ok let me see. here is a couple of lists from the epa.
top mpg in small car class.
honda civic hybrid
mini cooper
corolla
yaris
kia rio
pontiac g5 xfe xfe? never seen this one
ford focus
honda fit
chevy aveo
hyundai accent
scion xd
mazda 3
nissan versa
chevy cobalt
suzuki sx4
vw rabbit
vw gti
vw jetta
mitsubishi lancer
nissan sentra
honda civic
vw beetle
suzuki forenza
suzuki reno
volvo c30 23 non american, 2 american
You must be reading it wrong. Are you sure you're not reading ALL compact non-luxury cars, from most fuel efficient to least fuel efficient? Because the cars on the bottom of that list, such as the Lancer, Beetle 2.5, and Volvo C30 really are terrible on fuel economy. So it's not how many domestics are on the list, but where those which ARE on the list rank.
The following numbers are from the US EPA, compact cars, manual transmissions:
Ford Focus: 24 mpg city, 35 mpg highway, 28 combined.
Toyota Corolla: 26 mpg city, 35 mpg highway, 30 mpg combined.
Honda Civic: 26 mpg city, 34 mpg highway, 29 mpg combined.
VW Rabbit: 22 mpg city, 29 mpg highway, 24 combined.
Mazda3 2.0: 24 mpg city, 32 mpg highway, 27 combined.
Nissan Sentra: 24 mpg city, 31 mpg highway, 28 combined.
Mitsubishi Lancer: 21 mpg city, 29 mpg highway, 24 combined.
Hyundai Elantra: 24 mpg city, 33 mpg highway, 27 combined.
So the Ford Focus is slightly behind the class-leading Civic and Corolla, and ahead of every other car in the class, including the only European contender (Rabbit). The Mini Cooper is a subcompact and thus is in a different class.
wow seems like an all out slaughter for the japanese and korean.
See above; you missed the Focus. And we were talking about Cadillac before, which is why I talked about entry-level luxury sedans. Even when you change the subject of the discussion to bolster the results you want, you're still wrong.
the g5 whatever its called and cobalt are the only ones that are american. the aveo is japanese or korean so it doesn't count.
As stated above, you forgot about the Focus, which (as internet forum-goers will never let us forget, is NOT the same car as the European Focus).
how about the all important family sedan category.
New Malibu (i4, 6AT) is 22 mpg city, 32 mpg highway, 25 mpg combined.
New Malibu (i4, 4AT) is 22 mpg city, 30 mpg highway, 24 mpg combined.
Accord (i4, AT) is 21 mpg city, 31 mpg highway, 24 mpg combined.
Camry (i4, AT) is 21 mpg city, 31 mpg highway, 25 mpg combined.
You can look up the rest at fueleconomy.gov, but it's just downhill from here. The Malibu is up at the top of the midsize sedan class. We can argue about 1 mpg here or there, but it's certainly at the top of the segment, not the middle or bottom.
Moral of the story: if you want a fuel-efficient compact car, the Ford Focus is one of the three best options out there. If you want a fuel-efficient midsize car, the new Malibu is as good as any import, and better than most. Your statement that domestics simply can't compete with imports on fuel economy is just plain wrong. For any segment I can think of besides subcompacts and hybrids/diesels, there's at least one domestic model that is highly competitive in the fuel economy front. Focus, Malibu, CTS (as described above), Flex (outdoes nearly every minivan on the market), Patriot (AWD 5MT fuel economy is remarkable for a compact crossover), Taurus (no large sedans are appreciably better to my knowledge).
the steering feels like rubber.
Second-gen CTS outscored the new C-Class in steering feel in a C&D shootout. The first-generation US Focus was also a segment leader, or at least close to it, in terms of steering feel. Second-gen has been a bit of a step back, but I'm sure it still offers better steering feel than a Corolla.
the materials look and feel cheap inside and out, even in the caddys.
Try a second-gen CTS or a new Malibu, or an Acadia/Outlook. It will make you rethink your dated stereotypes (which I wouldn't have argued with in 1995 but just aren't accurate in 2008).