Old automotive lore tells us that a car’s oil should be changed every three months or 3,000 miles. That hasn’t been explicitly true for a long time, but I still find myself wary of claims that an engine’s lifeblood can last 20,000. But it turns out, there really is science behind that sticker on the bottle.
That oil change can definitely wait a few more months, right? After all, the gas powers the car and that’s the main thing that gets it from A to B.
Blackstone Labs analyzes the contents of used motor oil to check how well engines wear over time. Earlier this month, the lab used its vast database of used oil analyses to study whether certain oil brands tend to contain more metal wear particles; the results might make you think twice before throwing down cash on…
There’s a series coming to Syfy this summer called Blood Drive, and it has a relatively simple premise. The world has run out of oil so cars are fueled, naturally, with blood. And while I get that it’s supposed to be intentionally absurd and campy, I’m concerned about the premise. I got questions.
Economists and geologists and everyone and their oilman has been telling us that one day, we will hit Peak Oil. One day, we will keep looking for oil, but we won’t find anymore. One day, the demand would greatly outpace the supply. But now one of the biggest oil companies in the world is saying that’s backwards.
Good morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning. Here are the important stories you need to know.
Too much oil. Imagine that.
Good morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning. Here are the important stories you need to know.
Economists and reporters have been saying that electric cars could actually kill the oil industry for a little while now, but it hasn’t made a lot of real-world impact so far. But now Fitch, an enormously influential financial ratings agency, is issuing dire warnings over electric cars.
Gas has been relatively cheap for a long, long time now. Ever since the global economy collapsed in 2008, it hasn’t reached the same stratospheric heights. That looks like it will change soon, as the AP reports that OPEC has reached a preliminary agreement to cut production.
The oil economy will come to an end at some point. This, we know. We don’t know too much about the details of that inevitability, such as when it could happen, or what would cause it. Up until now, most figured it’d be from running out. But according to this video explanation from Bloomberg, the electric car could…
To find out what happens when you forget to change your oil, I sent a 12,000 mile oil sample to a laboratory. The results are not good, and should serve as ammunition to convince your stubborn friend or family member that no, it’s not “going to be fine for another few months.”
The electric-car market is growing, but remains small. A majority of drivers still stop at the station regularly, filling up their gas-guzzling vehicles and allowing the oil industry to stay in business. But Bloomberg projects more than a third of all cars will be electric by 2040, and the oil companies aren’t buying…
The two staunch conservatives running multibillion dollar company Koch Industries are involved in creating an advocacy group tasked with taking down electric vehicles, The Huffington Post reports. Thought cars were your escape from 2016 politics? Ha.
The price of a barrel of crude oil briefly jumped this morning, on news that Russia and Saudi Arabia (joined by Venezuela and Qatar) tentatively agreed to a cap on oil production. Don’t expect the price of your average gallon of gasoline to go up, however, thanks to an ages-old dilemma.
Gas is pretty astoundingly cheap right now, but, for a brief, glorious moment over this weekend, gas was absurdly cheap. Like, 1973 pre-oil embargo cheap. Thanks for this little gassy miracle go to the most noble kind of war, the price war.
Dropping oil prices may have an unexpected effect on Formula One fans’ favorite butt of jokes. The BBC reports that Renault (née Lotus) driver Pastor Maldonado may be out of a ride if sponsor PDVSA doesn’t cough up a $50 million payment ASAP.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense social media channels have been busy as ever, but today they seem to have a peculiar focus on coalition drone traffic over Syria. The Russians say there’s more of it than ever, but one general is complaining they’re not getting their fair share of information from other countries battling…
Oil is too cheap now for it to be profitable to pull oil out of your backyard. Fuck that. Plundering nature on an individual level is basically the founding myth of America.
Since June, when oil peaked at about $115 a barrel, prices have dropped 40 percent. And while the slide in the sludge price is driving airlines to record profits, it's hurting manufacturers of business jets by driving away potential sales.
