EPA mileage ratings

Ford hybrid owners sue over fuel-efficiency rating claims

10:44 pm U.S. ET | April 23, 2013
Ford was sued by Pennsylvania car owners who said its hybrid models don’t deliver on fuel-efficiency claims. The inaccurate representations allowed Ford to falsely claim that those models outperformed competing vehicles, according to the car owners who filed the suit in federal court in Philadelphia.... Read More »

 

NEWS ANALYSIS

New steels fight aluminum to oust heavy metal from cars

8:02 pm U.S. ET | March 17, 2013
New high-tech products mean steel is now winning battles in a long war to defend its share of the auto market against lighter aluminum, as automakers have to shed weight to meet emissions standards.... Read More »

 

U.S. fuel economy posts biggest gain since 1975

1:19 pm U.S. ET | March 15, 2013
The fuel economy of vehicles sold in the United States last year had the sharpest gains in almost four decades, with Honda Motor, Volkswagen AG and Mazda producing the most efficient fleets. An annual report by the EPA showed new cars and trucks had a 16 percent gain in fuel efficiency in the past five years, to 23.8 miles per gallon.... Read More »

 

EPA engineer expects more audits of mileage claims

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 18, 2013
A senior EPA engineer says he expects the government to monitor automakers' fuel economy ratings more closely after Hyundai and Kia overstated mileage claims on some nameplates.... Read More »

 

EPA looks to audit more mpg claims

3:54 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 13, 2013
A senior EPA engineer says he expects the government to more closely monitor automakers’ fuel economy ratings after Hyundai and Kia overstated mileage claims on some nameplates. Speaking at a University of Michigan conference today about the government’s 2025 fuel economy standards, Jeff Alson said the agency has always performed “routine audits” of the tests, which automakers conduct themselves.... Read More »

 

Hyundai, Kia earmark funds for mpg tab

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 28, 2013
Hyundai Motor Co. said it set aside 240 billion won, or about $225 million, and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. said it has set aside $187.1 million, to reimburse customers after saying in November that the companies overstated the fuel efficiency of some models in the United States, Bloomberg reported... Read More »

 

Kia Motors earmarks $187 million in costs on false U.S. mileage claims

8:06 am U.S. ET | Jan. 25, 2013
Kia Motors has set aside provisions of about 200 billion Korean won ($187.13 million) to compensate drivers in North America for its overstated fuel-economy claims, Joo Woo-jeong, a director at the automaker, said today.... Read More »

 

Hyundai Motor profits fall 5.5% in Q4

11:28 am U.S. ET | Jan. 24, 2013
Hyundai reported a 5.5 percent drop in quarterly net income after the won appreciated more than any major currency, reducing the value of overseas sales. Hyundai also said today it's setting aside 240 billion won ($225 million) as provisions to reimburse customers after announcing in November that the company and its Kia affiliate overstated the fuel efficiency of some models in the United States.... Read More »

 

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS WORLD CONGRESS

Honda's Mendel: Faulty mpg claims hurt the industry

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 21, 2013
Automakers' overstating of their fuel economy numbers have injured the reputation of the entire industry, Honda's top U.S. sales executive said.... Read More »

 

Ford says 2013 Fusion Energi gets range of 620 miles

12:22 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 17, 2013
The hybrid wars continue after the Detroit auto show, and Ford has thrown it latest punch: the 2013 Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid.... Read More »

 

2013 AUTOMOTIVE NEWS WORLD CONGRESS

Panel: Industry can meet 54.5 mpg, but at what price?

7:47 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 16, 2013
It's not yet clear how automakers will achieve the federally mandated 54.5 mpg fuel-economy standard in 2025, but the industry and consumers are likely -- though not guaranteed -- to adjust to the requirement. That assessment, from a panel of supplier-company speakers at the Automotive News World Congress on Wednesday, came with some caveats.... Read More »

 

2013 AUTOMOTIVE NEWS WORLD CONGRESS

Honda's Mendel chides automakers for inaccurate fuel-economy claims

11:40 am U.S. ET | Jan. 16, 2013
American Honda's top sales executive chided automakers caught by federal regulators for overstating their fuel economy numbers. “Aggressive fuel-economy claims that turned out to be not so accurate puts pressure on all of us,” John Mendel, American Honda executive vice president, said today at the Automotive News World Congress.... Read More »

 

Ford says U.S. may change hybrid fuel-economy test procedures

9:27 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 15, 2013
Ford, facing criticism for the fuel-economy performance of some of its models, said the Environmental Protection Agency may change its procedures for testing the mileage of hybrids.... Read More »

 

