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Manufacturers are moving away from pushrod engines because they have more moving parts than OHC engines. No need to worry about pushrods bending or rocker arms jumping off when you don't have them in the engine to begin with. Reliability sells, ask Honda and Toyota.
That said, pushrod engines usually don't rev as high, so they're built for more low end torque. That puts your operating range closer to torque peak in normal driving and helps your economy. That's a good portion of why the '96 Park Avenue with a 3800 that my mom had would get 32-34mpg (with a high of 34.5) on the highway while my sister's Accord with a vtec 2.2 would never crack 30. (It also helps that the Buick would turn 2000rpm at 70mph, where the honda was closer to 3000).
All that said, I like my Cobalt XFE, but I wish it had a little more low end torque. I usually drive about 75% highway at 55mph, and going easy on it the last two tanks I've got over 39mpg average. This tank I got some road rage and drove 60 and I'm down to 36.2 (it's also just too much fun to bark 2nd gear...). The car is rated for 36 highway.
Also, I've had pretty good luck getting diesel fuel out of my clothes with lighter fluid... give it a try!
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