Not uncommon in MY life. We purchased a NEW "heavy duty" dryer from Sears last Spring. We put the loads in for 70 minutes and STILL they're usually not dry. It's supposed to be a high capacity dryer too, to match our high capacity washer. It stinks. We thought of returning it shortly after we got it, but never got around to it. (read: got to lazy to do it). I've always wondered if a new one would do the same.
I think the appliance manufacturers are in cahoots with our local power company, considering how much extra we pay to run the dryer 1 1/2 times for each load.

For me yes but that is because I have an apartment size stackable and I overload it. You shouldn't have to restart yours unless you are overloading it. Might check that it doesn't have a lot of lint stuck in the exaust thingie either.

We might put jeans or heavy towels in for a few more minutes (when my hubby does the wash cuz he tends to overload), but with "regular" stuff, one cycle does it. I agree with Rebecca about checking the lint thingie in your dryer and also check your exhaust hose cuz that makes a big difference. Happy drying ahead, I hope!

Every once in a while I have to restart mine. Usually just the towels though. I figured out about a year ago (after 9 years of marriage) that you can't dry jeans and other clothes together without having to restart because the dryer senses that the other clothes are dry and the jeans are still wet.

Hmm, the only time I have to restart the dryer is if I didn't put it on the Timed cycle for enough time. Our dryer works really well and is usually done when the washer finishes if started at the same time. Then again, it's fairly new, four years (at least that's what the apt people said).

Sometimes if too much lint gets stuck in the vent that can cause your dryer to not work as effeciently. Try using a leaf blower or a shopvac on the blower setting and blow into the vent till all the fluff comes out.