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Competiton sailplanes use water ballast to improve their penetration, however the L/D (lift-vs-drag) remains more or less fixed. In sailplanes the main reason you now see uber-slick planes is that the cleaner planes can escape sink faster than the "gas-bag" floater.
I agree the coast-down angle should be investigated, but I would think in any practical use, the reality of start-stop driving would negate any advantage to increased weight.
And yeah, if you got 100 mpg, you could go with a 2-3 gallon tank, and then you could carry less fuel, then you could use that space for more storage, or reduce the overall size of the car, thus reducing more weight, etc.
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