Mitsubishi Motors says false mileage tests done since 1991

President Tetsuro Aikawa told reporters Tuesday the probe was ongoing, suggesting that more irregularities might be found.

Really? Wow...who would have thunk! Invariably if you find one small cockroach, there is a nest of them hiding somewhere else in the building.

Now this is a big surprise! Who could possibly have guessed that a Japanese company falsified, lied, hid or dis anything dishonest? I mean, it's not like it has ever happened before...

Japan is periodically shaken by scandals at top-name companies

No kidding!? There is no governance in Japan at any level.

http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/publish/pressrelease_en/corporate/2016/news/detailg427.html

Four grades of the model year 2014 eK Wagon and Dayz (submitted in February 2013) were produced—a fuel-economy grade, a standard grade, a turbo grade and a 4WD grade. During development of the fuel-economy grade, the fuel consumption target, which had initially been 26.4km/l (in February 2011), was revised upward over a series of internal meetings until finally being set at 29.2km/l (February 2013).

Driving resistance data were obtained for that fuel-economy grade using a "high-speed coasting test," which differed from the coasting test required by the applicable laws and regulations in Japan. A relatively low value was selected from among the test results for use as the driving resistance value in order to give the appearance of greater fuel consumption. Data for the remaining three grades were calculated without testing based on the data for the fuel-economy grade.

The data submitted for the model year 2014 eK Space and Dayz Roox (submitted in October 2013), the model year 2015 eK Wagon and Dayz (submitted in March 2014), the model year 2015 eK Space and Dayz Roox (submitted in December 2014), and the model year 2016 eK Wagon and Dayz (submitted in June 2015) were all calculated without testing based on the data for the model year 2014 eK Wagon and Dayz to achieve the fuel consumption targets.

badsey3 APR. 27, 2016 - 08:32AM JST During development of the fuel-economy grade, the fuel consumption target, which had initially been 26.4km/l (in February 2011), was revised upward over a series of internal meetings until finally being set at 29.2km/l (February 2013).

The eK Wagon and Dayz show only about 10 percent adjustment. What about Ford? The EPA ratings for the 2013 Fusion Hybrid are 47 mpg combined, with both city and highway ratings coming in at that same 47 mpg. Fusion Hybrid achieved better gas mileage results than the C-Max, with which it shares a powertrain and which seems to return only 35 to 39 mpg for most drivers.

Now on the the 250 mile (400km) test cycle, about two-thirds highway and one-third city and suburban driving, Fusion Hybrid test car delivered 36 mpg. And that test car over 8,000 miles, was an even worse 34 mpg. All manufacturer fudge numbers. I am not sure why Mistubishi is being singled out.

Good on Nissan for outing Mitsubishi. This is really disappointing from Mitsubishi and they should punished very severely as this will undoubtedly tarnish the other automakers' brands though they are presumably innocent

Mileage fraud is a violation of Japan’s fuel efficiency law for autos because buyers are eligible for tax breaks if a vehicle model delivers good mileage.

An "unintended consequence" of Japanese government meddling in the markets with distortionary tax policies...

Why should our money be redistributed to people who buy (what is supposed to be) a certain type of car? Car consumers themselves have enough incentive to buy a fuel-efficient car, do they not?

This is just the tip of the iceberg, it's not just cars. Huge tax breaks are also available for people wealthy enough to afford a down payment on new houses which are bureaucratically certified to meet certain "environmental" standards, where the home purchase is partly financed by a mortgage. How much fraud is going on in the house standard certifications there too?

The government should abolish these tax redistribution schemes. They are so susceptible to fraud, but appear designed to favour certain LDP-friendly sectors of the economy.

Were government not meddling in these ways, consumers would be left to make decisions based on the merits of the products alone. And without incentives to cheat on stupid government rules, businesses would have only an incentive to focus on providing the goods for consumers, or else their stock prices will be smashed as has happened with Mitsubishi in this instance, the best punishment.

Now this is a big surprise! Who could possibly have guessed that a Japanese company falsified, lied, hid or dis anything >>dishonest? I mean, it's not like it has ever happened before...

Indeed, the govt is the only to keep their head in the sand and not realize that "Made in Japan" is slowly turning into "Made in fraud", their blatant line of conduct to give impunity to the big Japanese corporations and let them escape anything with a 90 degrees bow is killing Japan companies's image.

Shock horror, da da daaaaaa.

Citizen2012 APR. 27, 2016 - 11:48AM JST that "Made in Japan" is slowly turning into "Made in fraud",

But VW, a German company has admitted that about 11 million cars worldwide, including eight million in Europe, are fitted with the so-called "defeat device". Who is the real fraud?

The zaibatsu - Mitsubishi being one of them - are basically the very embodiment of everything wrong with Japan Inc.

The President said that he doesn't understand why employees would do such a thing. Obviously because they were led to do so overtly or with a nod and a wink (& a promotion) by management. No employees would engage in such a high risk behavior without at least the acquiescence of top management.

That he would throw line employees under the bus is an act of sheer cowardice, but not that surprising.

The systems for cleaning pollutants are deactivated at low temperatures to protect motors or prevent a possible accident, as is allowed by EU regulations, but it was not clear whether some makers used this provision to bend the rules. Dobrindt said that besides German brands Volkswagen, Audi, Mercedes, Opel and Porsche, as well as France's Renault, "other manufacturers (affected) are ... Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet, Dacia, Fiat, Hyundai, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Nissan and Suzuki." Meanwhile, independent of the German probe, Daimler -- owner of Mercedes-Benz, announced that it was launching an internal investigation, "into its certification process related to exhaust emissions in the United States upon the request of the US Department of Justice (DOJ)."

-not just VW.