy. For its part, Hyundai tells us it has “reviewed [its] ads and think Consumer Watchdog and their client are dead wrong.” Continue reading Hyundai Elantra subject of class-action lawsuit for ‘misleading 40 MPG’ ads
Hyundai Elantra subject of class-action lawsuit for ‘misleading 40 MPG’ ads originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 10:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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