I'd say most of the stuff on the market is crap built for the sole purpose of making a quick buck. The thing that makes my brain hurt is that efficiency hasn't really increased for so many years. I had a 1991 Eagle Talon that got 34-36 MPG all day long. Even better: a buddy in the service had a 1966 3/4-ton Chevy pickup w/ a reasonably healthy 350. With careful parts selection (an HEI and the right Q-Jet) and lots of tuning, I managed to get 24-26 MPG out of it. Now I see television commercials that make a lot of noise about some $28,000 thing that gets an *amazing* 25 MPG. I suspect that the automakers are holding back. Money is being made somewhere through a lack of real progress. It doesn't make sense.