Lately, we've seen a proliferation of cars in our test program that require extra-thin 0W-20-weight synthetic oil. And while this was pretty exotic engine lubricant just a couple of years ago, the cars requiring this expensive synthetic oil are often much less than exotic.
This point hit home recently when I was driving our Subaru Impreza test car on the highway and the low oil warning light came on.
Some digging through the owner's manual revealed the small sedan requires SAE 0W-20 synthetic oil. Driving around checking service stations in our Impreza late on a Saturday night revealed no such motor oil on local store shelves. It's possible that these stores tend to stock oil for older cars that are more likely to have developed leaks or begun burning oil. Later, we found that some stores that car this thin oil only sell it in gallon jugs, rather than by the quart--not much help if you're running low.
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