Originally Posted By: CrawfishTails
So Jaguar, who sells very few cars in the U.S., comes up with their own specs instead of using the already excellent and popular SN GF-5 ACEA A1, WSS-, even dexos, others maybe.
I can see how the racket works. The fact is Jag had no GOOD reason to come up with their own spec.
You don't seem to get the bigger picture. JLR sells lots of vehicles globally. They have also introduced a new engine line and, like ALL OEMs, are focussed like a laser on CO2 emissions and fuel economy. SN/GF-5/ACEA etc are good enough, as far as they go, but they do not offer the bespoke performance that is now needed to get every last drop of performance and efficiency. The oil is a part of the engine, like a piston, bearing or valve - they are entitled to insist that any replacement parts meet their specification requirements to maintain the warranty. If you don't want the warranty, or it has expired, you are free to do what you want, but it is at your risk (and possibly reward).
There is no racket or conspiracy here, just the world moving forwards at an increasing pace. As BMWTurboDzl points out, once launched, the specs are not kept secret and anyone who can pass the tests can shoot for an approval. So far one company has achieved that.
BMW, Mercedes, VW, Porsche, Ford, GM, PSA, Renault, Volvo, Fiat etc all have their own specs, some of which are also only supplied by one oil company and others, which have been out for years, have numerous options (eg BMW LL-01, MB 229.5, VW 502 00/505 00). JLR historically relied on Ford specs (WSS-M2Cxxxx) but now they are out of Ford they have their own engines and own specs. And why would they use dexos, which is a competitor's spec built around their engines?!
You might not like it, or agree with it, but it is the way the world is going and the price we pay for the efficiency and performance that we expect.