To me, at least, it seems that the weak link in this new 10,000 mile oil change schedule is or are the oil filters. Can an oil filter actually last two to three times longer in doing a good job than it used to for 4,000 to 5,000 mile oil changes of the past? When I did an oil change at 4k-5k or even less the oil filter was pretty marginal to bad. I haven't seen too much improvement in standard (OE) base line oil filters at all. Still the same old, same old oil filter tech IMO. Maybe the oil filters should still be changed instead of the oil at half distance to the oil change intervals? Would cost you a little less than a quart and that second "free" oil filter deal of the 5qt auto parts sale.
Yes people who go 10,000 miles between changes should pay up for an appropriate filter or do as you suggested and change their standard filter way before 10k miles. However almost all new cars and most old cars consume oil. Nobody monitors this. Nobody keeps their engines religiously topped off. Shops pull in a truck and drain 1 quart of oil out of a 6 plus quart capacity pan. The filters I buy in bulk- Champion I believe state they are a 3-5k mileage filter. This works for me as I change my oil at 3000 miles.
