I'm still not convinced SOPUS even has a problem. Ultra isn't going away, its just not at Mal-Wart anymore. Who cares? Most Mal-Wart shoppers buy cheap anyway, M1 doesn't exactly fly through there compared to PYB and Super Tech. SOPUS sell more oil than anyone else (or trade the lead back and forth with XOM). They're hardly hurting, even if failing to differentiate it from Platinum was dumb.
Suitable replacement name for ULTRA
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Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
I'm still not convinced SOPUS even has a problem. Ultra isn't going away, its just not at Mal-Wart anymore. Who cares? Most Mal-Wart shoppers buy cheap anyway, M1 doesn't exactly fly through there compared to PYB and Super Tech. SOPUS sell more oil than anyone else (or trade the lead back and forth with XOM). They're hardly hurting, even if failing to differentiate it from Platinum was dumb.
It's not at WalMart, AZ, NAPA, O'Rielly, or CARQUEST. Those are all the autostores within 40 miles of where I live. Maybe it's still at Pepboys but that is an hours drive away and I have not been there for a while. At this point it is mail order status only. I have an easier time finding Redline on the shelf than Ultra. So if they are not discontinuing it, why is it no longer available anywhere?
I'm still not convinced SOPUS even has a problem. Ultra isn't going away, its just not at Mal-Wart anymore. Who cares? Most Mal-Wart shoppers buy cheap anyway, M1 doesn't exactly fly through there compared to PYB and Super Tech. SOPUS sell more oil than anyone else (or trade the lead back and forth with XOM). They're hardly hurting, even if failing to differentiate it from Platinum was dumb.
It's not at WalMart, AZ, NAPA, O'Rielly, or CARQUEST. Those are all the autostores within 40 miles of where I live. Maybe it's still at Pepboys but that is an hours drive away and I have not been there for a while. At this point it is mail order status only. I have an easier time finding Redline on the shelf than Ultra. So if they are not discontinuing it, why is it no longer available anywhere?
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
I'm still not convinced SOPUS even has a problem. Ultra isn't going away, its just not at Mal-Wart anymore. Who cares? Most Mal-Wart shoppers buy cheap anyway, M1 doesn't exactly fly through there compared to PYB and Super Tech. SOPUS sell more oil than anyone else (or trade the lead back and forth with XOM). They're hardly hurting, even if failing to differentiate it from Platinum was dumb.
The shopping pattern really varies by location. Here, it is tough to get a jug of Mobil 1 or Mobil 1 EP. I could go to Walmart in the morning, full shelves and when coming home from work the Mobil is cleared out. PP and QSUD are good sellers too, and the everything else moves pretty slow.
I'm still not convinced SOPUS even has a problem. Ultra isn't going away, its just not at Mal-Wart anymore. Who cares? Most Mal-Wart shoppers buy cheap anyway, M1 doesn't exactly fly through there compared to PYB and Super Tech. SOPUS sell more oil than anyone else (or trade the lead back and forth with XOM). They're hardly hurting, even if failing to differentiate it from Platinum was dumb.
The shopping pattern really varies by location. Here, it is tough to get a jug of Mobil 1 or Mobil 1 EP. I could go to Walmart in the morning, full shelves and when coming home from work the Mobil is cleared out. PP and QSUD are good sellers too, and the everything else moves pretty slow.
Originally Posted By: Sunnyinhollister
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
I'm still not convinced SOPUS even has a problem. Ultra isn't going away, its just not at Mal-Wart anymore. Who cares? Most Mal-Wart shoppers buy cheap anyway, M1 doesn't exactly fly through there compared to PYB and Super Tech. SOPUS sell more oil than anyone else (or trade the lead back and forth with XOM). They're hardly hurting, even if failing to differentiate it from Platinum was dumb.
It's not at WalMart, AZ, NAPA, O'Rielly, or CARQUEST. Those are all the autostores within 40 miles of where I live. Maybe it's still at Pepboys but that is an hours drive away and I have not been there for a while. At this point it is mail order status only. I have an easier time finding Redline on the shelf than Ultra. So if they are not discontinuing it, why is it no longer available anywhere?
I'm not seeing that kind of pullback locally. I'm not arguing that it isn't happening, just wondering why it seems to be so regional.
I also notice that Pennzoil has "buy here" links on their Ultra page, but only for Euro 5w40, and SRT 0w40. The link goes to specialtylubes.com.
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
I'm still not convinced SOPUS even has a problem. Ultra isn't going away, its just not at Mal-Wart anymore. Who cares? Most Mal-Wart shoppers buy cheap anyway, M1 doesn't exactly fly through there compared to PYB and Super Tech. SOPUS sell more oil than anyone else (or trade the lead back and forth with XOM). They're hardly hurting, even if failing to differentiate it from Platinum was dumb.
