Calif. court OKs false claims suit over Honda Civic

Reminds me of this Wards Auto article. -----

"Harsh reality is settling in. After winning 10 Best Engines awards in 2004 and 2005, no hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) powertrain made our list this year. Chalk it up to rising expectations and a declining gee-whiz factor.

In other words, our honeymoon with hybrids is over.

Environmentalists say HEVs are the magic bullet that will save the auto industry as well as the atmosphere. Auto makers are charging hefty premiums for the technology. In that light, the HEVs we tested this year are as good as ever, but not living up to their own hype.

We have been duly impressed in the past, naming Toyota Motor Corp. HEVs to the 10 Best Engines list twice and Honda Motor Co. Ltd.'s system once.

In 2001, we were thrilled with the way Toyota brought HEV technology to the practical Prius sedan in a relatively transparent fashion. In 2004, we were awed by how much Toyota improved the system.

Last year, judges were wowed by the way Honda's sophisticated Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) hybrid system dispelled the myth that HEVs have to be slow and boring.

This year, we could not ignore a few shortcomings.

First among our complaints, pointed out by a growing number of journalists and disgruntled owners, is real-world fuel economy far less than what is advertised.

Second, fuel economy is affected too much by driving style and ambient temperature.

The Lexus RX 400h is the epitome of luxury and environmental friendliness when we moved silently through stop-and-go traffic on full electric power. But once the vehicle's internal combustion engine gets involved with propulsion, we were less impressed. During hard acceleration it doesn't have the premium sound we expect from a vehicle with a base price approaching $50,000. Plus, we were underwhelmed with our 25 mpg (9L/100 km) average.

NASA astronaut Ken Mattingly spent tedious hours in a flight simulator figuring out a start-up sequence that used only 20 amps for an energy-starved Apollo 13. That made for compelling drama in a movie.

Employing the same power-saving tactics just to squeeze out something close to the EPA mileage from a Civic Hybrid on a cold day is a bit less engaging.

Want something close to its alleged 49/51 mpg (5L/100 km/4.6L/100 km) on a frosty morning? Forget about warming up the engine or using the defroster. Scrape the windows by hand, stay off the throttle and the expressway and get ready to shiver.

Enduring that kind of inconvenience is fine if you need to get back from space with your fuel cells spent, but not when you're just heading to work."

http://wardsautoworld.com/ar/auto_best_engines_10/

— TurboSpyder (View Profile)

Posted on 1/13/2009 1:21:26 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

good. maybe people will start realizing tthe sham they paid for. Has anyone realized that Honda is being sued over their Accords as well? They changed the speedo gears a bit to make it seem like you were getting better mileage than you were. everyone who leased a vehicle was given extra mileage on the lease. I cannot believe this is never brought up and our media is willing to protect the japanese imports and not back the big 3.
our media is terrible

— 2ndbimmer (View Profile)

Posted on 1/13/2009 6:50:41 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Still, As much as the previous comments are right, this guy with the lawsuit is a jackass. Its like saying "I bought an escalade and i want to sue GM b/c it gets bad mileage". Granted, this guy has a lawsuit b/c he isn't achieving the advertised mileage, so too bad, so sad. Honda builds the vehicle, it doesnt make the mileage ratings. It still gets great mileage (even though it is a car that screams "I have no idea about cars and I have a liberal arts degree and I think Im better than you while I sip my mocha-latte at starbucks"). I'd never get one, i've never been a honda fan, but still... Welcome to America, home of the BS lawsuits.

— neutral (View Profile)

Posted on 1/13/2009 10:59:16 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

This IS a stupid lawsuit, and I am no fan of Honda because they ARE the most overrated and arrogant car company on planet earth! When there engineers go potty they have to turn the fan on just like everyone else!

— rawbux (View Profile)

Posted on 1/14/2009 2:56:16 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

California is the most annoying state when it comes to cars.

— Htay7500 (View Profile)

Posted on 1/14/2009 4:59:53 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3