Hawaii is one of 14 states suing the U.S. unit of Mazda Motor Corp. At issue are several television and newspaper ads that ran earlier this year touting the Irvine, Calif.-based subsidiary's "zero down" or "penny down" car-leasing program.

The ads gave the impression a customer needed no down payment - or just a penny - to lease a car, but the upfront fees actually totaled as much as about $900, said JoAnn Uchida, executive director of the state's Office of Consumer Protection, which filed the Hawaii lawsuit yesterday.

Minnesota Attorney General Hubert Humphrey III, whose office led the investigation, said, "You don't have to be a financial genius to know that zero down and $900 down have different implications for family budgets."

He added, "When ads blare 'zero down' claims with great fanfare and bury information about the up-front large fees involved in murky fine print, that's deceptive advertising."

The up-front costs include a $450 acquisition fee, a security deposit and the first month's lease payment.

Jay Amestoy, a spokesman for Mazda, said company officials were surprised by the lawsuits because Mazda is still negotiating with the attorneys general, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve Board.

"(Mazda) had every reason to believe we would reach an amicable agreement," he said. "We are at a loss to understand why we are being singled out when our practices are in line with the rest of the industry."

The lawsuits allege that the fees are disclosed in tiny print at the bottom of Mazda's television ads and are impossible for consumers to read. The ads ran on all of the major networks and various cable channels from March through June.