It's not at WalMart, AZ, NAPA, O'Rielly, or CARQUEST. Those are all the autostores within 40 miles of where I live. Maybe it's still at Pepboys but that is an hours drive away and I have not been there for a while. At this point it is mail order status only. I have an easier time finding Redline on the shelf than Ultra. So if they are not discontinuing it, why is it no longer available anywhere?
I'm not seeing that kind of pullback locally. I'm not arguing that it isn't happening, just wondering why it seems to be so regional.
I also notice that Pennzoil has "buy here" links on their Ultra page, but only for Euro 5w40, and SRT 0w40. The link goes to specialtylubes.com.
Rename the entire Synthetic line "Ultra". Pennzoil Ultra Blend, Pennzoil Ultra Full Synthetic, Pennzoil Ultra Maximum - with GTL Technology.
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Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
I'm still not convinced SOPUS even has a problem.
SOPUS doesn't have a problem with the product. It's first rate. Their problem was choosing to market it under Pennzoil's label. Having two poorly differentiated synthetics under the same brand name was a hole in the boat idea.
The average customer makes a product sink or swim. Not the enthusiast. What does the average customer know about Pennzoil Platinum and Pennzoil Ultra?
- One bottle is silver and the other is black
- One cleans your engine more than the other (probably makes them wonder if they're in the wrong aisle)
- One costs more than the other. But why?
Ultra's strongest selling point (GTL) is a better kept secret than most matters of national security.
If you ask Ultra purchasers what GTL means you'll probably hear Gym Tan Laundry 99 times out of 100.
SOPUS needs to fire a lot of people. Starting with everyone who believed...if the Platinum Diner is doing well, opening an Ultra Diner next door to it will rewrite the definition of brilliance.
I'm still not convinced SOPUS even has a problem.
SOPUS doesn't have a problem with the product. It's first rate. Their problem was choosing to market it under Pennzoil's label. Having two poorly differentiated synthetics under the same brand name was a hole in the boat idea.
The average customer makes a product sink or swim. Not the enthusiast. What does the average customer know about Pennzoil Platinum and Pennzoil Ultra?
- One bottle is silver and the other is black
- One cleans your engine more than the other (probably makes them wonder if they're in the wrong aisle)
- One costs more than the other. But why?
Ultra's strongest selling point (GTL) is a better kept secret than most matters of national security.
If you ask Ultra purchasers what GTL means you'll probably hear Gym Tan Laundry 99 times out of 100.
SOPUS needs to fire a lot of people. Starting with everyone who believed...if the Platinum Diner is doing well, opening an Ultra Diner next door to it will rewrite the definition of brilliance.
Originally Posted By: Sunnyinhollister
It's not at WalMart, AZ, NAPA, O'Rielly, or CARQUEST. Those are all the autostores within 40 miles of where I live.
SunnyinHollister, I have good news for you. According to the Pennzoil.com web site Ultra is at the Autozone in your city of Hollister on 271 McCray Street and at the AutoZone on 6900 Chestnut. There are also a couple AutoZones in the nearby town of Salinas that carry it, but you're right most AutoZones in your area don't carry it anymore, and neither do the Walmarts.
It's not at WalMart, AZ, NAPA, O'Rielly, or CARQUEST. Those are all the autostores within 40 miles of where I live.
SunnyinHollister, I have good news for you. According to the Pennzoil.com web site Ultra is at the Autozone in your city of Hollister on 271 McCray Street and at the AutoZone on 6900 Chestnut. There are also a couple AutoZones in the nearby town of Salinas that carry it, but you're right most AutoZones in your area don't carry it anymore, and neither do the Walmarts.
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Originally Posted By: Art_Vandelay
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
I'm still not convinced SOPUS even has a problem.
SOPUS doesn't have a problem with the product. It's first rate. Their problem was choosing to market it under Pennzoil's label. Having two poorly differentiated synthetics under the same brand name was a hole in the boat idea.
The average customer makes a product sink or swim. Not the enthusiast. What does the average customer know about Pennzoil Platinum and Pennzoil Ultra?
- One bottle is silver and the other is black
- One cleans your engine more than the other (probably makes them wonder if they're in the wrong aisle)
- One costs more than the other. But why?
Ultra's strongest selling point (GTL) is a better kept secret than most matters of national security.
If you ask Ultra purchasers what GTL means you'll probably hear Gym Tan Laundry 99 times out of 100.
