But the point is you can make a competitive Group III synthetic for a lot less cost than Group IV/V. Blenders were looking for a cheaper way to make synthetic and, at the time, there was a real fear of shortages for materials to make Group IV/V.
I noticed this point (of many). However cost still is the major reason, Group III is by far cheaper. Don't get me wrong, there are great oils out there that are majority Group III. I have mentioned M1 ESP 5W-30 before which certainly is one of the very best VW 504 00 oils you can buy. It easily matches "PAO performance" (if there is something like that) except for pour point and commonly results in excellent UOAs. I just don't agree on those "Group III is equal if not superior to Group IV/V" claims. It's sufficient, it's similar in some cases, it's cheaper to make. Better? Rarely.
EDIT
to complement my previous post:
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