I'm going to be a contrarian and point out that a digital meter should be better than a dipstick. With the dipstick you need to:

* grab a napkin (or similar paper)

* open the hood of your car

* pull the dipstick out, wipe it off, put it back in, pull it back out

* you then have (imprecisely) measure the oil level

* your hands get dirty through all this

* finally you can shut your hood and throw your napkin off (after maybe wiping your hands off with it)

That sucks! A digital version is better ... or at least it should be.

The problem here is the car companies. They take what should be a clear win (like this) and ruin it ... just like I'm sure they'll ruin this. You will need to pay $50/month to access your own oil gauge, it will break and cost hundreds of dollars to repair, the company will do what GM is doing and not also offer a regular old dipstick, etc.

Fuck Detroit! Lets get those Chinese cars (OR SOME KIND OF COMPETITION) into America!