[jcp123]

That's a tough spot to be in. Miatas are geared too frenetically for great MPG, but for the price and driving joy, might still be your best bet. A Nissan 240 is a real toughie to find for a price which isn't insane for what you get - and ditto a Toyota AE86. Toyobarus are coming down in price pretty fast though, and despite needing (I think) premium fuel, older BMWs weren't bad on fuel for what you got in return. A while back I had a thing for Alfa Spiders...but alas, I don't think any of these are really gonna be sure bets for 30+mpg. The MR2 suggestion is a cool one, though.

You might check to see what you can snag grey market. We're getting into the early 90s for cool stuff that's legal, about when the Japanese were getting really interesting.