It would have been nice if they could have lent you the cars the time it takes to go through a full tank. The sample set would have been more meaningful in my opinion.

No disrespect, just wanted to point out what seemed like a shortcoming.
As a comparison, here's what this agency is doing: <http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fe_test_schedules.shtml>
In a controlled lab environment, they drive it for 50 miles. I like that site, as I've seen many times their values matching the average user.

I'm not surprised by the end results though. Like another user here was saying, you have some brain dead drivers out there who can't drive their stick, and the EPA will show figures that averages out these guys. Personally, I just prefer the feel of manual stick car. I paid EXTRA on my challenger to get the Tremec manual transmission, not the opposite way. ;-) funny when you think about it.

In the same subject, is there any tuning done on this engine to help fuel economy? I'm thinking of tuners like Bully Dog, Diablosport, Jet.... you know, these chip makers claiming improvements either on the HP side, or MPG side.