kelly,
I completely understand your request for transparency in declarations of motor oils. I just don’t see it’s going to happen any time soon. Anyhow, I personally would never leave the same oil for 50,000 miles regardless what anybody says. Changing oil is way too cheaper. Also, there are certain standards motor oil should meet. And if it does meet it, than I really don’t care if it is fully synthetic or Group-3 oil. I am not going to jeopardize $40,000 value by saving $50 on skipped oil change. Declarations for food is somewhat different, even I agree with you that it should be treated the same. However, I also don’t trust the expiration dates on milk jugs, and I go out and buy new one when the old one is three days old, no mater what the print says. Consumers should have some common sense.