Unfortunately, carmakers are in the "transportainment" industry, not the transportation industry.
As long as vehicles are marketed and purchased as fashion statements, we're going to get
foolish un-aerodynamic designs like the Volt for a vehicle that's (going to be) laughably held up as an
icon of efficiency in North American transportation options.
And you're also right - even if it triples the average fuel economy of the US fleet, the volt is 10x more vehicle than we need.
This guy is moving in
the right direction with the BugE.