Surveys have indicated that over 90% of the motor (engine) oils sold in the U.S. today are bought over the counter through mass merchandising retail stores of through gasoline (petrol) stations.
Obviously, in this area of intense competition, price becomes “the” important factor. Everyone books for a bargain or sale item and most of the major oil companies are happy to provide an appropriate oil in this low price, ordinary quality range.
Consider a typical gasoline (petrol) station as an example. Their first function is to sell you gasoline, then maybe an oil top-up and accessories such as car wax, window cleaner, re-built tyres, etc. But consider for a moment the gasoline station attendant whom you are trusting to recommend an oil for your US$15,000 car or US$50,000 truck. They are relatively lowly paid and often do not even have a high school diploma. And yet this unqualified attendant is left to nominate the oil to be put into your engine!!!
Mass advertising, over-the-counter impulse buying and petrol station selling are methods by which the giant oil companies sell their products against fierce competition. To market under these conditions, they obviously have to manufacture down to a competitive price – not up to a quality criteria. |
