Example 1: A new car advertisement states: "This vehicle gets great mileage." The claim is likely to convey a variety of meanings, including that the vehicle has a better MPG rating than all or almost all other cars on the market. However, the advertised vehicle's EPA fuel economy estimates are only slightly better than the average vehicle on the market. Because the advertiser cannot substantiate that the vehicle's rating is better than all or almost all other cars on the market, the advertisement is deceptive. In addition, the advertiser may not be able to substantiate other reasonable interpretations of the claim. To avoid deception, the advertisement should disclose the vehicle's EPA fuel economy estimate (e.g., "EPA-estimated 27 combined MPG").
Example 2: An advertisement states: "This car gets great gas mileage compared to other compact cars." The claim is likely to convey a variety of meanings, including that the vehicle gets better gas mileage than all or almost all other compact cars. However, the vehicle's EPA fuel economy estimates are only slightly better than average compared to other models in its class. Because the advertiser cannot substantiate that the vehicle's rating is better than all or almost all other compact cars, the advertisement is deceptive. In addition, the advertiser may not be able to substantiate other reasonable interpretations of the claim. To address this problem, the advertisement should disclose the vehicle's EPA fuel economy estimate.
Example 1: An automobile advertisement states that model "XYZ gets great gas mileage in town." However, the advertisement does not disclose the EPA city fuel economy estimate. Instead, it only discloses the EPA highway fuel economy estimate, which is higher than the model's city estimate. This claim likely conveys to a significant proportion of reasonable consumers that the highway estimate disclosed in the advertisement applies to city driving. Thus, the advertisement is deceptive to consumers. To remedy this problem, the advertisement should disclose the EPA city fuel economy estimate (e.g., "32 MPG in the city according to the EPA estimate").
Example 2: A new car advertisement states that model "XZA gives you great gas mileage" but only provides the EPA highway fuel economy estimate. Given the likely inconsistency between the general fuel economy claim, which does not reference a specific type of driving, and the disclosed EPA highway estimate, the advertisement is deceptive to consumers. To address this problem, the advertisement should disclose the EPA combined estimate (e.g., "37 MPG for combined driving according to the EPA estimate"), or both the EPA city and highway fuel economy estimates.
Example 3: An advertisement states: "according to EPA estimates, new cars in this class are rated at between 20 and 32 MPG, while the EPA estimate for this car is an impressive 35 MPG highway." The advertisement is likely to imply that the 20 to 32 MPG range and 35 MPG estimate are comparable. In fact, the "20 and 32 MPG" range reflects EPA city estimates. Therefore, the advertisement is deceptive. To address this problem, the advertisement should only provide an apples-to-apples comparison-either using the highway range for the class or using the city estimate for the advertised vehicle.
Example 1: An automobile manufacture's Web site states, without qualification, "This car gets 40 MPG on the highway." The claim likely conveys to a significant proportion of reasonable consumers that they will achieve 40 MPG driving this vehicle on the highway. The advertiser based its claim on an EPA highway estimate. However, EPA provides that estimate primarily for comparison purposes-it does not necessarily reflect real world driving results. Therefore, the claim is deceptive. In addition, the use of the term "gets," without qualification, may lead some consumers to believe not only that they can, but will consistently, achieve the stated mileage. To address these problems, the advertisement should clarify that the MPG value is an estimate by stating "EPA estimate" or equivalent language.
Example 1: A radio commercial for the "XTQ" car states that the vehicle "is rated at an estimated 28 MPG in the city" but does not disclose that an EPA test is the source of this MPG estimate. This advertisement may convey that the source of this test is an entity other than EPA. To avoid deception, the advertisement should state that the MPG figures are EPA estimates.
Example 1: A television commercial for the car model "ZTA" informs consumers that the ZTA is rated at "25 miles per gallon according to the EPA estimate" but does not disclose whether this number is a highway, city, or combined estimate. The advertisement likely conveys to a significant proportion of reasonable consumers that the 25 MPG figure reflects normal driving (i.e., a combination of city and highway driving), not the highway rating as intended by the advertiser. In fact, the 25 MPG rating is the vehicle's EPA highway estimate. Therefore, the advertisement is deceptive.
