Ben,Well, as far as my budget is concerned, any "new car" is as good as a Ferrari or a BMW. If I'm gonna shell out that much dough over that many years, I'm going to take the best care of it as I possibly can. All I can say is that I don't share your enthusiasm for dino oil -- I'll gladly pay for the extra margin synthetic oil gives you against additive depletion and breakdown.But, to get to your "if it's designed to run Mobil 1" bit, are you talking about the Toyota Camry? My manual sure doesn't say anything about Mobil 1 or any other synthetic. It says the following:Use motor oil that satisfies the following grade and viscosity:Oil Grade: ILSAC multigrade engine oilViscosity: SAE 5W-20 or 0W-20 (I4) / SAE 5W-30 (V6)It also adds the following in regards to the two different recommendations for the I4 engine:"SAE 5W-20 or 0W-20 engine oil may be used. However, SAE 0W-20 is the best choice for good fuel economy and good starting in cold weather."That's it. That said, I'm no expert -- is there even such thing as a 0W-20 "non-synthetic" oil? I expect there is such a thing for 5W-20, but I'm not so sure about 0W-20. I mainly don't know because I haven't bought a bottle of dino oil in about 15-20 years, so forgive me on that. Still, though, let's raise the question, "What does the current-generation Honda Accord call for?" 0W-20? That's what I put into my 2004 EX-L, Mobil 1 of course.... At any rate, 0W-20 is pretty widely specified these days, so there's definitely nothing "special" about the Camry in that regard....
