Figuratively leaking

My son works in Brussels for T and E (Transport and Environment). He has just sent me the following. Maybe you would be interested?
A German has won a court case against Mercedes because his car didn't get the mpg that MB quoted in its advertising. The article is in German but there is a summary in English below the link.

www.spiegel.de/auto/aktuell/0,1518,594397,00.html

“In Stuttgart, Germany, someone has won a court case because his new Mercedes used 9.1% more on average than the 10.2 litres / 7.6 litres per 100 km as was officially communicated by Mercedes. Mercedes now has to compensate for the additional fuel costs, pay the court costs and pay back part of the car purchase cost.”

Asked on 7 February 2009 by

Answered by Honest John
Many thanks for that. I applaud the judgement. But am a bit surprised because of the weasel words used by the VCA in the UK. Manufacturers are compelled to use the officially witnessed EC test figures and only those test figures. Yet the VCA warns that ordinary drivers cannot necessarily expect to match them. I posted this as a discussion topic in The Backroom at www.honestjohn.co.uk in December and Backroomers with knowledge of German confirmed that the judgement was in a regional court and therefore set a case precedent in Germany.
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