Abstract: The absolute dependence of the automobile on its engine is, over time, primarily dependent on the properties of its engine oil. These qualities of the engine oil have become more and more important as engine re-design has increasingly emphasized power, performance, smaller size and greater fuel efficiency. Engine oils must meet increasingly higher standards to serve these engines. Fortunately, these standards are increasingly applied through relatively inexpensive bench tests based on good correlation with engine tests on the dynamometer or in the field. However, there are many hundreds of engine oils placed on the world's marketplace claiming certain levels of performance. It is reasonable and prudent to question and determine whether they will meet the standards they claim. The Institute of Materials (IOM) has annually collected hundreds of oils from the marketplace for over 30 years and objectively published the response of these oils to bench tests required for standards and performance as well as other quality-informative bench tests. This paper uses the data from the IOM Engine Oil Database to appraise the present quality and dependability of marketed oils to meet the rapidly growing needs of modern engines.