[Doofus McFancypants]

The family and I went to see my Brother in NC this past weekend
We took the PT Crusier - auto tranny.
I did hook up the SG so i could see how we did.
I gathered data on the car at several speeds to get a feel for the impact MPH on MPG

While doing this - i also wanted to see if coasting in gear was better or worse then costing in Neutral.

From a consumptiuon point of view - coasting in N seemed to use slightly LESS fuel than coasting in gear. I suspect the PT does not have a fuel shut off as the MPG did not skyrocket.
Both cases had the instant MPG jump to about 75 ( N hit 80 a few times) hence i called it SLIGHTLY less fuel.

I wanna play with it some more and get more data - a little more contolled than "30 minutes of data crusing across SC)

Here is my observation and question.

When i shift the tranny into N - I expected the RPM to drop to Idle - which is what the Manual in my Altima does... but it did not?

going 65 mph was about 2400 rpm or so. shift to N - engine stayed near 2400 RPM ! HUH? Both the TACH and the SG said this..

the MPG did go up so i know less fuel is going IN -
Is this normal for an AUTO? Am i thinking "Manual Tranny" here?

I do not drive the Crusier much ( wifes car) so i had not played with it before. but am a little confused at this.

Steve