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First I need to tell you a bit about how I got started and why. In January of 2001 my husband died of a heart attack. This was a total surprise to our family and we were all in shock for months. During the 20 years of marriage I still was the one that took the cars to the shop, BUT the biggy here was he always talked to the mechanics and made the final decisions on the cars and motor home. Besides that he seemed to enjoy going to local fast lube for oil changes. This was not on my fun list of things to do. During this first year after my husbands death, a friend Tom, just took charge of my vehicles for me. He had been an Amsoil Dealer for years and years. He changed all my vehicles over to the Amsoil Motor Oils, and Transmission fluid. At the time he told me all about the extended drain intervals (what are those, was my first thought?) Oh, oil changes! OK, I got that. I knew from what he had told me I didn't have to worry about my cars or motor home for at least the next year, we had put the top of the line product, Signature Series in all the vehicles and it had a 35000 mile or 1 year warranty. I had read the literature and agreed that my vehicles were protected, and I didn't have to stress about fitting in more things to do, such as oil changes every 3000 miles. I needed every minute of each day just to try to keep up with our life. I was so busy, working, running my own business, getting my last child through middle school and high school, getting the shopping done and coping with a big house full of needed repairs, there was no extra time. I was on complete overload.
At this point I believe a lot of you can agree with me, our lives as women are packed full from morning to night. Anything we can do to take items away from our to do list is a blessing. At least it is for me. During the next couple of years Tom continued to check on my cars for me, he would check oil levels and such every few months, and that was great because full service gas stations had vanished in that 20 year period of time since I was single. During this time frame I moved the motor home up to an RV resort so we could still enjoy our camping. The RV resort was at 5000 ft elevation. (Golden Pines Rv Resort) That meant that the motor home would be sitting during cold winters, and not being started. We changed the oil to Amsoil's Signature 0W-30, as this synthetic motor oil was designed for cold areas. The motor home stayed up there for 2 winters. I had no problems at all with this vehicle. Always started up immediately and ran quiet and smooth. My daughter also made a change and moved to Southern California. She barely made enough money each month to pay her room rent and food, I knew that there would not be any room in her budget for car maintenance. So I also changed her car to run the Signature Series oil and ATF Automatic Transmission Fluid. Now I didn't have to worry about her car, and her not maintaining it. Another thing off the list!
Part of the Amsoil program is called Oil Analysis. At the 1 year point if you have not driven the 35k miles, you can choose to take a sample of your oil and send it in to be analyzed. One of my vehicles was the big Chevy Tahoe with the big V-8 engine. After a year we did the oil analysis, as I had only driven about 8k miles that year. In my case the oil analysis came back saying there was engine coolant in my oil. All I can say is the Oil Analysis saved me a fortune. I took the report to my mechanic and he began looking for the problem, because of the oil analysis showing the coolant in the oil he was able to find and fix the problem long before it caused any harm to my truck, or became a very expensive repair. That is when I finally decided to become an Amsoil Dealer. I believed so much in the products. One of the biggest selling points to me, was MADE IN AMERICA. This was important to me, as this line of products is not dependent on foreign oil. We needed to keep our money in America, I had for years taken my business only to locally owned businesses. I wanted to support my community and keep my dollar spent in America. So I became an Amsoil Dealer on a part time basis. At the same time I was taking my Tahoe to my mechanic for repairs needed from the oil analysis he took notice that I always brought my own oil and filters and was impressed with the oil analysis report. This time when I picked up the car, he wanted to know all about the Amsoil program and products.. So without hesitation I showed him. He decided after researching Amsoil that he would be offering Amsoil products in the future at his shop. He told me about 7 months later that approx 60% of his business had now changed to Amsoil. He now offered the best synthetic oil on the market. I can tell you I was very proud, because he joined the Amsoil team because of me. So now 4 years later I work full time as an Amsoil Dealer.
