Fuel Economy Lawsuit

[TechnicallyReal]

I's be inclined to think it's more of a handful of people do not understand what "Estimated" means and are looking for a payday like the McDonald's Coffee lady. I mean it was FRESH BREWED COFFEE... OF COURSE IT'S HOT... Same point here... to those who started this thing, it's a fricken truck.. They don't get great gas mileage. They never have and never will.. They're the aerodynamic equivalent of a brick with wheels... If you want great gas mileage buy a civic.. And if you would have bought a different brand because it got 2-3 MPH more then all I can say is P.T. Barnum was right. " There's a sucker born every second."

Hate to be the Debbie Downer again but the McDonald's coffee lady had a jury rule in her favor and holy hell did she deserve it - the coffee was way too hot and spilled all over her crotch, causing massive burns that sent her to the hospital. The photos are horrifying. There's a documentary about it...

"Liebeck was hospitalized for eight days while she underwent skin grafting, followed by two years of medical treatment."

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[MSgt G]

If my gas mileage got any better, I'd feel guilty and would have to send Ford monthly checks!

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Hate to be the Debbie Downer again but the McDonald's coffee lady had a jury rule in her favor and holy hell did she deserve it - the coffee was way too hot and spilled all over her crotch, causing massive burns that sent her to the hospital. The photos are horrifying. There's a documentary about it...

"Liebeck was hospitalized for eight days while she underwent skin grafting, followed by two years of medical treatment."

Coffee is brewed at 190F. Nearly every coffee maker out there heats the water to this temp and has for decades. So I'm sorry but anyone with a shred of common sense would know that you don't put a freshly brewed cup of coffee between your legs while you're in a car.. Especially after taking hold of it with your hands first and feeling how hot it is in order to put it there..

And she was also found partly at fault as well. The bulk of the settlement that the jury awarded was due to how McDonald's handled it. She offered to settle for 20K but they refused and the Jury awarded her millions for something that could have been avoided had she thought "You know, this coffee is kinda hot, maybe I shouldn't put it between my knees..."

 

[TechnicallyReal]

Coffee is brewed at 190F. Nearly every coffee maker out there heats the water to this temp and has for decades. So I'm sorry but anyone with a shred of common sense would know that you don't put a freshly brewed cup of coffee between your legs while you're in a car.. Especially after taking hold of it with your hands first and feeling how hot it is in order to put it there..

And she was also found partly at fault as well. The bulk of the settlement that the jury awarded was due to how McDonald's handled it. She offered to settle for 20K but they refused and the Jury awarded her millions for something that could have been avoided had she thought "You know, this coffee is kinda hot, maybe I shouldn't put it between my knees..."

She definitely made a mistake but imo no one should be serving coffee when it's still that hot. Yea many places still do, and there are still lawsuits made over it, but they'd rather fight them then adjust. I don't get it. When I get coffee I have to cool it with cream or wait 20 minutes before I can drink the damn thing. I started asking for a couple of ice cubes in my coffee (roast me about it, I don't care ). They're kinda lucky that people happen to like cream in their coffee, cooling it considerably.

She was an old lady (in her 70's or something) and she got a fair bit of money but I don't think it was millions (or even 'a' million). Like you said she wanted less initially, to cover medical expenses etc. And medical expenses are a whole other thing in the USA. The idea that you could bankrupt yourself and your entire family over a random health issue or something out of your control.. eesh.

My point is, for the injuries she suffered, I certainly wouldn't call it frivolous. Both sides are at fault imo. Lawyers take things to a whole other level of course. I'm sure she learned a hell of a lesson. McDonald's doesn't seem to have learned, but at least they have more warnings on the cup.. I guess

 

[Slash3040]

I didn’t buy a truck to worry about fuel economy

 

[AzScorpion]

I didn’t buy a truck to worry about fuel economy

Exactly....That's what a Prius is for.

 

[OFC Ranger]

I see some people all these years later still don't understand the details behind the McDonalds Coffee lawsuit...

I think what the Ford case is going to hinge on is if Ford advertised best in class fuel mileage and state in a factual way they were the best. If it is proven they did this then the word "estimate" does not really matter.

If I sell a gold bar that is 1% gold and 99% bullshitnisiam do you honestly think I am safe from product lawsuits if I state its 95% gold and throw in "gold percentage is an estimate" at the bottom of the Ad? Don't get so wrapped up in fanboyism for a product to think companies are incapable of of stretching the imagination in the advertisment department for an extra buck.

I don't expect my truck to get 26mph, but I'm not going to hand-wave something if its proven the company bullshitted its consumer base. Companies did not get this way over night. It was a slow gradual thing of pushing the imaginary line a few centimetres at a time.

