1978 VW Rabbit diesel
no federal or state subsidy
free market principles made this a very popular car in the USA
My family had one and we always got over 50 mpg in real life.
When we were teenagers, my brother and I shared a 1977 VW Rabbit (regular gas, not diesel). It still got 45 MPG and only costed $10 to fill the tank and it ran for 2 weeks. But, that didn’t stop us from arguing over who’s turn it was to buy gas.