Interesting anecdote about Ford tweaking speedometer for false MPG in '72

[SVOboy]

Ford Fudged Speed, Mileage | theledger.com | The Ledger | Lakeland, FL

Just a short letter to the editor, but still pretty interesting. Evidently Ford intentionally tricked people into thinking they were getting better mileage than they were by running the speedo at a higher pace.

EPA testing may cost money, but at least it prevents us from being scammed on the large scale by automakers like this. Of course Ford is a different company nowadays, but as much deceptive advertising as there is in the auto industry now I wouldn't be surprised if this sort of thing still went on if we didn't have such strict testing and regulations.

[Frank Lee]

I call B.S.!

I'd imagine the cop Fords had a lower rear end ratio than the "civilian" models. Take a "civilian" model, convert it to "cop", forget/mistakenly err to change the speedo drive gear, and of course the speedo/odo will read fast.

"Evidently"...

[micondie]

This reminds me of something I read years ago in an article about suspension modification. Front suspension geometry is designed to reduce the diving of your front end when you apply the brakes. In the early fifties, Fords front suspensions geometry was designed to exagerate the dive of the front end to make drivers think they had real good brakes.

[RobertSmalls]

Here I go spreading a rumor that I'm unable to test: There are allegations floating around that the Prius-III's onboard MPG-meter reads 5% too high. It's probably not even illegal to have an inaccurate MPG meter.

[SVOboy]

I've been wondering about that actually. Is the speedo accurate and just the fuel flow rate inaccurate?

[Old Tele man]

...hm-m-m-m, it's MPG = MILES / GALS

...so, 50% chance of MILES too high or 50% GALS too low?!?!

...difference is that MILES is a function of the CAR while GALS is a function of the local gas pump.

[DonR]

OE manufactures speedometers typically always read a few MPH fast. This is to avoid lawsuits from people getting tickets due to variances in tire OD's from different mfg's & inflation pressures. I do not know if the odometer is correct or not. I think the adjustment was in the speedo controls alone. Check your speedometer vs. a GPS unit. Mine runs approx. 5mph fast at 65 mph.

Info came from a friend who worked at Honda.

Don

[baddriver]

Speedometer Scandal! - Feature - Auto Reviews - Car and Driver

[Duffman]

Originally Posted by DonR

Info came from a friend who worked at Honda.

Honda got pinched a few years ago on excessive spedometer error. They dont do it to save you speeding tickets, they do it to get the car out of warranty faster to save warranty repair $$$.