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Well, FWIW, we drive compacts and the mileage has always been a couple of miles within the advertised. I suspect the problem is mainly with the gas guzzlers, and we wouldn't buy one of those anyway :) In any case, it's still buyer beware, though folks who don't keep their cars well-maintained are shooting themselves in the foot. Can't blame Detroit for that.

Yeah, poor maintenance is a problem. Cars are so reliable today that people never give a tune-up a second thought. They generally don't need it, but things do go wrong from time to time. A bad oxygen sensor or partially clogged converter can have a significant effect on mileage, but until the idiot light goes on, people are oblivious to the situation. Of course, not everybody is like this, but there are plenty of people that won't even get the oil changed every now and then.

I track my mileage with every tankful, since it is a very good indicator of when things are working properly or when something isn't quite right under the hood.