[CARDEEP]

MUL has been ordered to pay a customer Rs. 1 lakh for wrong fuel efficiency advertisement by the New Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum. Here, the link to article in The Hindu:

The Hindu : Business / Companies : MUL to pay Rs. 1 lakh for wrong fuel efficiency advertisement

Rohini resident Sharma had alleged that MUL in its advertisement in a leading newspaper had claimed that its Zen car had a fuel efficiency of 16.7 km per litre, relying on which he purchased a Maruti Zen LX in 2005.

The car, however, gave a mileage of only 10.2 km per litre which did not improve, he added.

Maruti contended that the disputed advertisement was based upon figures given in the 2004 issue of Auto Car India.

The forum, however, rejected the contention saying the fine print which showed the source of information as the Auto Car India study was “deceptive” and “so small as to be not readable”.

Hope other manufacturers who advertise such figures on basis of mileage runs by few experts (& are not the ARAI certified figures) are made to pay & learn lesson, after all this amount is not big for these auto majors .

[PranavDesai]

How can Maruti advertise while relying on information given by someone else? What is ARAI for? FE should not (cannot) be the only criteria for selecting a car. I believe Maruti has crossed limits with its "kitna deti hai" ads, what with tank, yacht, and airplane. I strongly feel these ads rather than highlighting the cars are derogatory for us Indians. Discussion/comments/suggestions is welcome on this issue.

[shadows123]

Originally Posted by CARDEEP

MUL has been ordered to pay a Delhi Rs. 1 lakh for wrong fuel efficiency advertisement by the New Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum. Here, the link to article in The Hindu:

The Hindu : Business / Companies : MUL to pay Rs. 1 lakh for wrong fuel efficiency advertisement

Hope other manufacturers who advertise such figures on basis of mileage runs by few experts (& are not the ARAI certified figures) are made to pay & learn lesson, after all this amount is not big for these auto majors .

Ford is going around flaunting that its Classic model gives a mileage of 32kmpl when everyone else on this forum claim a much lower mileage for this model. Hear it everyday multiple times on radio. They let such a deviation go by but 16kmpl to 10kmpl is misleading?? you gotta be kidding me!!!

[abybabykcc]

Originally Posted by shadows123

Ford is going around flaunting that its Classic model gives a mileage of 32kmpl when everyone else on this forum claim a much lower mileage for this model. Hear it everyday multiple times on radio. They let such a deviation go by but 16kmpl to 10kmpl is misleading?? you gotta be kidding me!!!

Ford does give 32 kmpl... the first 12 km on level road and the last 20 km driving downhill with the car in neutral.

[thoma]

It is good that consumer forums have a say over unfair trade practices of the manufacturers. After seeing the recent Ford ad, my dad has ever been asking me if the Classic indeed returned 32 kmpl. The common man might just not be able to differentiate between an ACI / ARAI / iCAT report. In my opinion, it should be made mandatory for all automobile ads to display FE from an approved mileage certification agency, in a particular format. However, it is not altogether bad for Ford to advertise the ACI report, but that should have been mentioned expanded, clearly and separately from the above format.

Originally Posted by PranavDesai

I believe Maruti has crossed limits with its "kitna deti hai" ads, what with tank, yacht, and airplane. I strongly feel these ads rather than highlighting the cars are derogatory for us Indians. Discussion/comments/suggestions is welcome on this issue.

I am sorry, but I don't know why we are getting hypocritical on fuel efficiency? We all run after different efficiencies in practical life. That is what management, engineering, IT is all about. Then why alone be it derogatory about the fuel for our vehicles? I do not think it is wrong to put fuel efficiency as an important aspect. And, an increase in fuel efficiency need not necessarily always translate to loss of luxury or any other efficiencies. Hope you will like this thread that discuss on why we care only about FE - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...fficiency.html

[one-77]

Originally Posted by thoma

It is good that consumer forums have a say over unfair trade practices of the manufacturers. After seeing the recent Ford ad, my dad has ever been asking me if the Classic indeed returned 32 kmpl. The common man might just not be able to differentiate between an ACI / ARAI / iCAT report. In my opinion, it should be made mandatory for all automobile ads to display FE from an approved mileage certification agency, in a particular format. However, it is not altogether bad for Ford to advertise the ACI report, but that should have been mentioned expanded, clearly and separately from the above format.

