Shaving up the profits

According to the manual the gas tank on my Hyundai holds ten gallons. So when the gage on the dashboard shows one quarter full, there should be at least two gallons left to drive on. Somehow at the pump the tank takes more than eight gallons. Has deregulation reached from the trucking industry vehicles to the gallons of liquid delivered? I remember when there was a scandle about pumps set to deliver less than a gallon but the tabulator's dollar per gallon required full price. State auditors had inspectors spot checking the pumps. Now with the cutbacks in all government areas are the inspectors considered unnecessary?
In my experience gages are quite accurate allowing some miles to go while the arrow rests on the E mark. I had one rental agreement at the Atlanta airport stipulate that the gas tank was to be brought back empty - any gas left in was the rental's benefit. I dare you to drive through that city and judge which exit off the six lanes will bring you immediately to a filling station. It had been miles back that I had access to an easy-off easy-on station. I ran on E all the way through the city - which I admit seems far longer than it probably is - but the motor was still running when I stopped in the rental return lane. That tank must have had fumes left when the gage read E. My sweat level was way up.
Last week in my own Hyundai I was running with the little red pump icon warning me of a low gas. I went the last seven miles on fumes and hopes that the white line of E gave me a little leaway. I was close to home and fear of being stalled on the highway was not the threat it was in a strange city. I did make it to a gas pump. That fill was over nine and a half gallons. Little gas was left. So what happened when the gage read nearly one quarter of a tank and the fill took over eight gallons? Similar fills happened with my old car so suspicion isn't new.
Maybe the gages on older pumps get out of sync? Maybe they are tampered with? High gas prices are criticized and complained about a lot lately. We want our taxes lower too and so we vote to cut taxes which cut services from the governor's office to the city manager. Honesty in measures whether in gas gallons or meat pounds would be appreciated.
Naomi Sherer