2013 DETROIT AUTO SHOW

Suppliers look to fuel future

8:46 am U.S. ET | Jan. 14, 2013
Cars will do what cars do at the North American International Auto Show -- draw crowds and cameras. But at several exhibits, rapid advancements in new fuel-saving products will have supplier executives and politicians using the Detroit event as a showcase for new technology and a platform to talk about the future.... Read More »

 

2012 fuel economy rises to 23.8 mpg, researchers say

2:34 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 4, 2013
The average fuel economy of new vehicles sold in 2012 rose to 23.8 mpg, University of Michigan researchers said today, up from 22.5 mpg in 2011 and the highest since the researchers began tracking full-year data in 2008.... Read More »

 

Jackson to step down as Obama's EPA chief

11:37 am U.S. ET | Dec. 27, 2012
Environmental Protection Agency chief Lisa Jackson, one of the key players in raising federal fuel-efficiency standards to 54.5 mpg by 2025, is stepping down from her post after a tenure of almost four years marked by battles with Republicans who fought her proposed environmental regulations.... Read More »

 

Ford hit with lawsuit over mpg claims for C-Max, Fusion hybrids

3:23 pm U.S. ET | Dec. 26, 2012
Ford faces a federal lawsuit that contends the new C-Max and Fusion hybrids fail to deliver promised fuel economy claims. Ford's 2013 C-Max Hybrid and Fusion Hybrid mid-sized sedan are EPA rated at 47 mpg city/47 highway/47 combined. But the lawsuit seeking class-action status, filed Dec. 7 in California, says Ford's marketing campaign highlighting the vehicles' fuel economy is “false and misleading.”... Read More »

 

FINAL ASSEMBLY

Who fingered Kia, Hyundai? A U.S. rival, Oge says

12:01 am U.S. ET | Dec. 17, 2012
A complaint from a U.S. automaker led the EPA to investigate Hyundai-Kia's misleading mpg numbers, a former agency official tells our Washington reporter. But which automaker dropped the dime?... Read More »

 

Ford says it’s talking to EPA about hybrid mileage tests

11:52 am U.S. ET | Dec. 14, 2012
Ford is talking to the EPA about how it tests fuel economy performance on new vehicles following reports that the automaker’s hybrids are falling short of mileage promises.... Read More »

 

Ford seeking 3-mpg improvement in 2015 F-150 pickup

4:59 pm U.S. ET | Dec. 13, 2012
Ford is aiming to boost the gas mileage of its next-generation F-150 pickups by 15-20 percent, thus shifting the battleground in full-size trucks from power, durability and towing capacity to fuel economy.... Read More »

 

New EPA lab gear will monitor mpg claims

12:01 am U.S. ET | Dec. 10, 2012
As the EPA continues to investigate Hyundai and Kia for selling cars with false fuel economy labels, the agency is adding equipment at its Michigan laboratory to spot errors and discourage any automaker that might be tempted to cheat.... Read More »

 

Ford Fusion, C-Max hybrid mileage claims to be reviewed by EPA

1:12 pm U.S. ET | Dec. 9, 2012
The federal Environmental Protection Agency says it will review Consumer Reports' data and findings that showed Ford's two newest hybrid models fell below the company's promise of 47 mpg. The magazine said last week it found the Ford Fusion hybrid, at 39 mpg, fell 17 percent short of the company's claim while the C-Max hybrid, at 37 mpg, fell 21 percent short of the claim.... Read More »

 

Ford C-Max, Fusion hybrids fall short of mpg claims, CR says

3:09 pm U.S. ET | Dec. 6, 2012
Ford's C-Max and Fusion hybrids fall about 20 percent short of their fuel economy claims, Consumer Reports magazine said today, after running real-world tests on both models. The influential magazine said the Fusion hybrid delivered 39 miles per gallon both on the highway and in city driving, while the C-Max hit a combined 37 miles per gallon.... Read More »

 

New-vehicle fuel economy remains at record high, researchers say

12:23 pm U.S. ET | Dec. 6, 2012
Fuel economy of new vehicles sold in the United States remained at its highest level in November, University of Michigan researchers said Wednesday. Greenhouse gas emissions in September, meanwhile, declined to their lowest level since researchers began tracking them in October 2007.... Read More »

 

2012 LOS ANGELES AUTO SHOW

Auto industry worries about more inflated fuel economy claims

11:28 pm U.S. ET | Nov. 29, 2012
Hyundai's admission that it overstated fuel economy claims on several of its top-selling cars has the industry worried, with speculation rife among executives and analysts at the Los Angeles Auto Show that more automakers may have to do the same. Hyundai and its affiliate Kia conceded earlier this month that they overstated the fuel economy by at least a mile per gallon on more than 1 million recently sold vehicles.... Read More »