"... And you'd be hard pressed to find an example of an engine failure due to the use of any oil, even if it's the wrong spec. People don't keep cars that long..."
"...Does that mean the other 500 car types are going to blow up if you use Mobil 1? Of course not...."
"... If an oil manufacturer wants a contract to be an OEM supplier then they pretty much have to get "approval", or "certification", or whatever you care to call it...."
"..Whether it says "approved", "meets", "exceeds" or "certified" has no effect at all on your car. It's the spec that counts..."
"...Are we to conclude that Mobil 1 is junk and will ruin your Toyota, or your Volkswagen, or your Ford, or your Ferrari, or your Kia?..."
"...Read your owner's manual....Change it when you're told to change it...."
Just a sum of your thoughts, i didn't quote them ,it takes a lot space .
Now, my thoughts while i see yours....
Buying a car is an investment . That means for the 75% of people that want to get the most of it ,and i am sure the examples of this site agree with me.The rest can effort to get easy a car ,blow it up and next day just get repaired or get a new one .This 25% can stop reading here,it s not for them this article . Total failure is not always the result of a use of any oil but an engine can worm out up to 30% w/o able to visible inspect it and the performance will drop just a few, that few that only 15% of people will understand or care for that . The oil manufacturers need the specs for just get into dealers stores and sell their products but specs as you say is all about . If a car manufacturer say "My engine last long and people( and me as company) not care to last so long", obviously the spec that will be asked will not help engine health and longevity .Period . That s the way things are .Construction of an engine is rely to the "blood", the oil . No good oil have results that the most people still consider as "normal" while are not ,like oil consumption . What is a good oil? the one that is protect the engine .Not what is manufacturer says,they just want to sell and having troubles with engine ,makes them happy .The best way to ensure that an engine will have problems is ....to tell you to strictly follow their specs or else you are out of the...guarantee( the guarantee that ensure them that they will worm out the engine...).If not follow their specs and put a better oil even w/o their specs (which by the way we both agree that engine will not blow up ) ,you just 'ruin" their plan . So not using a spec that have a lot problems (not getting always the 507 example ,lets say the 505 vs 505.01 which a lot did that mistake ) it have a benefit for the car you own and want to keep the most . Reading the manual and change the oil and specified intervals have no use at that forum ,all push oil to its limits so manual have no use i think at that case .