Chevy is currently advertising that its Silverado pickup has "unbeatable" gas mileage. Ford has a commercial for its new F-150 that claims "you can't get better gas mileage" in a truck. Both get 21 miles per gallon. So ... they aren't lying, really.

I've been catching up on my commercial viewing during the NFL football season and, as per usual, I've been surprised by the stories advertisers are telling us. Some of the most egregious lies seem to be coming from the much-maligned auto industry.

Automakers, instead of actually building more fuel efficient vehicles, have decided instead to try to convince us that 24 miles per gallon (mpg) is fuel efficient--which is patently absurd. 24 mpg is only about 2 mpg more than the average, which has been stagnant for almost 30 years. The fuel efficient label, such as it is, should only apply to cars with a 35 mpg rating or higher (highway).

In the ad above, by the way, that's 24 mpg highway (always read the fine print); the city rating for the new Ford Flex is actually 17 mpg. Seriously.