MBUSA has been fined $28.9 million by the NHTSA for violating federal fuel efficiency requirements. It seems that the fine wasn’t a big deal for Mercedes-Benz, as they paid the fine right away. This is the second time that such Mercedes was fined. In 2007, DaimlerChrysler paid a record 30.2 million fine for imported passenger vehicles for the 2006 model year.

The fines were established to ensure that vehicles meet basic gas mileage standards. Volkswagen paid NHTSA $4.5 million in fines in August for light truck violations. Porsche and Maserati both paid $1.2 million while Ferrari paid $1.1 million.

It seems that it’s much easier to just pay the fine, then actually work towards meeting the NHTSA requirements, but also seems that they NHTSA fines have been designed so that they actually encourage payment and discourage solving the problem.