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From what I've read, it was an error in calculation using the testing methods dictated by the US EPA that resulted in the erroneous higher MPG's. Apparently Hyundai/Kia acknowledges that they made a mistake in their calculations when the EPA could not replicate their results.
Understand that people use the published MPG as one of the many decision factors in purchasing a car. In this case, the problem is that everyone is assuming that the erroneous numbers were an "honest" mistake. Is it really?
Those erroneously high MPG's allowed Hyundai/Kia to get a foothold in a very competitive economy car market during a time with unfavorable market conditions (ongoing recession, dwindling middle class, shrinking salary/wages, etc).
I remember very distinctly a few years ago when literally, there was a noticeable increase in the number of new Hyundai/Kias on the road. As if overnight, 1/8th of every car I saw on the road was a new Hyundai/Kia.
People make mistakes, right? But you would think that something this important would have more than one set of eyes verifying it.
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