Is Mercedes Misleading in their Advertising?
Mercedes recently came under fire for a print E-Class campaign. The content of said ad features the E-Class sedan and states that CO2 emissions for the range are down to 139g/km*, which means its better for the environment. It also means you pay less tax. And theres something else that’s lower than you’d expected as well. The price.” The asterisk linked to a footnote which stated “CO2 emissions: 139-261/km … Based on E250 CDI SE manual available at launch. Model shown is a Mercedes-Benz E250 CDI Sport.
The root of the problem seems more to do with the occasional vagueness of the English language more than in any outright lie. The Mercedes ad states “CO2 emissions for the range are down to 139g/km*, which means its better for the environment.” The asterisk points out this only applies to the E-Class sedan with a small diesel engine and manual transmission, as the range for C02 emissions actually goes up to 261 g/km with different configurations. Out of 24 possible engine/wheel/transmission/bodystyle possibilities only two were as low as 139 g/km.
According to ASA, “We concluded that the body copy of the ad misleadingly implied that the whole E-Class Saloon range had emissions of 139 g/kg or similar and the claim was likely to mislead.” The print ad has been discontinued throughout UK papers/magazines.
via Jalopnik
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