The National Oil and Lube News (NOLN) December 29 reported on an article originally posted on Chron about Dollar General being sued by a man from Houston contending that the DG store-branded motor oils “…are unsuitable for today’s cars.” (http://www.noln.net/article/lawsuit-dollar-general-motor-oil-not-safe-cars-newer-1980s-go-figure) “The complaint alleges that the motor oils are obsolete, fail to protect and can damage ‘modern-day’ automobiles.”

From reading the article, there are apparently three viscosities in question: 10W30, 10W40 and 30. The first two are rated “SF” and the 30W is rated as an SA non-detergent oil, according to pictures of the labels. This lawsuit is similar to others we have seen over the years involving convenience stores, truck stops and similar retailers.

According to NOLN, “While the front label of the 10W-30 and 10W-40 motor oil containers states that the product ‘Lubricates and protects your engine,’ the back label carries the ‘small print’ statement, ‘not suitable for use in most gasoline powered automotive engines built after 1988. The label on the back of the DG SAE container states that it is ‘not suitable for use in most gasoline powered automotive engines built after 1930,’ the complaint states.'”

Bottom line, it is important to know the motor oil specifications and viscosity recommendations for your particular vehicle. For example, AMSOIL formulates four high-performance European Formula Motor Oils for European cars. All these vehicles do not take the same specification or viscosity. Unfortunately, some consumers, installers and retailers are not aware of these requirements or ignore them. This puts the vehicle owner at risk.

To maintain your warranty and to get the expected life out of your vehicle, using the right specification is an important part of the process. In addition, even motor oils with the same specification are not created equal. AMSOIL outperforms other motor oils, synthetic and conventional, and provide the consumer and enthusiast with the best protection and performance possible. If you are not sure what the lubrication recommendations are for your car, truck, ATV, Motorcycle or RV, you can confirm them using the Online Product Lookup Guides at this link: http://www.amsoil.com/guides.aspx?zo=5931.

A quote we saw many years ago by John Ruskin, a prominent Victorian era thinker and philanthropist, may be appropriate here: “There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man’s lawful prey.” (John Ruskin)