Ford faces class action lawsuit over mpg ratings

A class-action lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court alleges Ford Motor Co. installed devices on 2019 Ford Ranger pickups that misrepresent fuel economy, and that the automaker deceptively advertised the truck's fuel efficiency.

The lawsuit was filed less than two weeks after Ford disclosed in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the Department of Justice had opened a criminal investigation into Ford's emissions certifications processes. In February, the automaker said it had opened an internal investigation to check whether faulty computer modeling had caused the automaker to misstate fuel economy estimates for some vehicles.

"Ford deceptively advertised its Rangers to consumers as ‘best-in-class’ in fuel economy," said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman, one of the firms that filed the lawsuit, in a statement. "Ford knew that consumers pay a premium for fuel efficiency and that less fuel burned means less emissions, and therefore more profits. Its own employees questioned its fuel efficiency calculations. Ford chose to blatantly ignore the clear warning signs it was given." read more »

Ford Ranger Owners Are Very Angry

Last December, Ford announced its all-new 2019 Ranger was "the most fuel-efficient gas-powered midsize pickup in America.” The EPA rated the reborn Ranger at 21/26/23 mpg city/highway/combined. Prefer the 4x4 variant? You’re looking at 20/24/22 mpg.

Not bad at all. Unfortunately, those figures could be inaccurate. read more »

Fiat Chrysler will pay Tesla to dodge billions in emissions fines

FCA is developing electric and hybrid cars, but not fast enough to meet new rules in 2021

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has struck a deal with Tesla to count the Silicon Valley automaker’s cars as part of its fleet in the European Union, lowering FCA’s average emissions output ahead of strict new EU regulations coming in 2021. Tesla will make “hundreds of millions of euros” from the sale of these emissions credits, according to the Financial Times.

The scheme resembles the way regulatory credits can be bought and sold in the United States, which has been a steady (if relatively small) business for Tesla for many years. The electric automaker made $103 million selling emissions credits in 2018, $280 million in 2017, and $215 million in 2016, according to a recent financial filing. read more »