From Riverside County to Julian, through the desert to 29 Palms, Tempe, Tucson, Calexico, San Diego and back to Riverside County, the 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe averaged 13.9 miles per gallon. At three bucks a gallon — and climbing — along with a 26-gallon tank, that’s almost $80 to go about 360 miles. In an old America that eats, drives and does what it wants, in an America that celebrates largess no matter what the cost, this means little. In today’s America, however, where heroes are drug-tested and kids are obese, where the amount of oil in the ground and the distance your car can go on one gallon matters – a lot – that tattooed 13.9 on the hood of the 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe is just not coming together for what people in the good ol’ USA really need.

There’s something about a well-designed car. It’s sheetmetal with sex appeal, sculpture with a practical purpose. Design drives passion as much or more than performance — it’s that all-important first impression that just may end up with love at first sight. And most of the time, we get that first glimpse at an auto show [...]