Yesterday's announcement of record fines for Hyundai and Kia regarding their incorrect fuel economy claims is the strongest message yet that the Department of Justice " firm commitment to safeguarding American consumers, ensuring fairness in every marketplace, protecting the environment, and relentlessly pursuing companies that make misrepresentations and violate the law." But if your cars kill scores of people due to neglience, you're getting off easy.
As Ryan Beene of Automotive News reports
"…Hyundai and Kia will pay a $100 million civil penalty, spend $50 million to establish an independent fuel economy certification group and forfeit some 4.75 million greenhouse gas emission credits the companies have banked under the EPA's tailpipe emissions regulations — estimated to be worth more than $200 million, according to a joint statement by the Justice Department and EPA."
All totaled, up, that's about $350 million worth of penalties. GM paid about one-tenth of that in relation to federal safety law violations stemming from the now-infamous Chevrolet Cobalt ignition switch deaths.
The penalties in the Hyundai/Kia case come despite Hyundai's voluntary reimbursement program for owners of the affected vehicles. Hyundai/Kia aren't the only ones to have enacted such a program either. Ford set up a similar program for owners of the C-Max and Fusion, but hasn't been fined by the EPA for similar misstatement of fuel economy numbers.
Maybe we ought to revisit the way we test for fuel economy figures altogether?
The post Of Penalties And Priorities appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
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