My 97 Geo Metro is rated 52 mpg highway, although I usually get 45-46 on this fourteen year old car. I could probably still get 50 mpg if I really wanted t prove it. I drive it hard and it almost has 200,000 miles on it.
That being said, I am appalled when I see hybrid commercials that brag about their 2011 car getting 35 mpg. When my Metro wears out, I'd like to be able to buy another....new, off a dealership lot.
There is no excuse for the Big 3 to not have several cars on the market that get 50 mpg or better.
There are a lot of things wrong with The United States right now, and if we don't all start to do something about it, collectively as a group, we're doomed. It feels like there is no guidance and that should be governments job. Everybody keeps screaming for the government to be doing less when really we should be electing representitives and insisting they insure that our infrastructure is updated, fresh clean water will be available aplenty, transportation will be economical, and that our children are educated and disiplined to better their own plight. We need goals, as a country, and planners in government who are interested and concerned for the well-being of the populous.