On Sun, 25 Dec 2011 00:46:59 -0500, "Robert Green"
wrote:

"Ed Pawlowski" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 18 Dec 2011 07:03:12 -0800 (PST), BobR

stuff snipped

Give me one valid reason why that shouldn't be the sole discretion of
the public and not the state.

I've not see where anyone says the state should tell you when to
change oil. The state is, however, educating people that the
manufacturer knows better than the oil change store that has a vested
interest in selling you a profit making service.

Exactly. Sometimes just focusing attention on a subject can have pretty
effective results.

As a manufacturer giving a warranty on wear, it is in their best
interest to avoid repairs. If they say longer is OK, it probably is.
They don't want to be doing ring and bearings at 50,000 miles on all
the cars they've sold. That was a common repair at that point in the
1950's. Now, the warranty is often 100k.

Good point. Clearly, *something* has changed to make it viable to offer so
much longer warranties than before.
Lead has been removed from gasoline and the choke has been eliminated
by the use of EFI and electronic engine controls in general.. This
accounts for the vast majority of the improvement in engine
reliability and life.