ExxonMobil Launches First Synthetic Blend Motor Oils For High-Mileage Engines; New Mobil Drive Clean Plus is Designed to Clean and Protect Engines Better Than Conventional Oils.

Business Editors/Automotive Writers

FAIRFAX, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 1, 2003

Owners of both higher-mileage and newer vehicles can drive with renewed confidence thanks to a new line of ExxonMobil synthetic-blend motor oils, formulated to help clean and restore performance of high-mileage engines and help prevent engine sludge build-up in new vehicles.

Mobil Drive Clean Plus 5W-30 Newer Vehicle Formula and Mobil Drive Clean Plus 10W-30 and 10W-40 High Mileage Formulas contain 23 percent more performance additives than Mobil conventional oils. In addition, the Mobil Drive Clean Plus high-mileage formulas are the first synthetic-blend motor oils designed to help clean and protect worn parts, increase performance, and reduce oil consumption in high-mileage vehicle engines.

"ExxonMobil's new Mobil Drive Clean Plus line of motor oils represents a significant milestone for car owners who want to slow the ravages of time and miles on their older cars' engines or keep their newer cars' engines performing like new longer," said Tom Olszewski, automotive lubricants advisor, ExxonMobil Lubricants & Specialties. "By using Mobil Drive Clean Plus motor oil, car owners will be taking a positive step toward improving the cleanliness and performance of their vehicles' engines."

Mobil Drive Clean Plus isn't just for high-mileage vehicles. With its 5W-30 viscosity grade, the newer vehicle formula is the right viscosity for a majority of newer car models and can help maintain the cleanliness of newer car engines.

Drive Clean Plus synthetic-blend motor oils and their performance enhancing additives offer drivers a common-sense approach for cleaning up their car engines and achieving long-term performance results," said Pat Goss, car care expert, columnist and host of Goss's Garage on PBS television.

"With Mobil Drive Clean Plus, car owners don't run the risk of clogging oil passages and causing engine damage like they could with an aggressive, more expensive one-time oil flush," says Goss.

Mobil Drive Clean Plus synthetic-blend motor oils meet the latest industry standards for gas and light-duty diesel engines as set by the American Petroleum Institute (API). The newer car formula exceeds the standards of the International Standardization and Approval Committee (ILSAC), which requires demanding fuel-economy performance, and is rated an energy-conserving oil.

Mobil Drive Clean Plus synthetic-blend motor oil formulations offer the following help:

High Mileage Formula: Clean Up and Performance Restoration

--  Cleans away deposits and sludge build-up - In head to head field,
    engine and lab deposit tests against Mobil Drive Clean
    conventional oil, the Mobil Drive Clean Plus High-Mileage
    formulation decreased the level of deposits in both the lab bench
    and engine test. In severe duty field-testing, it reduced the
    precursors that form deposits.

--  Conditions seals to prevent leaks - In a laboratory seals test,
    the Drive Clean Plus High-Mileage Formula helped control seal
    shrinkage, which occurs over time and can cause seal leakage.

--  Restores engine performance - A combination of three separate
    studies demonstrated that the Drive Clean Plus High Mileage
    Formula helped to: 1) Control deposits and improve piston ring
    sealing, 2) Provide both improved high and low temperature deposit
    control, which leads to better oil flow, improved engine cooling,
    and improved operation of engine rings, valves, and other critical
    engine parts, thereby restoring engine performance.

--  Reduces oil consumption - During a chassis dynamometer roll test
    of an engine with high amounts of sludge, high oil consumption was
    measured. Using Mobil Drive Clean Plus High-Mileage, oil
    consumption was reduced from approximately three quarts of oil
    every 1,000 miles at the start of the test, to one quart every
    1,000 miles, after running the engine 22,500 test miles with
    normal oil changes of Drive Clean Plus High Mileage Formula.

--  Protects worn engine parts - The same chassis dynamometer roll
    test also showed that low levels of wear were maintained during
    the test as indicated by used oil analysis. This demonstrates that
    the Mobil Drive Clean Plus High Mileage Formula continued to
    provide excellent wear protection during the test.

Newer Vehicle Formula: Cleans, Maintains and Protects

--  Keeps engines cleaner longer - In a taxicab field trial evaluating
    the Mobil Drive Clean Plus Newer Vehicle Formula against six
    conventional oils, the Drive Clean Plus formula showed less
    tendency to form deposits in the engine than any of the
    conventional oils.

--  Prevents deposit formation to keep engine cleaner longer - During
    two separate studies, the Mobil Drive Clean Plus Newer Vehicle
    Formula demonstrated -- against the baseline GF-3 oil, less
    deposit precursors over an extended oil drain interval (10,000
    miles), resulting in longer lasting deposit control and less
    piston deposit formation, well below the maximum allowable limit.

--  Provides longer lasting protection - When a lubricant is exposed
    to high temperatures and severe driving conditions it thickens. In
    a thicker, oxidized state the oil can not lubricate or flow as
    effectively to protect your engine. In the industry standard test
    that measures oxidation and high temperature stability, Mobil
    Drive Clean Plus Newer Vehicle Formula provided exceptional
    protection against oil thickening.

The new Mobil Drive Clean Plus family of synthetic blend oils will be available beginning April 15 through a wide range of retail and mass merchandisers, auto parts stores, Mobil service stations and some Exxon service stations. Many quick lube shops and independent auto repair centers also will carry Mobil Drive Clean Plus oils and can install it for consumers.

Additional information regarding Mobil Drive Clean Plus motor oils and other ExxonMobil lubricants can be found on the Internet at www.exxonmobil.com.