tbobb seems like you have a half decent car if you want to get more efficiency out of it, i started at 22 mpg and you have a nice small engine which is a plus.
If you haven't come across it yet you can have a look at the wiki which has all the modifications you can make to your car to get better efficiency.
Car MPG Efficiency Modifications Main - EcoModder
also if you are particularly interested in getting around your automatic transmission you can transform it into a half auto half manual with some electrical changes. its in the wiki under "Automatic transmission manual gear control (Manumatic)", i have done this one myself takes a few hours but not too difficult.
well good luck