I agree that the automatics have come a long way but when you are talking about overall weight factor in increasing gas mileage manual transmission is still the way to go. Manual transmission for the cobalt is still about 100lbs lighter than the automatic.
My buddy is getting over 40 on the highway and all's he did was went to a K&N cold air intake on his 06 LT. This is the first thing I am doing to my 06 LT. Next I would go to the improved catback exhaust system which should further improve mpg by 2-3 (some report higher but this is where you...