As women we are always looking for the most efficient way to accomplish our to do list. Most of you with children are running constantly, school runs, after school sports drop offs, driving driving driving our kids everywhere, then still trying to fit in all the meals, house cleaning, not to mention fitting your work day into all of this. I think you get my point, we are busy. We need security with our vehicles as we are constantly in them. Amsoil's line of products provides this security. I personally would suggest from the start to change the oil and filter (use engine flush to clean out the engine), transmission fluids and the air filter. These small changes will save you time and money in the future. I can have the products delivered right to your home. You can take Amsoil products to your local mechanic for your change out. After that your vehicle will be better protected and get better fuel economy for years to come. Check out each page to see why our products are better for your vehicle.
Ten Reasons Synthetic Motor Oil Is Superior To Conventional Petroleum Oil
1. Superior wear protection. Engines last longer
2. Improves fuel economy More miles per gallon
3. Easier cold starts
4. Cooler running engines in high heat
5. Reduces engine deposits
6. Resists oxidation and thermal breakdown
7. Increases horsepower
8. Superior shear stability and film strength
9. Extended drain intervals produce environmental benefits , With our Signature Series 0W-30 oil change intervals extent up to 35K miles or 1 year.
10. Reduces exhaust emissions
Designing for Women
by Ed Newman
AMSOIL Marketing & Advertising Manager
This article appeared in National Oil & Lube News, June 2004
Sooner or later everyone comes to a point in their lives where they realize an obvious truth: men and women are different.
There has been a lot of money made by people who have capitalized on this observation. The popularity of John Gray's "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus" is due to its self-evident truth, not its controversy. Dr. Gray's intention is to help men and women build better relationships.
Others, like the Ford Motor Company, built a passenger car success story around this recognition. Women like cars for reasons that differ from the reasons men like cars. Sure, there may be a few women who raced around pedal-to-the-metal in a Road Runner, Hemi 'Cuda or four-barrel Camaro SS396, but for the most part these are not cars my mom muscled around in.
In the early nineties, Ford introduced a car specifically designed for women. For those who may have forgotten the story, they did something quite interesting. Their interior design team had the task of making the car not only comfortable, but easy to operate without breaking a nail. In fact, the designers all tested the knobs, buttons, switches and handles while wearing one inch nails. People laugh when they picture it. The designers were probably laughing, too, but with the success of the Taurus Ford laughed all the way to the bank.
Today, Volvo has one-upped the Ford story. Volvo's new concept car, introduced at the Geneva Motor Show this winter, was actually designed by women, not just men wearing women's nails. All decisions were made by women. The female think tank literally went outside the box to produce a low maintenance car that is practical, stylish and comfortable. The car even has a split in the headrest for women who wear a ponytail.
Marti Barletta, an expert on U.S. consumer demand, was involved at the initiation of the project. "If you exceed the expectations of women you exceed the expectations of men," said Barletta. Even if the car never sees production, many of the ideas here will likely be recognized and assimilated into future designs.
WHAT DO WOMEN WANT?
Of the Volvo concept car�s many innovations, the 120 female design team identified six main desires of female driver. They were, in no particular order of importance, ease of parking, comfortable seats, visibility, ample storage space, easy maintenance and the ability to personalize the car. Sounds a lot like the kind of car my wife is always looking for.
One potentially controversial facet of the car was its 30,000 mile oil drain interval. Naturally this is a desire that makes sense. There are probably many people who wouldn�t mind never having to do any maintenance ever. Some of these are probably the same people who buy condos with no yards, somewhere down south where there is no snow to shovel.
The reality is, well, from a physics standpoint there are facts which must be reckoned with. One of these facts is the second law of thermodynamics. Things fall apart. Hence we have junk yards. And while minimizing maintenance can be desirable from a consumer standpoint, their are certainly some limits in this matter.
