This list, you know the news group.
Niether would I. I explained how the peopel could have gotton the results. I did not say they would apply to me.
Percieved quality is one of many factors that go into buying a car. There are other factors, like the dealer, the person's history with that make, what friends say, what ads people see on TV, in newspapers and in the subway, what they saw at auto shows, what the currect deal is at the dealer (like 0% financing).
Yet we don't drive under the same conditions as the EPA tests are run. So they don't apply that well. They are rough estimates. Even though the tests are repeatedable, they have limited applicability to real life. For example, the EPA tests are done with air conditioners off. Try that in Washington DC, and the eggs in your grocery basket will hard boiled when you get home.
I don't think Mike is lying.
Jeff