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GM Aims to Compensate SUV Owners for Fuel Economy Gap

General Motors Co. is developing a plan to pay about 169,000 customers in the U.S. because the 2016 model large crossover vehicles they bought were about 2 mpg less fuel efficient than their labels indicated, according to Automotive News.
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General Motors Co. is developing a plan to pay about 169,000 customers in the U.S. because the 2016 model large crossover vehicles they bought were about 2 mpg less fuel efficient than their labels indicated, according to Automotive News.

Affected models are the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia. AN says GM, which revealed the labeling error last Friday, will roll out the program to dealers in a few days.

But the company’s response wasn’t fast enough to head off a federal lawsuit on Tuesday that claims GM should compensate the owners for overpaying for their vehicles. The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit by the California law firm McCuneWright LLP on behalf of a Florida resident who bought a Chevy Traverse last month.

The firm was among those who sued Hyundai Motor Co. and its Kia Motors Corp. affiliate four years ago for inflating the fuel economy ratings by as much as 4 mpg on roughly 900,000 vehicles sold in the American market. The companies settled the lawsuits with a $395 million program that offered owners the choice of a lump-sum payment reimbursement for higher fuel costs.

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