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Yes, basically all the kits or plans I see are not oriented towards economy, even the 3 wheeled cars. The few that are very efficient tend to be much more complex than necessary, like the new XR-3 hybrid from rqriley.com. Dave Norton's Shrike is an example of sporty first and mileage second, but I contacted him because he is a very experienced mechanical engineer and because he welded up a space frame out of tubing. He dislikes fiberglass as I do. Look at the Vortex, the frame is thick plywood covered with fiberglass, much too heavy! I think I can do this fairly simply if I cannibalize a Geo Metro and use as many of the pieces as possible. For example I intend to use the OEM front McPherson struts because they are simple, cheap and have quite low unsprung weight. Even with 3 wheels I can still just copy the original geometry. Most people would design and fabricate double "A" arm suspension, but I'm not sure all that work would be worth it. The original Metro had plenty of performance for me, I just want a car that feels snappier around town and gets even better fuel economy.
The Bridgestone RE 92 tires got a lousy rating in the "TireRack.com" review, very few people would buy them again. The Tire Rack's technical article on LRR tires and fuel economy is very interesting. When driving in stop and go traffic around town, overcoming inertia is far more important (35%) to mileage than air resistance (5%); I am focused on light weight for now, which is why I don't like electric or hybrid. Better aerodynamics will follow, after I get a vehicle to really take down the highway.
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