"im glad people are buying hybrids, but i think too many get their
hopes
up too high. hearing people complain that they arent getting 50mpg, but

only 40 or whatever is as annoying as the guy at work bitching that it
took $80 to fill his suburbanan."

If Honda is advertising it at 47/48 mpg, I'd like to know if something
can be tweaked to reach that mark. Should I just sit back and say
"well, 40 isn't too bad"? Hell no. If I'm going to pay the extra few
grand to get the Hybrid over the standard Civic, I want a return on my
investment.

And hearing someone complain about 40 mpg is not even in the same
ballpark as listening to a suburban or better yet, a Hummer owner,
complain about their gas bill. Apples and oranges.