Re: pulse and glide on the highway is impractical.
I just finished a cross-country trip in the new Fiesta. It has poor gear ratios (2600 rpm @ 60 mph). The two of us pulsed and glided the whole way from LA to Savannah. We estimated it took about 5000 p&g cycles.
Yeah, that's a bit extreme. It works, though. We ended up with 63.5 mpg with a load of gear and two bodies on board, upsized "sport" tires and sticky rubber.
Give me a manual any day, even with bad gear ratios. I'll P&G the heck out of it. That's what I do every day. (about 25 times each way
)