Well, I drove from NC to Maine and back this weekend. I guess when you drive cross-country in a relatively short period of time you need to occupy the mind with something.

I filled up when I left North Carolina, so I had a full tank. It got me to just past Philadephia. I was VERY impressed with the mileage. I usually run Texaco 93 in NC and this is what I put in for the first leg of the trip. I think I averaged around 28mpg on that tank. I filled up in NJ (usually cheaper than MD or NY) as planned. I put in Sunoco 94 in NJ. I didn't really notice any difference in power (94 vs. 93), but nothing seemed to go wrong with the Sunoco 94 in there either. I continued to average 28mpg.

All the way up, I basically did 70-75mph with cruise control on. Since it was cool enough outside, I left the A/C off.

I filled up in Maine just before heading back down since the computer told me I had 60 miles left on the tank. I put in Mobil 93. The return trip averaged in the 25-26mpg range. I reset the computer a few times to prove that pure highway driving was still not in the 28mpg range. This is where the ol' noggin started churnin'. The car felt sluggish when I pushed hard to accelerate fast. I even thought I could hear a difference in how the engine/turbo sounded. It just didn't sound as healthy. When I got to NJ, I put in Sunoco 93 this time. Immediately, the car seemed to have its boost back. And the engine/turbo sounded back to normal again. The mpg did not improve much with the Sunoco as I expected it to. I averaged 26-27mpg the rest of the way home.

So, 1,700 miles later, I am still wondering why my 'butt' test proved...

1. There is a difference between the actual product each state can sell. I know this is the case for some states out West but didn't realize there was up and down the East Coast. Does Maine have a more oxygenated gasoline standard?

2. Which is more environmentally friendly? The gasoline I put in in Maine or the stuff in NJ or NC?

I guess To Much Free Time can describe this post, but hey, I had nothing better to do last night!

BTW, no I didn't do all the driving. My passenger drove for 2 hours in the middle of the night Friday and 2 hours in the middle of the night Sunday. I did the rest on a account that her driving scared me silly. We almost hit a car changing lanes at a toll booth! It was Volvo (old) against Volvo (new). That about did me in.