There is a very straight forward reason why the government would be interested in Gas prices, amount of gas sold, etc....
Taxes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline_tax#United_States
Quote
"Fuel taxes in the United States vary by state. For the first quarter of 2008, the average state gasoline tax is 28.6 cents per US gallon, plus 18.4 cents per US gallon federal tax making the total 47 cents per US gallon (12.4 ¢/L). For diesel, the average state tax is 29.2 cents per US gallon plus an additional 24.4 cents per US gallon federal tax making the total 53.6 cents US per gallon (14.2 ¢/L).[5]"
Uhhh..... Naw, I can't understand WHY they wouldn't want us to have more fuel efficient vehicles.
we can pay as much as nearly a dollar in taxes for every gallon.....
That said. How many 422HP V8's in a 3800lb car can get 24mpg? I also believe that is likely undercutting too. The new EPA system they put in I really think is really conservative alot of the time.