My dad, was asking me the same yesterday, after seeing the Ford ad. Yeah, the fine print is indeed very fine in this ad. I'm sure many people wouldn't know the difference between ARAI and ACI and will be taken in by such misleading ads. It's good that the consumer redressal forums are acting against these.

[oxyzen]

Even the Arai Fuel efficiency is misleading. Here is why.
1. You run with AC off.
2. No sudden acceleration & deceleration.
3. OEMs can choose their car and modify within the limits. (like they will select the maximum allowable tyre pressure, Absolutely clean air filter and so on)

This is hardly what you face in real driving conditions be it in city or highway.

Then the gear ratios are tuned such that you get maximum FE benefit as the gear changing patterns are fixed for all cars. No wonder we get tall gearing making them dull to dive. In real world you will be forced to downshift bringing the actual FE further down.

Bottom line FE of all cars in the same category is not much different. All 1.2L hatches provide similar FE figures. If you are really worried about FE get a diesel.

[thoma]

Originally Posted by oxyzen

This is hardly what you face in real driving conditions be it in city or highway.

Then the gear ratios are tuned such that you get maximum FE benefit as the gear changing patterns are fixed for all cars. No wonder we get tall gearing making them dull to dive. In real world you will be forced to downshift bringing the actual FE further down.

Very true. The difference between the rated FE and the practical FE of the Chevy Beat and the Hyundai i10 1.2 are typical examples.

Even the Arai Fuel efficiency is misleading. Here is why.

But, aren't all manufacturers rated on the same scale? So, I guess that comparison of FE ratings between cars are fine whereas comparing an FE rating with practical scenario is not.

[one-77]

Originally Posted by oxyzen

Even the Arai Fuel efficiency is misleading

True, but not as misleading as these ads. At least with ARAI, all manufacturers are judged by the same yardstick, and the fuel efficiency figures are much closer to what you might get. I remember Maruti used to run print ads that went like Mr.Somebody gets 35 kmpl from his A-Star. And now Ford is claiming 32 kmpl quoting the ACI report.
At least for diesel sedans, you can get close to the ARAI certified fuel efficiency on the highway. But I'm yet to see an A-Star or Fiesta that gives 30+ kmpl.

[download2live]

If they wanted to set an example with this they chose a mighty small amount.
Crore is the new lakh in today's time.
All this is encouraging the car makers to play a wilder game at advertising.

[JishD]

Such a shame that Maruti, a car which advertises closest to its real efficiency figures is fined. And hyundai goes away scot free despite no one meeting even 50% of the fel efficiency claims on the i10 !

[carwatcher]

I strongly feel that if any manufacturer to be penalised for misleading Ad then NANO should come first in line.
IMHO all the SEs should reply when asked about the FE of any car, "Sir/Madam, before purchase or after purchase?"

[rambo1o1]

I suppose now people will sue ARAI/car manufactures because they are not getting the promised figures published by ARAI?? ARAI publishes high figures for various cars which cannot be met due to various reasons.So now can i sue ARAI??

[apachelongbow]

This whole tamasha started a long time ago with Hero Honda's CD100, fill it, shut it, forget it and absurd claims of 105kmpl. I am sure even if Pawan Munjal pushed the bike all the way, it would not give 105kmpl. Advertising is getting more and more absurd day by day. Any ad on any product is over the top. Milk products claim to grow children's brains, cooking oil claims to repair hearts, deodarants claim to attract women and so on..

[sgiitk]

The ARAI figures are a piece of fiction. Actuals are at least 10-15% less.

A one lac fine is not even the proverbial tap on the knuckles with a feather. However, the publicity may be more of a negative thing.