Originally Posted By: Trav
Have you considered that most if not all quality oils have the same "miracle" in their oils also especially today. This was over 20 yrs ago. I have nothing against additives
What this argument boils down to is... trust the advertising hype of the oil makers. You are welcome to do that. As for me, I think the oil companies are in business to maximize profits. If, along the way, they happen to make a decent product, that's great, but it is clearly not their primary objective. Furthermore, oil companies, like cigarette makers, know that advertising dollars are much more effective in molding public opinion of their product than dollars spent on research and development. If you don't understand that, you are simply naive.
Originally Posted By: Trav
which you would know if you were here longer.
That is certainly relevant
Originally Posted By: Trav
... a new engine (that does not have any inherent design issues that cause sludge or deposits) with proper maintenance from day one no way.
I previously suggested you were assuming away the problem. But it's worse than that. Every engine has design flaws. If you have any doubts, just wait a year or so for the car maker to come out with a newer engine version which 'fixes' the known flaws. Subaru must have had a truckload of design flaws in their 4-cylinder boxer engine, because the list of modifications and improvements over the years is amazing.
The next time you buy a car, be sure to ask the car salesman if the vehicle of interest has any 'design flaws'.
Originally Posted By: Trav
Any idea what the warranty was on the MB, BMW, VW/Audi, Porsche, etc sold in Germany was in the 80's?
1 yr 12,000 Km. Today its only 2 or 3 yrs in Germany. I guess they couldn't be very good cars.
It's actually offensive to put Mercedes and VW in the same sentence, while discussing quality. If you want a quality car (well engineered, easy to maintain, last a long time, etc.), get a
Toyota or Nissan or Honda.. Even Subaru made this 'best new cars' list... not bad considering the design flaws in the engine.
Or, here's an independent look at
best and worst car values. BMW made this list... guess in which category? As for Auto Union, they are an interesting company which has also discovered the power of advertising.
Volkswagen made economy cars for the masses - good cars, mind you, considering their objective. Then, the VW folks started an advertising campaign to change their image. It's been very effective, but a Toyota or Nissan is better designed and better built and a better value - no real comparison. To paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen, 'I knew Mercedes Benz, and Volkswagen, you're no Mercedes Benz'.
If you truly believes the oil companies (or car companies) have your best interests at heart, I wish you well. I prefer to take advertising hype with a bit of skepticism.