Originally Posted By: saaber1
More marketing bilge. Manufacturers are not going to put a bad oil in there cars, that is a given. But I think this has more to do with marketing and $ than anything else. Having the little "mobil1" sticker on the car is a huge part of M1's marketing efforts.
Well yes and no.
Let me give you some history on the Mobil 1 factory fill issue as far as GM is concerned. Mobil 1 was first factory fill on the 1992 Corvette LT1. This was purely based on engineering and nothing at all with marketing. The oil cooler was able to be eliminated from the car, thus saving costs, complexity and potential leak points all by using synthetic Mobil 1 oil. The oil reduced temps enough over regular oil with a cooler that it was spec'd as factory fill and recommended as th eoil to use. GM4871 spec was made just to be sure an oil is suitable for the car it will be used for. Now Ironically the ZR1 did not specify Mobil 1 oil until 1993...it was introduced in 1990.
In 2007 the new Escalade and it's 6.2 liter engine was a bit noisy at a first start up in very cold weather. The remedy was simply a change to Mobil 1 oil as the factory fill and that solved the issue until the engine underwent a minor revision. After the revisions - the Mobil 1 factory fill continued anyhow.
The above are just 2 examples of why a factory fill Mobil 1 was a benefit and not just marketing. Now - I can move on to supporting the idea of Mobil 1 as the factory fill in being a Marketing bonanza:
The Factory fill is still Mobil 1 for Corvettes, but guess what? The oil cooler made its way back with the C5. The new Escalades still come with Mobil 1 Factory fill and the neat oil cap....BUT the GMC Denali with the same 6.2V8 gets regular oil and a regular oil cap. Same engine but limted to 380hp by PCM programming vs the 403hp in the Cadillac. Mobil 1 is factory fill in my CTS with the DI engine (and the base too) as well as many many makes. While I like and use Mobil 1, it is true that in many cases it may not really be necessary in all applications and here is where the marketing blitz starts.
So what I'm trying to say is that in the beginning, Mobil 1 factory fill was a real need. However, I does appear that it has turned to more marketing than anything. Case in point being the example I cited for the Escalade getting M1 and the Denali not. I know this for fact because I see the engines everyday.
