Integrity and Devotion singles out AMSOIL as the product customers can trust

Often when a customer asks us here in the store about how our product compares to another, well we aren’t suppose to bad mouth another product outside of our own in house and 3rd party tests which AMSOIL goes to great lengths to keep updated. But really none of that is needed if you just let performance speak for its self. But when they give no indication that their product has any synthetic at all, (Missing 100% Synthetic on the label) then it’s clear. Their product really isn’t even comparable.

Rather than point out any particular brand, it’s more eyeopening to look at the industry as a whole.   The below feedback from our founder Al Amatuzio to a concerned dealer illustrates this well.

AMSOIL Magazine September 2014

An email sent recently to AMSOIL corporate by Florida Direct Jobber George Douglas is worthy of discussion. The issue he raises carries ramifications across the motor oil industry, and many AMSOIL Dealers may have already been touched by it. George had this to say:

I read an article in last month’s Lubes ‘N’ Greases (magazine) concerning the cheap synthetics on the market that may have very little Group lll oil in them since there is no regulation or oversight from the API on what is in the bottle. I know that as a policy AMSOIL does not want to get into base oil wars, but I feel it may be time for AMSOIL to exploit this somehow through more education and/or in promo material. I was looking at oil prices in a store the other day and noticed one brand of full synthetic going for $3.43 a quart and the major brands of conventional oil going for nearly $5.00 a quart. This should raise a flag with consumers; how could synthetic oil be cheaper than petroleum oil? Also, I saw some of the really cheap synthetic in one of my installer’s stock rooms when I delivered oil to him last month. His AMSOIL purchases have reduced recently, and now I know why. You are all probably aware of this, but I thought I would give you my two cents.

First, thanks for your two cents, George. The point you raise is certainly legitimate, and I appreciate your interest in making all Dealers aware.

At one time, synthetic oil was made exclusively from polyalphaolefin and ester base oils. Then the landscape became a bit murky in 1999 when Mobil challenged Castrol when Castrol introduced an oil made from Group lll base oil and called it synthetic. The dispute played out before the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau and Castrol prevailed. No big problem there.  Group lll base oils offer good performance, and now GTL (gas-to-liquid) base oils have joined the Group lll segment.

The problem, as George indicates, is that there is no official regulation. An oil with less than 50 percent synthetic base oil can be labeled synthetic. In fact, there is absolutely nothing to prevent motor oil marketers from labeling oils made from conventional Group l or Group ll base oils as synthetic. There is currently no testing to verify the base oil content. And even if it was proven that the product contained no synthetic oil, there are no legal ramifications since no official definitions exist for the category.

The bottom line, of course, is that in many cases consumers are paying too much for oil that doesn’t measure up to the high standards of synthetic as AMSOIL defines the term. And on the flip side, consumers purchasing synthetic oil for $3.43 a quart are, in all likelihood, not getting what they think.

Tom Glenn, the author of the article that George refers to, offers this as a call to action:

Now is the time to take a closer look at the term synthetic and officially define what constitutes synthetic motor oil, based on measurable and meaningful attributes and clear-cut rules. In doing so, we can protect consumers from cheaters and level the playing field for those that play by the rules. If we don’t do it now, it may be too late to do it when synthetics dominate the passenger car motor oil segment.

I certainly hope that gets done. In the meantime, AMSOIL Dealers can set consumers straight.

Not all synthetics are created equal, and it may be that not all synthetics are actually synthetic at all.

AMSOIL created the synthetic motor oil market, and we continue to set the standard for performance. Our definition of synthetic doesn’t waver. Consumers can be assured that what they see on the label is what they’ll see in the bottle. With AMSOIL, people get what they pay for. – Written by the AMSOIL Founder, the late A.J. Amatuzio

Synthetic Warehouse Omaha note (Ches Cain):

So there you have it.. It boils down to needs of the stock holder once they know what they can get away with. You chose who you want to do business with.
AMSOIL has no stock holders and Al Amatuzio started this company because he saw the performance effects of synthetic first hand in jet aircraft and knew by bringing it to market it would benefit consumers. The oil companies fought him for decades trying everything to take him out of business including a lawsuit which he eventually won but cost about $100K a month for 5 years in the 1970’s. He never gave up!

My own personal reason for getting involved with AMSOIL was also related to performance. An old beater of mine (64 Corvair) resulted in driving so smooth and better throttle response that I instantly knew it was a product I had to get behind!! Please try out our products. From the industry’s bench mark, the Signature Series to the price competing “Original Equipment” line, you will be sold just as I was. Just like I did, you can say “Thanks Al for not taking the short-cuts and hiring the industry’s best in your devotion to bring us the products which always be the pinnacle of the industry.”

• You don’t have to take our word for it. One of the industry magazines “Lubes N Greases” often covers this subject although they have to be very careful about it due to the political ramifications but they have covered this in many ways – the need to level the playing field.
• For one of our competitors to make a similar product as our Signature Series motor oil because of the stock holder chain, it would have to be a minimum of $14 per quart. I believe for most “Exotic” offerings, that would have to be at a reduction of the profit margin over the existing Group III and Group III&IV offerings.