SOPUS needs to fire a lot of people. Starting with everyone who believed...if the Platinum Diner is doing well, opening an Ultra Diner next door to it will rewrite the definition of brilliance.
I just choked on my Pepsi. That was awesome.
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
I'm still not convinced SOPUS even has a problem.
SOPUS doesn't have a problem with the product. It's first rate. Their problem was choosing to market it under Pennzoil's label. Having two poorly differentiated synthetics under the same brand name was a hole in the boat idea.
The average customer makes a product sink or swim. Not the enthusiast. What does the average customer know about Pennzoil Platinum and Pennzoil Ultra?
- One bottle is silver and the other is black
- One cleans your engine more than the other (probably makes them wonder if they're in the wrong aisle)
- One costs more than the other. But why?
Ultra's strongest selling point (GTL) is a better kept secret than most matters of national security.
If you ask Ultra purchasers what GTL means you'll probably hear Gym Tan Laundry 99 times out of 100.
SOPUS needs to fire a lot of people. Starting with everyone who believed...if the Platinum Diner is doing well, opening an Ultra Diner next door to it will rewrite the definition of brilliance.
I just choked on my Pepsi. That was awesome.
Originally Posted By: Clevy
SOPUS needs to fire a lot of people.
Fire? I don't think they have anyone in marketing. They need to start hiring.
SOPUS needs to fire a lot of people.
Fire? I don't think they have anyone in marketing. They need to start hiring.
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Clevy
SOPUS needs to fire a lot of people.
Fire? I don't think they have anyone in marketing. They need to start hiring.
How did that become my quote?
I do agree though.
The diner comparison is pretty accurate.
Originally Posted By: Clevy
SOPUS needs to fire a lot of people.
Fire? I don't think they have anyone in marketing. They need to start hiring.
How did that become my quote?
I do agree though.
The diner comparison is pretty accurate.
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Originally Posted By: A_Harman
Pennzoil Supercalifragilisticexpiealadocius.
Even though the sound of it is really quite atrocious.
Pennzoil Supercalifragilisticexpiealadocius.
Even though the sound of it is really quite atrocious.
It does seem odd that Shell has done so little advertising of Ultra over the past couple years, considering Ultra is such a great, great oil. I remember all those funny Castrol GTX commercials on TV a couple years ago. It seemed you couldn't flip on the tube without seeing another great, hilarious commercial promoting Castrol GTX. So just maybe Shell never intended a long life for Ultra for some reason? Maybe Ultra was meant to be transitionary.
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Clevy
SOPUS needs to fire a lot of people.
Fire? I don't think they have anyone in marketing. They need to start hiring.
How did that become my quote?
Sorry. I messed up.
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Clevy
SOPUS needs to fire a lot of people.
Fire? I don't think they have anyone in marketing. They need to start hiring.
How did that become my quote?
Sorry. I messed up.
Originally Posted By: Sunnyinhollister
It's not at WalMart, AZ, NAPA, O'Rielly, or CARQUEST. Those are all the autostores within 40 miles of where I live. Maybe it's still at Pepboys but that is an hours drive away and I have not been there for a while. At this point it is mail order status only. I have an easier time finding Redline on the shelf than Ultra. So if they are not discontinuing it, why is it no longer available anywhere?
SunnyinHolister, after checking Pennzoil.com I also called the AutoZone on McCray Street to be sure Pennzoil's info about availability is reliable. Ultra is definitely availabe there. They have 20 bottles of various grades. I'm not quite sure why you thought Ultra was missing in your town's AutoZones, but you're lucky. It's not missing. The Pennzoil.com info is much more reliable than Walmart.com's info, but it's useful to use both web sites.
It's not at WalMart, AZ, NAPA, O'Rielly, or CARQUEST. Those are all the autostores within 40 miles of where I live. Maybe it's still at Pepboys but that is an hours drive away and I have not been there for a while. At this point it is mail order status only. I have an easier time finding Redline on the shelf than Ultra. So if they are not discontinuing it, why is it no longer available anywhere?
SunnyinHolister, after checking Pennzoil.com I also called the AutoZone on McCray Street to be sure Pennzoil's info about availability is reliable. Ultra is definitely availabe there. They have 20 bottles of various grades. I'm not quite sure why you thought Ultra was missing in your town's AutoZones, but you're lucky. It's not missing. The Pennzoil.com info is much more reliable than Walmart.com's info, but it's useful to use both web sites.
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Originally Posted By: Built_Well
Originally Posted By: Sunnyinhollister
It's not at WalMart, AZ, NAPA, O'Rielly, or CARQUEST. Those are all the autostores within 40 miles of where I live. Maybe it's still at Pepboys but that is an hours drive away and I have not been there for a while. At this point it is mail order status only. I have an easier time finding Redline on the shelf than Ultra. So if they are not discontinuing it, why is it no longer available anywhere?
