[freeandfreezing]

The Geo Metros I rented in the early 90s got over 50 mpg, and that was driving and treating them like a rental. Nothing comes close today.

True, and many other cars in the 1980s and early 1990s got better mileage than comparable cars today. I had a VW Scirocco in the 1980s that even when driven with performance in mind managed close to 30 MPG. Cruising with attention to mileage it got around 32 MPG. Lightweight design, fuel injected four cylinder engine, etc. generate high mileage and performance.

[stylin19a]

stunning MPG for the early 80’s.

http://www.toyoland.com/cars/starlet.html

[TurboZamboni]

late 80’s Honda CRX HF with manual transmission was capable of near 50 MPG.

they were the lightest CRX so most are no longer available since they were used to build street racer ricers.