Hi,
Recently, I learned about a lawsuit for false mileage claims in California involving the HCH and hope that it is soon dismissed. The complaint is this individual didn't get the mileage expected and their lawyers are trying to make it a 'class action' suit. To me, this is frivolous to the point I think our Honda drivers can and should help Honda.
There is merit in asking every HCH owner/operator to send a 'friend of the court' letter to the clerk with a copy to Honda America reporting their performance. HCH owners have 'standing' because they are potentially a member of the class action group. Flooding the court with something along the lines of:
- As a Honda Civic Hybrid owner since <date>, I wish to submit this letter attesting to the performance of my Honda Hybrid Civic.
- Over <xx,xxx> miles I have gotten <yy.y> miles per gallon and recorded these miles in GreenHybrid.com
- I am writing this letter as a friend of the court to help achieve justice.
I can think of a couple of hundred entries in the hybrid database that might be asked to write 'friend of the court' letters countering this suit. It would make sure the court has your point of view. But this also brought up another lawsuit that may have merit.
A hybrid system that lacks the ability to move the vehicle on electric only power is not a hybrid-electric vehicle. To call an auto-stop vehicle lacking electric motive power a hybrid is at best, misleading, and at worse, an attempt to bring hybrids into disrepute. What is sad is GM has a two-mode transmission coming out, a true hybrid, and GM knows what a fraud the 'auto stop' hybrid is. Yet they are introducing another hybrid 'poison pill' with the Malibu.
I have no standing in bringing suit against GM. Only the owners of the recently discontinued Silverado, current Saturn VUE owners and future Malibu owners really have standing. But we have a saying in the South along the lines of "He needed killin'" and that pretty well defines my feelings about marketing calling "auto stop" a hybrid. But it is another example of GM abusing their own customer base.
To treat your customers, knowingly to a fraudulent hybrid claim, invites at worse a lawsuit. At best, it destroys the company's credibility. It simply drives GM's loyal customers to other vendors, building down a once great company.
Bob Wilson