Example 1: An advertisement claims that sports car X "outpaces other cars' gas mileage." The claim likely conveys a variety of meanings to a significant proportion of reasonable consumers, including that this vehicle has a higher MPG rating than all or almost all other vehicles on the market. Although the vehicle's MPG rating compares favorably to other sports cars, its fuel economy is only better than roughly half of all new automobiles on the market. Therefore, the claim is deceptive.
Example 1: A manufacturer's advertisement states that model "PDQ" gets "great gas mileage" but depicts the MPG numbers for a similar model type known as the "Econo-PDQ." The advertisement is likely to convey that the claimed MPG rating applies to all types of the PDQ model. However, the "Econo-PDQ" has a better fuel economy rating than other types of the "PDQ" model. Therefore, the advertisement is deceptive.
Example 1: An advertisement states, without further explanation, that a vehicle model VXR will achieve "up to 40 MPG on the highway." The advertisement is based on a particularly efficient type of this model, with specific options, with an EPA highway estimate of 40 MPG. However, other types of model VXR have lower EPA MPG estimates. A significant proportion of reasonable consumers likely interpret the "up to" claim as applying to all VXR model types. Therefore, the advertisement is deceptive. To address this problem, the advertisement should clearly and prominently disclose that the 40 MPG rating does not apply to all model types of the VXR or use language other than "up to" that better conveys the claim.
Example 1: An automobile advertisement states: "This flex-fuel powerhouse has a 30 MPG highway rating according to the EPA estimate." The advertisement likely implies that the 30 MPG rating applies to both gasoline and alternative fuel operation. In fact, the ethanol EPA estimate for this vehicle is 25 MPG. Therefore, the advertisement is deceptive. To address this problem, the advertisement could clearly and prominently qualify the claim or disclose the MPG ratings for both gasoline and alternative fuel operation.
Example 1: An advertisement for an electric vehicle states: "This car has a great driving range." This claim likely conveys a variety of meanings, including that the vehicle has a better driving range than all or almost all other electric vehicles. However, the EPA driving range estimate for this vehicle is only slightly better than roughly half of all other electric vehicles on the market. Because the advertiser cannot substantiate that the vehicle's driving range is better than all or almost all other electric vehicles, the advertisement is deceptive. In addition, the advertiser may not be able to substantiate other reasonable interpretations of the claim. To address this problem, the advertisement should disclose the vehicle's EPA driving range estimate (e.g., "EPA-estimated range of 70 miles per charge").
Example 1: An Internet advertisement states: "Independent driving experts took the QXT car for a weekend spin and managed to get 55 miles-per-gallon under a variety of driving conditions." It does not disclose the actual EPA fuel economy estimates, nor does it explain how conditions during the "weekend spin" differed from those under the EPA tests. This advertisement likely conveys that the 55 MPG figure is the same or comparable to an EPA fuel economy estimate for the vehicle. This claim is deceptive because it fails to disclose that fuel economy information is based on a non-EPA test, the source of the non-EPA test, the EPA fuel economy estimates for the vehicle, and all driving conditions or vehicle configurations simulated by the non-EPA test that are different from those used in the EPA test.
Example 2: An advertisement states: "The XZY electric car has a driving range of 110 miles per charge in summer conditions according to our expert's test." It provides no additional information regarding this driving range claim. This advertisement likely conveys that this 110-mile driving range figure is comparable to an EPA driving range estimate for the vehicle. The advertisement is deceptive because it does not clearly state that the test is a non-EPA test; it does not provide the EPA estimated driving range; and it does not explain how conditions referred to in the advertisement differed from those under the EPA tests. Without this information, consumers are likely to confuse the claims with range estimates derived from the official EPA test procedures.
16 C.F.R. §259.4