Originally Posted By: vtb
I get it, somewhat. They are the market leader (?), and in some people's minds the best synthetic oil generally available. It just seems like Mobil 1 really polarizes people into two camps. It seems political, really.
1. Love it, have always used it, always will.
2. Look at the IRON!! I'll never touch the stuff!
And others who use it when it suits them (rebate, deal, whatever). I don't see this kind of hype around, say, PP, or SynPower, or Quaker State Synthetics. Am I right, or am I missing some factor in these debates?
I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm in neither camp. I actually don't even care too much about how Mobil 1 performs, except as a matter of curiosity. But here's how I see it.
A few years ago, a few experts pointed to some UOA data and said that Mobil 1's performance may be slipping. A lot of people, most of them total novices, read this and felt that it made them qualified to speak on the subject. So, they repeated it loudly and confidently at every opportunity. A few years later, here we are...
It was the same thing with Castrol (when they switched to group III base stocks) and Royal Purple (when used oil analysis showed that their oils sheared). The same thing has worked in some companies' favors, too, like in the case of the Royal Purple Mustang cam pictures, or with the litany of anecdotes about Marvel Mystery Oil.
It's really just total novices seizing on real info that they don't know how to interpret, and then throwing it around without knowing how to apply it. Yes, the cycle will continue, because very few people seem to be willing to break it. Everyone loves being able to speak like they know something, and most people seem to think that is more valuable than actually getting at the truth.
People seem to be getting slightly more critical lately, though. At least on BITOG. So, maybe there is hope. We'll see...
