Clayton,
Your Corvette illustrates another example of the diminishing returns of shrinking cars to improve economy. You have a large V8 that is very efficiently loafing along at highway speeds, while smaller cars with smaller engines are doing only marginally better. The so-called “Smart” car is a prime example of that. 40MPG highway? No wonder the things are barely selling here.
There is another way to get outstanding mileage without going to extremes in technology or downsizing. Volkswagen has proven that with their diesels. My 2002 diesel Jetta averages 48 MPG and is a very enjoyable car to drive. I find it almost comical that the recent entries of a 100MPG challenge had to resort to cars which were barely more than covered 4 wheel bicycles with tiny single cylinder engines to only double the mileage I get, with the A/C on, no less.
