I Like the second to last line

[CMayne]

Excerpts from Dealer Fixed ops online magazine article by Charlie Polston:
"Vehicle manufacturers are constantly bragging about their low cost of ownership. The marketing mantra stops just short of saying “all you have to do is put gas in it and go!” The prevailing wisdom of the manufacturers’ marketing departments appears to be “whoever has the lowest cost of ownership wins.”
Ron McElroy of Fluid Rx Diagnostics recently observed, “Preventive maintenance prolongs the service life of a vehicle. Therefore, ‘no maintenance’ practices are more likely market-driven than engineering-driven.”
Hmm, interesting theory—is it possible that vehicle manufacturers let marketing (advertising, promotion, and salesmanship) trump engineering (mechanical systems, electrical systems, and technology)?
To answer this question, I went to an expert, to one of my trusted advisors on what happens inside the walls of one of the world’s leading vehicle manufacturers. The following paragraphs are direct quotes from my conversation with my insider…and they are very enlightening:
I worked for a leading car maker for twenty-five years, the last ten years as a service engineer.
The marketing department was actively promoting the oil change reminder system for a multitude of reasons, including “going green” by reducing oil usage, but the main marketing tool was promoting “lower cost of ownership.”
At multiple engineering meetings, the discussion would turn to the on-board oil change reminder system and some of the product issues relating to the extended oil changes that were emerging in the field.
The service engineers as a group knew that the extended oil change intervals would have negative consequences on the product lines. And our fears proved true. Our vehicles started experiencing timing chain, camshaft, and lifter issues, on top of ongoing oil consumption issues.
So when the marketing department sets the standard for maintenance intervals, customer satisfaction is negatively affected, warranty expense is negatively affected, customer retention is negatively affected, and the dealership’s revenue is negatively affected. Customers with major engine repairs are not happy customers, even if the repair is covered by the manufacturer’s powertrain warranty, thus customer retention numbers will decline.
While attending one of the meetings, a top executive told the engineers, “You will abide by the oil change guidelines regardless of your personal opinion. Drink the Kool-Aid or you will no longer be working for us.”
Ironically, I no longer work for them and everything we were warring with senior management about has come true."

[TimK]

Sounds like a GM product they're talking about.

[Bailo1]

Is GM the only manufacturer that utilizes an oil life monitoring system?

[CMayne]

Sounds like a GM product they're talking about.

Kind of what I was thinking. I have and old truck with a 96 motor and trans. I run Mobil 1 and have ever since break in. Change it every 4K. The oil may hold up longer but I doubt the filter does and look at the "tiny" filters on the new ones. BTW the old engine went 204K in front of a .456 rear end. Now it has .410s and a OD trans and a zz3 engine. Hopefully I get a nother 200K out of it.