SunnyinHolister, after checking Pennzoil.com I also called the AutoZone on McCray Street to be sure Pennzoil's info about availability is reliable. Ultra is definitely availabe there. They have 20 bottles of various grades. I'm not quite sure why you thought Ultra was missing in your town's AutoZones, but you're lucky. It's not missing. The Pennzoil.com info is much more reliable than Walmart.com's info, but it's useful to use both web sites.
The Pennzoil site is wrong. I was at O'Rielly this week and no Ultra was present. I was in AZ last week and no Ultra was present. I'm not sure who you talked to, but they were probably thinking Platinum=Ultra. If you look on Autozone's website they do not list "Pick up at store" or "ship to home" as an option for Ultra.
Don't get me wrong, I like the product and have used it on the past. I have three quarts left over from one of the last sales. I just wish it was still available locally. Next time I make it out to Pepboys I'll check their shelves for some.
Originally Posted By: Sunnyinhollister
It's not at WalMart, AZ, NAPA, O'Rielly, or CARQUEST. Those are all the autostores within 40 miles of where I live. Maybe it's still at Pepboys but that is an hours drive away and I have not been there for a while. At this point it is mail order status only. I have an easier time finding Redline on the shelf than Ultra. So if they are not discontinuing it, why is it no longer available anywhere?
SunnyinHolister, after checking Pennzoil.com I also called the AutoZone on McCray Street to be sure Pennzoil's info about availability is reliable. Ultra is definitely availabe there. They have 20 bottles of various grades. I'm not quite sure why you thought Ultra was missing in your town's AutoZones, but you're lucky. It's not missing. The Pennzoil.com info is much more reliable than Walmart.com's info, but it's useful to use both web sites.
The Pennzoil site is wrong. I was at O'Rielly this week and no Ultra was present. I was in AZ last week and no Ultra was present. I'm not sure who you talked to, but they were probably thinking Platinum=Ultra. If you look on Autozone's website they do not list "Pick up at store" or "ship to home" as an option for Ultra.
Don't get me wrong, I like the product and have used it on the past. I have three quarts left over from one of the last sales. I just wish it was still available locally. Next time I make it out to Pepboys I'll check their shelves for some.
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Originally Posted By: Art_Vandelay
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
I'm still not convinced SOPUS even has a problem.
SOPUS doesn't have a problem with the product. It's first rate. Their problem was choosing to market it under Pennzoil's label. Having two poorly differentiated synthetics under the same brand name was a hole in the boat idea.
The average customer makes a product sink or swim. Not the enthusiast. What does the average customer know about Pennzoil Platinum and Pennzoil Ultra?
- One bottle is silver and the other is black
- One cleans your engine more than the other (probably makes them wonder if they're in the wrong aisle)
- One costs more than the other. But why?
Ultra's strongest selling point (GTL) is a better kept secret than most matters of national security.
If you ask Ultra purchasers what GTL means you'll probably hear Gym Tan Laundry 99 times out of 100.
SOPUS needs to fire a lot of people. Starting with everyone who believed...if the Platinum Diner is doing well, opening an Ultra Diner next door to it will rewrite the definition of brilliance.
The problem isn't the name. The problem is the market is glutted with synthetics. The market has spoken. Only a handful of people are willing to pay the premium SOPUS is asking for Ultra. And that market is already saturated by Amsoil, Redline, etc.
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
I'm still not convinced SOPUS even has a problem.
SOPUS doesn't have a problem with the product. It's first rate. Their problem was choosing to market it under Pennzoil's label. Having two poorly differentiated synthetics under the same brand name was a hole in the boat idea.
The average customer makes a product sink or swim. Not the enthusiast. What does the average customer know about Pennzoil Platinum and Pennzoil Ultra?
- One bottle is silver and the other is black
- One cleans your engine more than the other (probably makes them wonder if they're in the wrong aisle)
- One costs more than the other. But why?
Ultra's strongest selling point (GTL) is a better kept secret than most matters of national security.
If you ask Ultra purchasers what GTL means you'll probably hear Gym Tan Laundry 99 times out of 100.
SOPUS needs to fire a lot of people. Starting with everyone who believed...if the Platinum Diner is doing well, opening an Ultra Diner next door to it will rewrite the definition of brilliance.
The problem isn't the name. The problem is the market is glutted with synthetics. The market has spoken. Only a handful of people are willing to pay the premium SOPUS is asking for Ultra. And that market is already saturated by Amsoil, Redline, etc.
SOPUS Mystery Oil.
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