Swiss jail
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power cheats
A court in BIEL, Switzerland, has sentenced four sales executives of a company representing a well-known United States commercial vehicle builder to prison terms ranging from 28 to 13 months for falsifying the engine output ratings of the first 60 vehicles sold.
The accused included the general manager of the importer's truck division, the firm's chief engineer and the company secretary. All have appealed against the severity of the sentences — which also include fines — and which resulted from a private prosecution.
Ratings of 179 kW (240 bhp) engines were -upgradedto 235 kW (315bhp) and V-8 engines of 315bhp were marketed as 313kW (420bhp) units.
The case, the first of its kind concerning heavy vehicles, has caused considerable comment in Switzerland where the confusion caused by DIN, SAE and CUNA ratings is being compounded by the introduction of SI — kW terms which will become the sole legal unit in January 1978