Lakedude's got it- that realtime mpg guage is our best friend and our worst enemy!

How about pointing out one of the base points of the whole reason for hybrids & hypermileage: less gas/oil use. whether or not jane average gets epa 48mpg or realworld 40mpg- she's still using less of a finite resource not to mention the TONS of CO not produced.
very often the journalists & bean counters compare the mileage of say, a regular civic to the increase of a hybrid- which is not a huge jump, especially without good driving technique. BUT- not everyone was going to buy a civic in the first place- maybe by buying a hybrid instead of the minivan or explorer- they saved alot more. I personally would not have bought a civic to replace my explorer- I came for the hybrid, and my mileage went from 17mpg to 48mpg. my CO went from 14,900 pounds to 5,200 pounds. that's a reduction of almost 5 TONS of CO!!
the comparisons always seem set-up to minimize gains & maximize cost.

KLC
2005 HCH CVT 'Verdigeek'