I think the biggest thing is setting expectations.

Yes, ANY car will get lower gas mileage when you floor it, or drive it without warming it up. etc.

The general public knows that about regular ICE cars. We're all aware that we won't get exactly the gas mileage the manufacturer claims.

But the thing is, hybrids are so new, the general public DOESN'T know this stuff about them yet. I did a ton of research before buying mine and really didn't come across any information that would suggest my FEH would underperform. (Granted, I bought one of the first ones, so there was little/no real world data, but still, I expect the car magazines and consumer groups to honestly review a car.)

I guess that's my point. Sure, the reporter could have interviewed plenty of people who get better-than-advertised gas mileage from their hybrids. But that would have just reinforced the fact that hybrids are perfect and everyone will benefit from buying them. The problem comes from the backlash when they don't live up to that hype.

My FEH has drastically underperformed compared to my expectations. Would I recommend a hybrid to anyone I know? No. Would I buy another hybrid in the future? No. However if the FEH had been sold to me with more realistic expectations, I wouldn't be so disappointed and might be more likely to give hybrids another shot.