What does AMSOIL stand for? + The Pennzoil Lawsuit

What does AMSOIL stand for?

The meaning behind the brand name "AMSOIL" is that it's simply an amalgamation of company Founder Al Amatuzio's name and the word "oil." Originally, Amatuzio called his oil "Ammo's Oil" since his nickname in the military as a fighter jet pilot was "Ammo."

As his company grew in popularity he changed the name to "AMZOIL" - Al Amatuzio + oil - and shortly thereafter he was sued by Pennzoil because they didn't like the Z in AMZOIL.

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AMSOIL Lawsuit with Pennzoil

The Pennzoil vs. AMSOIL lawsuit that transpired in the early 1970's was thought to be catalyzed by Al Amatuzio's early lab testing data that heavily focused on comparing AMSOIL with Pennzoil products. Nearly all of the comparison testing and data Al Amatuzio published suggested that his oils were far superior to Pennzoil products at the time. The lawsuit lasted many years, and during the lawsuit, Amatuzio decided to go ahead and remove the "Z" and change the name to "AMSOIL" just in case he lost the lawsuit.

In the end, Amatuzio won the lawsuit. But the company had grown even more in popularity so he left the name as it was. In the years following the lawsuit, Pennzoil still bothered him, so Amatuzio let them know if they kept it up, we would change the name back to AMZOIL. After that, they left him alone.

Sources

From my earlier days as an AMSOIL Dealer, I've heard Al Amatuzio tell this story many times in person before he passed away in 2017.