Some of us remember going to the store in the 60s and 70s to pick up four or five cans of motor oil and a filter because it was time for an oil change. Most changed oil themselves back then and if you were like me, you sometimes also changed your air filter, plugs, points, condenser and rotor, and adjusted the timing and carburetor. The tune-up took a bit more skill, but changing the oil and filters was a relatively easy process and both started with a trip to the store to buy the oil and parts.
Selecting the motor oil was fairly straightforward, although you usually had to go to the book sitting on the parts counter to look up the items for your car. Thats because the choice of viscosity grades was limited. Further, virtually all motor oil cans in the store had some version of Meets or exceeds all car manufacturer warranty requirements written on the labels. That statement was unambiguous and easy for consumers to understand: The oil was good for all cars.
Forty years ago, there were typically six or seven brands of passenger car motor oil on retail shelves. They were available in two or three straight grades like SAE 30, and several multigrades, led by SAE 10W-40. With few exceptions all met then-current API service categories (either API SD or SE). And synthetics were viewed as a rare species, not often seen in retail stores.
All in all, selecting the right oil was relatively easy and buying decisions revolved around the viscosity grade and oil brand. This simplicity was easy for consumers, easy for blenders, easy for auto companies. And also made it easy for vendors to have the oils their customers needed on the shelves.
But times have changed and the brands, types and grades of motor oils have greatly multiplied. Its more challenging now for buyers to find the right oil, and for retailers to understand and stock it.
When a do-it-yourselfer goes to a large retailer of motor oils today, he or she usually will find 10 viscosity grades for passenger cars. The greatest number of facings will be SAE 5W-30, followed by 5W-20, 10W-30, 10W-40 and 0W-20; there will likely be a smattering of 0W-40, 20W-50, 15W-50 and SAE 30, too. Adding to the variety, many of these grades are available in myriad types, including conventional, synthetic blends, high mileage and full synthetic. The variations proliferate with formulations that target extended performance, fuel economy, deposit control, durability and more.
Thats a lot of choices and it doesnt end there. Motor oil bottles no longer simply state Meets or exceeds all car manufacturer warranty requirements. Instead, the labels reference a plethora of U.S. and import-car specifications. These can include API SN, SM, SL or SJ, ILSAC GF-5 and GF-4, GM Dexos1, GM 6094M, GM 471BM, Honda/Acura HTO-06, ACEA A1/B1, A3/B3, A5/B5, VW 500/501/502/505, MB 229.3, Ford WSS-M2C153-H, WSS-M2C930-A, WSS-M2C945-A and WSS-M2C946-A, and other codes to make a cryptologist smile.
To further complicate the choices, many products are available in both quart bottles and 5-quart jugs. When you add it all up, the top motor oil retailers stock close to 150 distinct PCMO products and packages, and they cover over 200 running feet (excluding endcaps) of shelf space.
With that, there is little wonder why some retailers chain motor oil selection guides (the book) on store shelves to steer customers to the right oil. One example is Walmart, where youll find Pennzoils Domestic Lubrication Recommendations & Capacities Guide for Years 1970-2014 hanging from the shelf. The guide is usually tattered and torn from use by shoppers thumbing through its 185 pages of makes, models, years, codes and capacities.
Such guides are very helpful and can be enhanced by point-of-sale touch screens, smart-phone apps and other electronic devices that help consumers sort through the thicket of specification-driven items for their automobiles. Visit other Walmart aisles, and you can see a 1,400-page Oil and Air Filter & Spark Plug Catalog, or use an electronic pad to find the correct wiper blades.
No doubt there are ways to provide consumers with the information they need to select the right motor oil for their car, if they care to look. Thats particularly good news considering that the number of PCMOs to choose from will soon mushroom when GF-6A and GF-6B enter the market, and when SAE 0W-16, 5W-16 and other exotic viscosities appear on store shelves.
But while books can grow to help consumers sort out an infinite number of motor oil brands, types and grades, stores have a finite amount of real estate. And with the number of DIYers continuing to shrink, the space available in stores for motor oils likely will do the same. If that happens, a retailers choices will be fairly limited; it will trim the number of brands, types, grades and/or packages on the shelves.
More about this next month.
Tom Glenn is president of the consulting firm Petroleum Trends International, the Petroleum Quality Institute of America, and Jobbers World newsletter. Phone: (732) 494-0405. E-mail: tom_glenn@petroleumtrends.com