Virginia Attorney General proudly announced today that his office has reached a settlement with Ford Motor Company after it allegedly misrepresented certain aspects of its products.
The investigation was led by Oregon, Texas, Illinois, Maryland, Vermont and Arizona, and joined by the Attorneys General of 35 other states and jurisdictions. According to ABC, the Commonwealth of Virginia is set to receive $384,736.40 as a result, with Miyares saying that “Virginians should be able to trust car manufacturers’ information as advertised about their vehicles. A key component of my office is protecting Virginia consumers, and I’m pleased we were able to reach a fair agreement with Ford.”
My office is always ready to protect Virginia consumers who have been misled. Glad we were able to reach a settlement with Ford for allegedly misrepresenting vehicle information. https://t.co/ZmbogVh4xN
— Jason Miyares (@JasonMiyaresVA) May 24, 2022
According to the Attorney General’s Office, an investigation revealed that Ford made several misleading representations about the 2013–2014 C-Max hybrids including:
- Misrepresenting the distance consumers could drive on one tank of gas
- Marketing that indicated driving style would not impact real-world fuel economy
- Claiming that the real-world fuel economy was superior to other hybrids
Additionally, Ford’s deceptive and misleading “Best-in-Class” payload claims on its 2011–2014 Super Duty pick-up trucks — which included the F-250, F-350, and F-450 models — were investigated. The results found that Ford had:
- Devised a calculation method for payload capacity that was deceptive in how it omitted standard items (such as the spare wheel, tire and jack, center flow console and radio)
- Advertised its Super Duty pick-up trucks as having a “Best-in-Class” payload (of 194 pounds) based on that deceptive calculation
- Sold Super Duty pick-up trucks to individual consumers that could not meet the “Best-in-Class” payload claim
This is not the first time Miyares has been on the lookout for false claims made by these massive companies. Earlier this month, Turbotax agreed to pay 3.5 million to Virginians who were misled by ads for “free” tax-filing services.