just got home from a Tx/Ca/Tx driving trip and wanted to report that I got the above (18.7982) mpg for the 1st 2925 miles of the trip

also, didn't have to add any engine oil for the entire 5000+ mile trip

(makes me wonder why folks in the community complain about lo mileage and hi oil burn..)

also drove some really great sections of roads and will list them later (when I get un-packed from the trip)

ADD :

I chose a route from Tx to Ca that included some places that I wanted to see - Durango thru Silverton thru Ouray to Grand Junction (Co) and the West Coast from Eureka, Ca south to the Santa Barbara area. Was pleasantly surprised to find 4 sections of really FUN driving roads along the way :

1) Hwy 550 from Silverton to Ouray, Co - but too much traffic to be really fun
2) Hwy 1 from Stinson Beach south to Hwy 101, just above the Golden Gate - but here too, too much traffic for good fun
3) Hwy 299 approaching Eureka, Ca from the East
4) Hwy 1, South of Eureka at Leggett (Ca) where it takes off from Hwy 101 and goes to the beautiful Pacific Ocean - drove this in the early a.m. with almost zero traffic just after day-lite. Loaded with 30/20 and even 10 mph switchbacks - a great segment of road

my car ('08 E60 M5) is equipped with SMG - gotta say that driving these "spirited" roads with a manual tranny would have been a pain in the "you-know-what", let alone a pain in the leg - many many many gear changes. got the feeling that down-shifts could be a little quicker but with some "anticipation" on the part of the driver it was never a problem