I have used a few different types of oils, and I can say that not all cars react the same to certain oils. My father use to swear by Quaker State, until he started getting a white build-up under the oil cap on his Kia. He switched to Mobil1 and it went away.
On newer cars, I like Mobil1. But on used cars, I absolutely swear by Valvoline Max Life. I've had 2 '95 Dodge Neons, one of which smoked when I first bought, and the other I tuned for racing (while using the max life). A '97 Dodge Avenger. A '98 Mazda 626 that smoked like a chimney, and an '89 Chevy Beretta. After changing the oil to Max Life, I've always noticed a smoother running engine, and the smoking has gone away in every car that did prior to its use.
The only other thing I will add (and I live in a state that gets some nasty cold winters, so cold starting is a serious issue), if I have the money to spend, I really like using a quart of Duralube to replace a quart during oil changes. The more you can coax the oil to coat the parts and cylinder walls and stay there for the next start up, the less likely the parts will wear from the initial few dry turns.