The settlement with 40 states and the District of Columbia will prohibit Ford from making false or misleading advertising about the fuel economy or payload capacity of new vehicles.

　　Ford will pay $19.2 million to settle false advertising charges, the Iowa Attorney General's Office said on May 24,media reported. Prosecutors said the company made false claims about the fuel economy of some hybrid vehicles and the payload capacity of some pickups.

　　Source: Ford

　　The multistate settlement covers 2013-2014 C-Max hybrids and 2011-2014 Super Duty pickups. In 2013, Ford advertised the C-Max Hybrid's fuel economy rating down to 7 mpg and paid owners a $550 check to cover the difference in fuel costs.

　　The settlement with 40 states and the District of Columbia will prohibit Ford from making false or misleading advertising about the fuel economy or payload capacity of new vehicles. Ford has not admitted wrongdoing, but said it is pleased that the issue "has ended without any judicial ruling of wrongdoing. We worked with the states to address their concerns and, in the process, limited the parties' rights and interests." Additional Investigation Fees and Legal Fees".

　　New Jersey Acting Attorney General Matthew Platkin said Ford exaggerated to consumers how far a tank of gas could travel, claiming that driving style wouldn't affect the vehicle's actual fuel economy. The actual fuel economy of company vehicles is better. Platkin alleges that Ford released a deceptive ad called "Hybrid Games," narrated like an Olympic game commentary, in a series of videos depicting the Ford C-MAX outperforming a Toyota Prius. Toyota declined to comment.

　　The states also allege that after other trucks outpaced Ford, the company used deceptive methods to reassert consumers that its pickups had the "best in class" payload capacity. "The investigation found that when calculating the maximum payload capacity of its vehicles, Ford used a truck configuration they didn't actually intend to sell to individual buyers, which omitted things like the spare tire, tire and jack, radio, and center," Platkin said. Console (replaced by a mini-console) as standard.”

　　In 2021, Ford recalled nearly 12,000 2020 F-350 trucks because of inaccurate payload values. Ford said a study found that the payload values ​​for these vehicles may have been inflated by 78 to 900 pounds.

　　This article is reproduced from Gasgoo