26 states object to Honda settlement

[rickaren]

26 states object to Honda settlement

Posted on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 2:54 PM EST.(Employee News)

More than half of the nation’s state attorneys general are objecting to a deal to settle a 2007 class-action lawsuit against Honda Motor Co. over claims of inflated mileage for a hybrid vehicle, The Detroit News reported.

In March 2007, John True, an Ontario, Calif., jazz pianist, filed suit after he bought a Honda Civic hybrid, but couldn’t get the gas-electric hybrid’s advertised mileage: 49 miles per gallon in the city, 51 mpg on the highway, the paper said. After 6,000 miles of driving, True said he averaged just 32 mpg in mixed city/highway driving. True’s frustration with the actual mileage of his hybrid as compared to the advertised mileage echoes that of other owners and reflected the findings of some independent tests, including one by Consumer Reports, the News said.

Honda and lawyers for True have reached a proposed settlement, but 26 state attorneys general, including Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, objected this week in U.S. District Court in Riverside, Calif., the paper said. Honda has defended the proposed settlement as fair in court documents. Honda spokesman Chris Martin declined to comment on Wednesday, the story said. (The Detroit News)