 

[FordFreak]

Hand calculated I get 21.7mpg going back and forth to work. My F150 was 21.5 with a 2.7 Ecoboost. It’s pretty sad really, but I’ll live.

edit: I wouldn’t join a class action suit, regardless. It’s not my thing.

 

[ch47dmechanic]

I didn’t buy a truck to worry about fuel economy

...this.

In fact, my 2017 2.7TT F-150 got better mileage than my current Ranger does. However, to be fair, the Ranger is a 4X4 and the F-150 wasn't. Both crew cabs, though. The F-150 easily averaged 18-20 city and 21-25 highway...from day one. My Ranger is only now at close to 17,000 miles averaging close to 21 on a mixed driving basis but on a few long highway trips has averaged close to 25 without a sweat.

I'm not sure why anyone is terribly concerned about fuel economy with a truck. If you're desperate to hypermile, buy a car. Preferably a Prius or something. I also don't agree with the notion that pickup trucks are family cars either, but that's a different topic for a different thread.

 

[Jtholz]

Lol!! My previous vehicle was 2004 F150. FX4 with the 5.4 liter V8. I think it averaged around 12 to 14. The Ranger is a definite improvement. I'm not complaining. Also, I tend to have a heavy foot so 20 mpg on the Ranger is very satisfying to me.

 

[Zaph]

The lawsuit does seem frivolous but it's probably a good thing. makers have to get called out on lies now and then to keep them honest.

The problem is I could see Ford doing something stupid like an ECU recall that gives us better mileage that matches the window sticker but makes the truck run poorly.

Personally I don't care as long as it doesn't drop too far into the teens. When I disabled auto stop-start I didn't loose much city mpg, maybe 1 mpg at most.

 

[jsphlynch]

I think what the Ford case is going to hinge on is if Ford advertised best in class fuel mileage and state in a factual way they were the best. If it is proven they did this then the word "estimate" does not really matter.

I'm no lawyer, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn last night, but I don't think this is the case. It doesn't really matter whether the real-world mileage is the best, or if the MPG numbers they cite reflect real-world driving conditions. It's not the word "estimate" that matters, but rather the whole phrase "EPA estimated" that is part of all their advertising. The EPA specifies how MPGs are to be tested, and the case is going to hinge on whether Ford stuck to that methodology.

The lawsuit does seem frivolous but it's probably a good thing. makers have to get called out on lies now and then to keep them honest.

If it's frivolous, they're not getting called out on a lie; they're being harassed because the plaintiff (or at least their lawyers) has a financial incentive to do so. There's nothing good about that unless you're a lawyer. If it's not frivolous, it's good for exactly the reason you stated.

Investings a bitch huh?

Can't complain too much. The stocks, including Ford, that I bought in early 2009 provided a good portion of the down payment on my house. The stocks I sold in January are what enabled me to buy my Ranger. I've had some misses (BP hasn't looked so smart), but overall I've benefited from the investments.

 

[geophb]

Coffee is brewed at 190F. Nearly every coffee maker out there heats the water to this temp and has for decades. So I'm sorry but anyone with a shred of common sense would know that you don't put a freshly brewed cup of coffee between your legs while you're in a car.. Especially after taking hold of it with your hands first and feeling how hot it is in order to put it there..

And she was also found partly at fault as well. The bulk of the settlement that the jury awarded was due to how McDonald's handled it. She offered to settle for 20K but they refused and the Jury awarded her millions for something that could have been avoided had she thought "You know, this coffee is kinda hot, maybe I shouldn't put it between my knees..."

That hot coffee sue thing is crazy. First time someone told me about it I thought it was a joke.
If I buy a knife and its too sharp so I accidentally cut myself, can I sue?

 

[AzScorpion]

That hot coffee sue thing is crazy. First time someone told me about it I thought it was a joke.
If I buy a knife and its too sharp so I accidentally cut myself, can I sue?

I would, seeing as she got money why not? I do realize this coffee was much hotter than it should've been but c'mon man, people need to have some common sense. IIRC didn't she place it between her legs? Even if it were at the correct temp she would've still had some severe burns.

Ok fire will burn you but you know you will get burned if you hold your finger over a lit match and also if you stick it in a roaring bon fire. These damn blood sucking lawyers are the problem and the reason we end up paying higher prices for things.

 

[TechnicallyReal]

That hot coffee sue thing is crazy. First time someone told me about it I thought it was a joke.
If I buy a knife and its too sharp so I accidentally cut myself, can I sue?

There's always more to it than people tell you. But it's more fun to act like we know all the facts and then make judgements based on a half-picture.

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