Is there a simple way to tell if a car is running synthetic ?

By taste...

No. In fact the line has become very fuzzy.

This is a good link. (lots of words)

http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/Oils1.html

Seriously... If the car has the oil in it and you don't know what it is there is no way to tell without sending it in for analysis. If it's green it's likely to be Brad Penn. If it's purple it's likely to be Royal Purple. That's about it...

Maybe looking at the Oil Bottle in the trunk

if it's leaking it's probably synthetic... oh wait a minute we have 914's

Syn tastes like KY.

............So why keep yourself concerned about this...Pull the drain plug, drain out whatever is in there, and refill with the oil you want....I recommend valvoline 20-w-50.

this kinda creep'd me out

Thanks for the tips.

If it's black......no way to tell!