NO IDEA IS AN ISLAND
Another factor to reckon with is that certain design trends are inherently contradictory. This is the problem we face as we look at the increasingly restrictive constraints of emissions legislation. The following paragraphs should help quick lube operators breathe a sigh of relief.
The 100,000 mile oil change or "fill for life" no maintenance engine is not something we'll see any time soon. Why? Because of the technological barriers to such performance extremes as well as the environmental pressure to reduce, if not eliminate, emissions altogether. The desire for convenience must concede to the challenges of reality and economics.
In the past decade we've all been reading and hearing of the various ways engine manufacturers are re-tooling to meet the environmental challenge. Attempts at reducing emissions to keep our air and waterways clean vary by market.
In the two cycle market they are going to direct fuel injection (DFI) and electronic fuel injection (EFI) to address emissions. In the diesel market we are seeing exhaust gas re-circulation (EGR) and particulate traps. By-products of re-circulating the exhaust include more soot, hotter engines, and more corrosion due to acids. Because EGR puts all these demands on motor oil it reduces oil life which is why with the new diesel engines increased oil performance capabilities are required.
In the passenger car automotive market they are continually refining the internal combustion engine. One of the biggest challenges facing the oil industry with regard to the passenger car market is the reduction of additive content in order to increase catalyst life. There are trade-offs, however. First, there is the problem of increased wear. Second, and a major issue of concern for oil change operators, is the matter of backward compatibility.
SYNTHETIC SOLUTIONS
The reality is that all the major oil companies are all busy addressing the oil quality issue. Hydrocracked hydrocarbons and advanced additive technologies have helped, but the quiet champion here is synthetic motor oil.
Synthetics address nearly all of the problems brought on by the new engine technologies. The problem of increasingly hot engines is solved by synthetics because they reduce friction and, consequently, the primary by-product of friction, which is heat. Even in the presence of heat they are oxidatively stable. The problem of soot, a major issue in diesels, finds its solution in synthetic motor oils because high quality additives typically found in synthetics and synthetic basestocks themselves are better at holding soot in suspension.
Extreme drain intervals may be desired by those who have no interest in car maintenance, but realistically synthetics, while offering longer drain intervals cannot eliminate the need for oil changes altogether.
THE LANDSCAPE OF TOMORROW
There are limits to how far oil drains can be extended, no matter what our designing women desire. This is because it's clear that nearly everyone is interested in a cleaner environment and to get those reduced emissions and cleaner air involves trade-offs.
Nevertheless, it's a sure thing that whatever engine conditions await our lubricants, synthetic engine oils will be better suited to meet those demands. With the average drain interval in Europe over 10,000 miles and a 7500 mile oil change within U.S. normal recommendations, it seems the most important thing is to make sure you address these two key concerns. First, that you provide synthetic motor oils designed for these more demanding times. And second, that you insure sufficient margins to compensate for the longer drain intervals.
Ultimately, I see a future with cleaner water and cleaner air because engine makers have made a green commitment. Maybe the women who want a 30,000 mile oil change won't get what they want... but with synthetics we can help them get closer to what they need.
Ed Newman is Marketing & Advertising Manager for AMSOIL INC.
AMSOIL HAS MADE THE GREEN COMMITMENT: WE CAN HELP CLEAN UP THE ENVIRONMENT ONE VEHICLE AT A TIME.
Fewer Oil Changes is good for the environment.
AMSOIL Signature Series 0W-30 delivers the best possible engine protection, cleanliness and performance over extended drain intervals, reducing vehicle maintenance and waste oil disposal costs.
Using Amsoil can reduce your oil changes to once a year with the use of the Signature Series 0W-30. The drain interval on this product is 35K miles or 1 year. The chart above clearly shows that even though Amsoil is more expensive at the start. It always saves you money and time in the future. I don't know about you, but I don't have the time to take my car for an oil change every 3 months or so. I have to many things to do with the family and Amsoil provides me with the assurance that my vehicles are protected, where ever I go.
