Valvoline introduces NextGen recycled motor oil; now, who wants it? [View all]

[Omaha Steve]

http://green.autoblog.com/2011/03/16/valvoline-nextgen-recycled-motor-oil/



By Sebastian Blanco Posted Mar 16th 2011 11:48AM

Here's the situation: You're an important motor oil company. You're not the biggest one, but people respect you enough that you can use "The V" as well-known shorthand for your brand. Also, you've kind of got a chip on your shoulder when it comes to competing with the big players, always wanting to make sure you innovate ahead of the competition.

In 2005, you start thinking about making a "green" motor oil. Your marketing team tells you that customers are ready for it. Your engineers say that the technology has finally evolved enough to actually make a high-quality, reliable product from recycled used motor oil. So you decide to go ahead with this project, spend a lot of money on developing it and then figure out a way to get people to buy it. First, though, you need a code name for the whole thing. What do you call it? If you're Valvoline, the answer is "Project Shamrock," and we've got all the details for you after the jump.



Since 1876, when it became the first trademarked lubricant ever, Valvoline has been first and foremost a motor oil company. That was the clear message that company president Sam Mitchell gave to a group of reporters visiting the Lexington, KY headquarters yesterday. For the "independent" Valvoline, motor oil is not an afterthought, something to do alongside drilling for crude. Okay, if you want to be picky, then, yes, Valvoline is a division of Ashland Inc., but why let the truth get in the way of a good story, especially since Valvoline is not vertically integrated and really, really cares about making good motor oil? Motor oil is the company's main reason for being, and it hasn't introduced a new, big product since MaxLife, an oil designed for high-mileage vehicles, in 2000.

Valvoline NextGen Recycled OilNow, though, the company is announcing a new motor oil called NextGen, which is made up of 50 percent recycled motor oil. Even though everyone told us – and every bottle of the stuff proudly proclaims – that NextGen is also "100 percent Valvoline" and will offer up the same performance that people expect from any other Valvoline motor oil, the company knows that this product is not guaranteed to be a instant hit. After all, would you put used motor oil in your engine?

FULL story at link.