Mike,
I can really say from personal experience that EPA numbers are inflated for every vehicle if driven like a normal person would. If you will look at my milage database and las winter/spring you will see that i was recieving 24-26 in a car rated for 29 in city. That is a 10-15% loss from EPA. Last winter/spring i really had no idea how to drive for fuel efficiency...but i wasnt a lead foot. I think the reason that people are complaning about the fuel efficiency of the hybrids comes from three reasons 1:There is a meter that tells you what you are getting 2: People are scheptical and love to complain 3: 10-15% of a car getting 47 mpg is a 5-7 mpg drop...instead of a 1-5 mpg drop seen from a normal I.C.E. engine. I realize that this hasnt been a very structured response, but i hope it will shed some light on the reasons that claims of hybrid advertisers being crooked are false.
Cheers,
Steven
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