The Truth Hurts

The oil industry has decided to do something about the trend toward extended drains. Here's a recent article which explains their latest scare tactics in the fight against extended drains:

They're calling it vehicle neglect. They say consumers aren't maintaining their automobiles. They blame the media and "other groups" for spreading notions of extended maintenance intervals including oil changes. "They" are the newfound Council for Automotive Reliability (CAR). This new organization was formed by certain members of the oil and/or oil change industry to address the growing trend of extended drain intervals.

According to Auto Services Operator (ASO) Magazine (Oct./Nov '98), the Council for Automotive Reliability will serve as a source of information on oil changes and other routine automotive maintenance for consumers, the media, government and other entities.

"We are not surprised that current research is revealing such maintenance neglect because the consumer media and other groups have featured countless articles and exposés that tout the acceptability of less frequent maintenance, including oil changes," said Larry Solomon, Manager of Market Research for Valvoline. "There is not a clear voice telling consumers why regular automobile maintenance is good for them and their vehicles."

Where does AMSOIL stand on this issue?

"It's crafty," said AMSOIL's Advertising Coordinator Ed Newman. "This is just a clever way of promoting their hidden agenda. A Council for Automotive Reliability would be a wonderful concept for consumers if it were unbiased. They're trying to create a pretext of being non-biased by forming a non-profit agency image. Of course they want extended drains to appear as neglect. The truth is, the general public wants less maintenance, but less maintenance is not the same thing as neglect.

"There are good reasons for the countless articles and exposés...extended drains are working and the general public is responding. AMSOIL INC. was founded on the ideals of good automotive maintenance. It's the reason Al Amatuzio created AMSOIL, for better engine protection. CAR, as they call themselves, will basically try to 're-educate' consumers on 3000 mile drain intervals. They (the sponsoring petroleum oil companies) need to protect their sales."