Just "Ask Mobil" How We Compare

Recently, I was browsing online and ran across an article on the mobil.com website that I found quite interesting. It was located in the "Ask Mobil" area of the site.

According to Mobil, the "Ask Mobil" section is designed for customers and potential customers to:

"Ask Your Stickiest Question. . . Or ask us something you’ve always wanted to know about using our products. We’ll sort through all the submissions and present the best questions to our automotive experts. The questions, and their answers, will post right here on the site "

I have to admit, I was amazed to have found this little gem posted on their site (Ask Mobil?):

The Question:

Does Mobil 1 or Amsoil Provide Best Protection for Longer Drain Intervals?Now, in order to avoid any accusations of plagiarism, I will not quote the entire page. I'll give you the Reader's Digest version, but you can read the entire thing at the link above:

In his or her question, the current Mobil 1 user basically points out that Mobil 1 synthetics say to change at OEM recommended intervals. Mobil 1 EP offers only 15,000 miles compared to AMSOIL's 25,000 (and, I'm not even sure the person asking the question knows that Mobil's 15,000 mile recommendation ONLY applies AFTER the vehicle warranty expires). He/she also points out that AMSOIL provides significant supporting documentation for their (our) claims.

This Mobil 1 user pointedly asks Mobil if they can offer any "professional standards" based comparisons that show Mobil to be the better product.

Mobil's REALLY Lame Answer:

Now, from my point of view, this is an EXCELLENT opportunity for Mobil 1 to flat out say, "We sell a better oil than AMSOIL and this is how we can prove it..." They could have provided the testing and data to prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they are the best synthetic on the market.

However, they do not do that (nor have they ever in the past).

The Las Vegas Field TestInstead they COMPLETELY dance around the primary question asked. They, instead, point to a Las Vegas Taxis cab field test that was performed, which does not, as best I can tell, make any mention of a comparison to AMSOIL, nor are any other specific comparison brands mentioned.

Now, to their credit, this field test certainly provides valid evidence to suggest that Mobil 1 Extended Performance is an excellent oil, which I've never debated. It IS a very good oil.

HOWEVER, (and this is big) this field test, IN NO WAY helps answer the question that was asked, which is essentially: "Which Oil is Better, AMSOIL or Mobil?"

Nor does the test, from what I can see, provide objective DATA (beyond visual inspection - which is relatively SUBjective) to establish exactly how much wear rates are reduced with the Mobil 1 EP or how those wear rates compare objectively with those of other oils, such as AMSOIL.

The "First" Choice of More OEMsMobil also refers to the fact that they are the default factory synthetic fill for more Original Equipment Manufacturers than any other oil company, which SOUNDS really impressive until you realize that a big part of the reason for this is that they virtually GIVE the oil to those OEMs so the OEM will stamp "Mobil 1" on the engine or the oil fill cap and in the owner's manual - encouraging vehicle owners to continue purchasing Mobil 1 for years afterward.

Of course, this is excellent marketing strategy, and is easily done by a company as large as Mobil that can absorb those initial costs, but, it certainly does NOT equate to, "We're the best oil".

The fact is, many OEMs don't want the oil that offers the greatest protection. That will simply mean less repeat vehicle customers and service repair profits. They only need an oil to offer adequate protection which will keep the vehicle running relatively well for 100 or 150,000 miles.

Most customers these days don't expect much more than that these days anyway - and fewer and fewer vehicle manufacturers are going out of their way to OVER-build their products these days, as I'm sure you are MORE than aware.

We Meet the Latest Industry StandardsAnother BIG selling point, eh?

According to Mobil, the answer to the question, "Who is better, AMSOIL or Mobil 1?" is:

We "... are approved against the latest industry standards and appear on the OEM approval lists of all the major manufacturers."

WOW! If that isn't a major selling point, I don't know what is. Quaker State and Pennzoil could say the same, and I don't think anyone is likely to say that either one of them is #1 - not by a long shot.

Certainly AMSOIL meets and exceeds the latest industry standards, but we're not using that as a major product benefit in our advertising materials. That's the part that most EVERY oil company should be able to say. The question is, how far BEYOND that does your oil company go.

It would appear that Mobil must not go too far beyond that point, or they'd be using this opportunity to "shout it from the rooftops" so to speak.

I find Mobil's lame and evasive answer to this very straight-forward question to be very telling as to how they compare to the AMSOIL products.

Two words .... THEY DON'T!!

We Don't Just Say It - We PROVE It

In contrast, you'll find that, not only does AMSOIL "say" we're better than the competition, we provide the documentation to prove it, using industry standardized testing. So, when someone asks us, "Who's better, AMSOIL or Mobil 1 EP", we don't have to dance around the question because we've got a solid answer: We are, and here's the documentation to prove it:

AMSOIL vs. the Competition
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