We have the technology....to fix weak 4L60e transmissions.

You are an American hero sir. On a 0 degree grade pretty much any manual is livable, when jackholios are sitting inches off of your rear bumper and you are working with an uphill slope, things get real.

Those guys should really shell out for the $8 welding blankets they sell at Harbor Freight or at least throw down a few damp towels.

The 4TL60E was certainly far weaker than the TH350 it replaced but with the proper rebuild it should never break again and while I’ve never heard that the LT-1 was particularly fragile, I expect any engine with a broken coolant system is.

Unlike 1970s cinema has led you to believe, cars are not all that flammable. 

I don't think you know what that costs...or maybe you do and are stirring the pot, one of the two

That is what, a 4.5‘ bed on a single cab? God help you if you ever need to move sheet goods (lumber, drywall, etc)

“The entire industry knew these tighter regs were coming for years and they did nothing” is somewhat different than they didn’t market it correctly. Ford, GM and Chrysler also released viable I4 FWD cars of their own, as opposed to the rebadged imports of the 1980s.

It did actually, just not in the front.

The EV-1 came out in 1996. Unfortunately nobody was interested until Elon came out with a BMW themed version.

See also:

Lets be realistic for 2 seconds. Compact pickups left because

So stereotypical ravine crashes and Michael Bay level explosions (to utilize already totalled cars) were not yet a thing? Good to know. By the 1950s the crash ‘cut-away’ sequence was ingrained in movie culture.

You certainly can make a compact, it’s just not going to be a cheap 2000lb RWD that fits Nissan Z parts. I am genuinely impressed Miata has only tacked on 400lb, the Solstice was a 3000lb car and they are very similar size wise.

I genuinely expect this to come back in the next decade, sadly it will be missing 2 cylinders but hopefully not the desire to murder you.

A 1988 GT with a modern drivetrain does sound like fun, sadly their Opel derived Solstice was probably the closest we’ll see from GM for some time.

Dream big, aren’t they dropping the Camaro in a few years?

Arguably the Boxxter is a modern 914, those other cars will be missed, unfortunately it is no longer feasible to use wishes and tin foil to pass crash safety tests.

Feel free not to, just don’t pretend migrating east is a panacea. There are perhaps...8 areas I can work in with my degree so I cannot be as choosy as you.