oh no @D60 you've got it all wrong (sarcasm here).. no no.. you see the environmental guidelines are only for the lowly people like you and I. The corporations always get a pass because they can buy some carbon credits to make themselves "look" good for the environment. Without actually doing anything positive towards keeping stuff out of the landfill.Not the point at all. What's the difference between a single LED bulb vs incandescent used in a bedroom lamp for three hours per night? Or the difference in rotational effort for a crank in 0W-20 vs 5W-20?
The point is in certain areas we scrounge for every scintilla of reduction in emissions or waste or "carbon footprint" and in other areas it seems nary a concern. It just doesn't make sense.
And what do the OEMs reco for service interval? If, say, 60k, and you follow the guidelines it's way more than twice per vehicle. Now if EVERY vehicle on the road required a disposable pan every 60k, seems to me the green movement could start doing some marketing campaigns about how many times those pans would stretch around the earth, etc....all the usual tactics
Now I know I might get some people who will show that automakers do recycle and are doing good things with the environment, and I agree they are.. but this wasteful type of oil pan doesn't need to exist. Oh and then again corporate profits for you to buy an overpriced piece of metal when the filter needs to be replaced is OK.. because they HAVE to make their profits..
I think a corporation can have their profits and be aware to design parts that are not wasteful and no I'm not some green, tree hugging type person, just one that believes that we have one home, Earth.. And no matter how much dreaming to get to another planet that's talked about.. We're still stuck here! Better make the best of it!