Where to find your actual interval
The owner's manual, or the maintenance minder on the dash if your car has one. Manufacturers spend a lot of money determining this figure, and modern oils genuinely last longer than the ones the 3,000-mile habit was built around.
What counts as severe service
Lots of short trips where the engine never fully warms. Sitting in heavy traffic. Towing. Sustained high temperatures — which describes an Atlanta summer. If most of your driving looks like that, use the shorter severe-service interval in the manual. This is a real distinction, not a sales tactic.
Time matters as well as mileage
Oil degrades in the sump even if you barely drive. If you cover very few miles, change it annually regardless of the odometer.
Why we do not put a 3,000-mile sticker on your windscreen
Because for most cars on this road it would be wrong, and it would be wrong in the direction that makes us money. If your manufacturer says 7,500, we will tell you 7,500.