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Residents of the West Coast were offered what may have been a brief glimpse into the future recently. What they saw were strange cars built by engineers who had pulled out practically all the stops. The fuel stops, that is. The cars were competing in the Unocal76 Three Flags Econorally, a demanding 1,570-mile test of fuel economy through city and country from Vancouver, B.C., to the Mexican border.

Don't look for these cars on a dealer's lot for about a decade at the earliest, though. Whether they ever make an appearance may depend on the American driver's ego: can it be gratified more by a small fuel bill than by a big fuel guzzler?

Historically, the ego has tended to defy reason in such matters. But it's getting harder to argue with a mode of transportation that can take you from Canada to Mexico for about $20.

By any standard, the fuel consumption of the winning car in the Unocal Econorally was less than small. It was miniscule. Built and driven by students at Western Washington University, the car, known as Viking IV, set a world record for fuel economy of 88.2 miles per gallon, beating its previous record of 87. 3 miles per gallon set in 1980. At that rate, it cost only $20 or so to keep Viking IV in enough 76 Diesel fuel to win.

Mileage of the other three cars that finished the course ranged from 40 to 57.6 miles per gallon. Mechanical problems forced out three contenders. All but Viking IV burned (not much) 76 Unleaded gasoline.

The young designers of these sophisticated machines are optimists. They believe their vehicles are harbingers, not freaks. To support that conviction, they cite the first econorally, a transcontinental event in 1975.

The winner then averaged 51 miles per gallon.

"That really proved you could get 51 miles per gallon," said Bill McRae, director of the Fuel Efficient Vehicle Association and a graduate of Western Washington University. "Now, you and I can go out and buy a car that gets 51 miles per gallon. I think what we're seeing in the Three Flags Econorally is what's down the road in this country in the next eight to 10 years."

These young designers are also in the vanguard of the push for fuel economy. Their work, and the quiet influence they've exerted, make a persuasive argument that the road to fuel economy in the U.S. begins not in Detroit but in Bellingham, Washington, home of Western Washington University. The school has been a leading exponent of fuel efficient automobiles for more than a decade. At its Vehicle Research Institute, directed by Dr. Mike Seal, students learn to make cars the old-fashioned way. They build them, rather than turn the assignment over to a battery of computers, as they contend Detroit does.

"We're trying to advance automotive engineering in our own small way," Seal said. The prime result of Western's focus is its Viking series of prototypes. Four competed in the Unocal Econorally, two finishing and two failing to. Collectively, they offer numerous examples of things students and faculty say the U.S. auto industry won't do.

A case in point is Viking IV, built in 1978. With its unstressed aluminum body and aluminum monocoque chassis, it weighs a scant 1,250 pounds. Viking IV is powered by a turbocharged 1,500-cubic-centimeter Volkswagen diesel engine. Like the other Vikings, it carries two passengers. Western Washington students like to joke that its capacity is half a passenger more than the average occupancy of a car in Bellingham.