It is the federal government.
The government -- in this case, the EPA -- takes a new car, then runs it through its test loop. Mileage figures are posted on the window sticker based on these tests, which are by nature subjective. Hence the caveat, in plain standard English: Your mileage will vary. Note, not may.
Will.
The exact wording is as follows:
"Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle [italics added]."
And just under the big "best case" mileage numbers, in smaller type, one finds a range of "expected mileage." As an example, this week I am test-driving a new Fiat 500C. The "best case" number is 32 MPG highway. But underneath this is a range of "expected mileage" between a low of 26 MPG and an even higher high of 38 MPG.
In other words, your mileage will vary.
Unfortunately for Honda -- and potentially every other seller of hybrid cars and perhaps cars, period -- there are a lot of people out there who cannot read and comprehend the meaning of plain English and worse, assume everything the government tells them must be true, since it's the government that's telling it to them. Thus, they become angry when reality disabuses them -- but unfortunately, they channel their anger toward the wrong party.
-read on at link-
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