Castrol has scored an OEM hat trick, reaching an agreement with Ford Motor Co. that makes it the factory-fill lubricant supplier for Jaguar Cars Ltd., Volvo Car Corp. and Land Rover. The deal means that Castrol engine oils and other automotive fluids will go into hundreds of thousands of vehicles manufactured worldwide. Castrol will also supply those same products to dealers of all three brands – which are part of Fords Premier Auto Group – and will work with the car companies to dev...

One U.S. lubricant industry backwater — aviation piston engine oils — seems long overdue for a shake up in both technology and marketing. When it will see real change is not certain, however. Few companies are chasing this 7 million gallon market, principally Shell, followed by Phillips Petroleum. Trailing them is ExxonMobil, which got into aviation piston oils about two years ago. Barriers to entry are high, with a long, expensive testing and approval process that doesn’t lur...

Signaling a possible rift between the leading motor oil marketer and the largest U.S. quick-lube chain, the Jiffy Lube Association of Franchisees said yesterday that it plans toconduct a study to gauge the importance placed on motor oil brand. In a news release, the Baltimore, Maryland-based association suggested that it may want to change its relationship with its primary motor oil supplier, Pennzoil-Quaker State Co. Our Board of Directors has decided that to best serve the needs of our custome...