sorry, but I have too brag about my fuel mileage....

lol...nothing wrong with bragging. That is impressive. I especially liked your picture for proof. Sometimes people just claim this or that and you just have to take their word for it.

I also liked your post because you are apparently from my neck of the woods...that being Illinois and driving to Springfield...just 30 miles from me.

Here is what I wonder. You talked about headwinds. I know from experience that a strong headwind will simply take more horsepower and therefore more fuel to overcome. One day driving on the highway, the headwind was so bad, my car's automatic transmission would actually downshift at times to cope with the higher gust. Clearly, that would have a negative effect on gas mileage.

Let's face it, our Eco Sport is not exactly streamed-lined. Eco Sports are small, but tall and will catch the wind no matter what direction it's coming from.

The fact that you got better gas mileage on your trip back just reinforces that.

Anyhow.... a good and interesting post.

As an afterthought, maybe I should plan my trips depending on wind speed and direction....lol

When its cold in CO it drops to about 26 for our 22 2.0 AWD.