Re: Gas Mileage - Auto vs Manual
These cars have a decent amount of torque, even at low rpm. I'm usually in 5th or 6th gear by 40 mph, which is around 1500-2000 rpm. It has no problem pulling from that speed....but that's driving gently, not for acceleration.
I cruise the highway all day in 6th, turning ~3000 rpm at 70-75. I think it turns 3200 at 80, but it's been a long winter since I've driven it. (That rpm sticks in my mind because if you double it, it's almost the redline of 6500 and I like to think that without the governor the car might hit 160.) Hitting the gas at that rpm results in pretty respectable acceleration up to 100+.
Last summer I drove MI2CT (800 miles of interstate each way), generally at 70-75, and overall averaged 28.3 mpg over 1800 miles. I had just installed a K&N filter, and that appeared to help a very small amount, maybe by running slightly leaner.