Ya, except... that weight
Ya, except... that weight you refer to for nearly all vehicles you mention (sans SUVs, which hardly existed in the 1970s) is thanks to government regulation (mostly adding safety features). Neither the Civic nor the Camaroare luxury cars. I will call you out on those Camaro numbers, though, which are wrong. The 2011 Camaro weighs 3,780 at the curb, only 500 pounds heavier than the 1970 model.
The Cherokee wasn't introduced until 1984. Again, outside of the scope of this article.
As for your statements about CAFE: more ranting on your part. I see little gain from CAFE forcing. Why do we need better fuel economy? Really? If emissions are the problem, then why aren't standards focused on those rather than on some ambiguous fuel economy numbers instead? Even if you buy into the anthropomorphic global warming story, your problem is still CO2 emissions, not fuel economy. The CAFE was enacted to reduce dependence on foreign oil, which is has not done. Like the EPA, CAFE has failed to deliver on its primary purpose.
You should also be aware that this country was started in protest of taxes and our civil war was largely fought over taxation.