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Posted on 01/08/2012 1:08:24 PM PST by bkopto
A woman who expected her Civic Hybrid to be her dream car wants Honda to pay for not delivering the 50 mpg it promised.
But rather than joining other owners in a class-action lawsuit, Heather Peters is going solo against the automaker in small-claims court, an unusual move that could offer a bigger payout. And if successful, it could open the door to a flood of similar lawsuits.
A trial was set for Tuesday in Torrance, where American Honda has its West Coast headquarters.
Peters, a former lawyer, says that as her vehicle's battery deteriorated, it got only 30 mpg.
When Honda ignored her complaints, she filed legal papers seeking reimbursement for her trouble and the extra money she spent on gas. The suit could cost the company up to $10,000.
If other Civic owners follow her lead, she estimates Honda could be forced to pay as much as $2 billion in damages. No high-priced lawyers are involved, and the process is streamlined.
"I would not be surprised if she won," said Richard Cupp Jr., who teaches product-liability law at Pepperdine University. "The judge will have a lot of discretion, and the evidentiary standards are relaxed in small-claims court."
Small-claims courts generally handle private disputes that do not involve large amounts of money. In many states, that means small debts, quarrels between tenants and landlords and contract disagreements.
A victory for Peters could encourage others to take the same simplified route, he said.
"There's an old saying among lawyers," Cupp said. "If you want real justice, go to small-claims court."
(Excerpt) Read more at chicoer.com ...
Yeah, there were Hondas and Geos in the 80s?-90s? that got over 50 mpg. At a hell of a lot less money than these cars today.
All is well. Jim Rob took care of the problem.
Well explained. For optimum fuel mileage, do not move the gas pedal. This means that you will be going downhill at 70 MPH (r whatever you think you can get away with), and uphill at maybe 50. Fellow drivers will not love you, but you will be surprised at the mileage you can get.
Aaron Jacoby, a Los Angeles attorney who heads the automotive industry group at the Arent Fox law firm, said Peters’ strategy, while intriguing, is unlikely to change the course of class-action litigation.
“In the class-action, the potential claimants don’t have to do anything,” Jacoby said. “It’s designed to be an efficient way for a court to handle multiple claims of the same type.”
He also questioned her criticism of lawyers’ fees. Jacoby said class-action lawyers do extensive work that involves many clients and sometimes spans years. And they are not in it just for money.
“They’re representing the underdog, and they believe they are performing a public duty,” he said. “Many of these people could not get lawyers to represent them individually.”
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Wahhhhhooooo That’s the funniest thing I ever read.
Lawyers aren’t in it for the money. LMAO, This guy should go on TV he is a great comedian.
Of course, if it’s in the gas. Reduces mileage by about 10 percent.
In attempting a pure mechanical transmission there is also the vexing problem of transferring all that power and torque to the axles which are moving with at least 4 degrees of freedom. A little like the challenge of a front wheel drive auto, but much magnified.
The Germans (Krauss-Maffei) made a Diesel-hydraulic hybrid locomotive for a time; this was another viable solution for the transmission of diesel power to multiple axles. It was tried in the US for a little while, but they decided to stay with diesel-electric, because it's what they knew best.
Doesn't work that way in some states.
That is called a series hybrid. The Chevy Volt does that, except in severe conditions where the engine is directly linked to the transmission. Most of the time, it only drives a generator which feeds the batteries and thereby the electric motor.
While it is true that conversions of energy entail losses, it is also true that a gasoline engine is very inefficient when it has to push a variable load as all regular automobiles do. When it runs under a steady load, it is much more efficient — this is why your best mileage in a regular car is at moderate speeds on flat ground with no stops. A series hybrid is enough more efficient that the losses in charging the battery and driving the electric motor still result in lower fuel consumption.
It is probably a matter of scale.
Diesel electro-motive works well in industrial apps like locomotives and drilling rigs (yes, THAT is how the well is drilled) but in something as small as an automobile? Probably not.
If it did we’d have tractor trailer rigs powered that way.
Would it cost several thousand dollars to replace the fuel tank during that time?
“Would it cost several thousand dollars to replace the fuel tank during that time?”
Why would you have to replace the fuel tank?
I have a 1990 Ford 4WD Diesel Pickup truck and have had no problem with the fuel tanks. If it was a hybrid I guaran-dam-tee that the battery replacement would have cost several thousand $$$.
My truck holds 40 gallons of Diesel fuel and will go 600 miles between fill-ups.
“My truck holds 40 gallons of Diesel fuel and will go 600 miles between fill-ups.”
My butt hurts thinking about being on the highway that long.
It’s a hybrid, it doesn’t use it’s gas engine until the batteries are dead or nearly so. The faster they discharge the more gas it uses as the little gas engine will run more.
It's a battery-pack joke. I know you usually don't have to replace the energy storage container on combustion vehicles.
So if they claim 50 mpg and you had a gallon of fuel in the vehicle, you should be able to go 50 miles on the fuel and the batteries.
There has to be a better word than mpg to describe this-something like mpg&b .- tom
A direct-injected turbo-Diesel gets 45-50mpg when you buy it and it still gets 45-50mpg 10 years later.
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Who makes one other than Volkswagen?
Nope. Apparently, you are in an elite club. The vast majority of consumers think hybrids have a fuel efficiency advantage.
You got me with that one LOL!
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