That’s right, you could go through the hassle of changing your oil the same amount of times per year that you have to celebrate your Aunt Veronica’s birthday. This miraculous development, coming from the labs of ExxonMobil called Mobil 1 Annual Protection, might be the best thing to come along for cars since fuzzy dice or those family stick figure stickers.

Now I know what you’re thinking – if I wait an entire year (or 20,000 miles) to change my oil, my engine is going to explode! I feel you homie. But the team in white lab coats have created this fully synthetic oil to do one thing and to do it extremely well – to last 12 months (or 20,000 miles – whichever comes first) in an active engine and keep all your shiny bits gliding along smoothly. Even if you don’t believe them or me, ExxonMobil is willing to throw a limited warranty behind their Mobil 1 Annual Protection motor oil that covers the lubricant and critical engine parts lubricated by the motor oil. That’s pretty crazy, and tells me that they really mean one full year between oil changes. You can read the full details on the warranty here.

How in the world did they pull this off when all other motor oils require a change every three to six months? Some sort of fairy magic I would assume, mostly because I’m not a petrochemical engineer. Also, they wouldn’t tell me since it’s kind of a secret and I’m a known tattle. As if doubling the life of most available motor oils wasn’t enough to prove that they firmly own the cutting edge of technology, ExxonMobil is also hooking you up with a Virtual Reality cardboard viewer and an exciting VR experience.

If you pick up 5 quarts of Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil at your local auto parts store before 6/28/2107, ExxonMobil will send you a free cardboard VR viewer, and they’ve also got several videos for you to enjoy on your new future viewer. So if you’re tired of changing your oil as often as you get a haircut, and you’ve yet to jump on the VR bandwagon, this is the perfect time to be alive for you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go change my oil for the last time till 2018.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of ExxonMobil . The opinions and text are all mine.

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Let’s be honest, if you and your car were in a relationship the car would be the one doing all the work to keep the love alive. It gets you where you need to go, it hauls around your stuff and helps you move, and it is your rolling private concert hall. You on the other hand neglect it, bump it into things, and sprinkle it with crumbs and skin flakes. Your vehicle is clearly the heavy lifter here, but it doesn’t take much to rescue your relationship. With just an oil change, an air freshener, and giving your car a great name, your love might just be rekindled. So let’s get to it and name your car.

Naming your car is the going steady of the car world. It elevates your relationship to the next level and makes you care a lot more about your ride. Heaven forbid you might even take better care of it. But what to name it? Ah, a question as old as time…

40% of millennials name their cars according to eBay motors, and the most common car names are Betsy, Betty, Bertha, Bessie, and Baby – no joke, they all start with “B” for some reason. Us millennials are just as crazy as they say. But there’s no need to follow the pack and a B-list name (see what I did there?). Mobil 1 has created the ‘Namulator’ to help you create a name for your car based upon your and your car’s personality and you can even show it off online. We did it for FactoryTwoFour’s vintage 2002 and got Rad-Rod – which is radical.

If you want to adorn your chariot with its pitch-perfect name, Mobil 1 will create and send you a license plate frame with it printed on for you. To really take your relationship with your car to the next level, buy 5 quarts of Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil at AutoZone, Advance Auto Parts, or Pep Boys and visit the Namulator site to get hooked up. So in other words, you can do that Mobil 1 oil change you need anyway, throw in an air freshener while you’re at it, and make your car’s name official in one big fresh for 2017 swoop. Welcome to a healthy automotive relationship.

The post Let’s Name Your Car appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

We’ve teamed up with AutoZone to walk you through how to do an oil change on literally any production vehicle (I’m daring you to point out some obscure Citroen on our Facebook page, and yes I’m aware of Tesla)

When do to an Oil Change:

The common rule of thumb is to change your oil every 3 months or 3000, whichever comes first. For most modern cars, this is simply no longer true. Many cars produced since 2000 can go 7000 miles or more without a change thanks to synthetic oils. Check your cars manual or simply google when your car’s scheduled oil changes are, but you can’t go wrong assuming 3 months and doing it early.

What you’ll need:

• Jack and jack stands
• Oil pan or empty bucket
• Wrenches
• New oil filter and possibly a washer for the drain plug
• New oil

How:

Here the process is always the same. Simply –

• Find and watch YouTube videos or read forums showing the process on your particular vehicle
• Drive your car over to a friend who has tools or run your car until the engine is warmed up but not hot enough to burn you. Or burn yourself – your call really.
• Jack up the front of your car and place it on jack stands
• Place the oil pan or bucket underneath your engine
• Locate and remove the big, obvious bolt sticking out of the lowest point of your engine. It won’t look like any other bolts around it. Any YouTube videos or diagrams should show you.
• Drain all the warm oil into your pan or container
• When the flow out has reduced to a trickle, you can remove your oil filter. This will likely be a brightly colored cylinder on the side or bottom of the engine. These sometimes require a special wrench to remove, but can often just be done by hand 
• Once the oil is done flowing out of engine, simply reinstall the bolt (often times with a new washer) just to snug and install the new filter – first rub fresh oil along the rubber gasket of the new filter to aid in creating a tight seal.
• Fill up the car with the required type and amount of oil (again in your manual or online forums)
• Drive to the auto parts store to dispose of the used oil for free, then check your new filter and drain plug for leaks and the level on your dipstick to ensure the oil level is within range
• Assume a smug face now that you’ve successfully done your first oil change

Why:

Doing your own oil change is the first step towards mechanical proficiency. Yes, it will likely cost you the same amount of money and time as it would to just take your car in to a oil change stand, but the sense of accomplishment, bragging rights, and empowerment are certainly not the same. There are generally only two reasons I hear for not tackling an oil change yourself – lack of desire and fear. While I can’t help with the first one, the latter should certainly be solved by the list above.

If you need any help with this or need a DIY garage in Los Angeles, check out Wanderwell Society in Venice. It is a great DIY social club that can help you fix your car, boat, or even washing machine!

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