Original poster here... weight of gold vs feathers!!?? This thread has really went down a rabbit trail!
It has been interesting to read all the comments and pretty much mirrors my current thoughts.  I like the Hondas and Toyotas but seems like they carry too large of price premium for my taste. Going forward I'll probably keep an eye on Kia as well Hyundai, Fusion and pre2011 Focus.Â
Silverado is out. Too hard on gas. Also the Trailblazer; already have an Envoy and it isn't economical enough.
Insurance... I also want to get a complete VIN for a few cars (Accord, Civic, Corrolla, Camery) so I can get an online estimate for insurance.  I'd like to see if there is anything to some of the pricing that a few posters mentioned.
I currently have two teenage drivers.  The oldest wrecked my hand-me-down 2000 Ford Focus with 215xxx miles in August. Not a great loss there as it was getting pretty rusty and beat up on the outside. So then he started driving the 2001 Elantra that I had just finished fixing up for for his younger brother to drive as younger was scheduled to get his license in December.  Well, the oldest then slid off a slick road in November and wrecked the Elantra too.  I made him reimburse me for the purchase price but I certainly didn't recover the value of my time or the parts (brakes, struts, shocks, timing belt) that I put into it to get it in good shape.  Good thing they were low-end Rock Auto parts.
Then the oldest was driving my backup vehicle, a 1994 Grand Cherokee with 208xxx miles and the master cylinder started leaking. Brake lines were getting rusty and the steering box was getting too loose for comfort. A new steering box is like $600 and I had already tried both a junkyard box and a remanufactured one with no real success. Plus it was terrible on gas so I decided to get rid of it.  Best thing about that vehicle was the awesome online presence for Jeeps of all flavors that made it really easy to research problems and solutions.
So now the oldest is driving the 2008 Cobalt that we bought from an unfortunate Dad several years ago whose twenty-something kid overdosed and died in it.  Got it real cheap back because of the OD when it only had 80xxx on the clock.  It's been good so far with mileage now approaching 145xxx. Other than normal maintenance, the only issue has been a stuck front caliper.
Recently I bought a 2001 Saturn SC2 for the second son.  I am in the process of replacing all the brakes and lines as one of them was rusted through and I had to trailer it home. Front rotors grooved beyond belief and two leaky wheel cylinders in the back. Previous owner thought the master cylinder was bad so he sold it.  Guess he didn't see the puddle of brake fluid in his driveway from the rusted line.  Nearly 290xxx miles on the body and 150xxx miles on the second engine.  Only reason I bought it is because it is a 5 speed and I want all my kids to learn to drive a stick.  Too bad the oldest wrecked the Focus and Elantra as they were both manual transmissions. After the youngest gets proficient on the stick, I haven't decided if I'll keep the Saturn very long or not as it is more beat up than I really wanted and it wasn't maintained very well and could soon use new tires all around plus a complete exhaust system. I may see if the clutch and rest of the car makes it a couple months before sinking much money into it. Currently I'm viewing it as a $500 tool to teach him how to drive a stick but, in the meantime, he is stuck in a mini-van!
The deal I made with my kids was that I'd provide a vehicle to drive and insurance until they are 18 and graduate high school but they are responsible for damage to the vehicles if they wreck them. I did give the oldest a mulligan on the Focus as it was so far depreciated... I love my kids but they sure are expensive when the driving starts.