Car owner wins lawsuit over Honda Civic hybrid mileage claims - ConsumerReports.org
Heather Peters took on corporate giant Honda in a southern California small-claims court over the fuel economy of her 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid. An Associated Press report quotes Peters as saying she hopes the victory will encourage other Civic Hybrid owners to follow her example, and she has set up a website to help get them started: dontsettlewithhonda. The core issue for Peters is that Honda had advertised the Honda Civic Hybrid as delivering 50 miles per gallon, and she did not experience that figure. Consumer Reports’ testers were disappointed in the fuel economy results when we tested the 2006 Civic Hybrid. The car achieved 37 mpg overall, with 26 mpg in the city and 47 mpg on the highway. At the time, it was EPA-rated at 50 mpg combined, 49 mpg city and 51 mpg highway, hence the source for Honda’s claims. With the revised EPA fuel economy figures put in place for the 2008 model year for all passenger vehicles, the 2006 Civic Hybrid was adjusted to 42 mpg combined, with 40 mpg city and 45 mpg highway. The revisions the EPA made to its fuel economy ratings have brought their numbers closer to what we feel car owners, in general, will experience in the real. Source: www.consumerreports.org
