The Gas Stations

If this were a book about driving cross country rather than hitchhiking, the various gas stations we visited might’ve played a more prominent role.  It’s not much of a smattering, but I can think of six different stations I mention:  Amoco, Shell, Texaco, Mobil, Esso, Chevron, and Union 76.  Looking at these companies’ histories reveals quite a bit about American big business’ greediness. Amoco, originally called the Standard Oil Company of Indiana, was founded in 1910. In 1998 British Petroleum bought it and it became known as BP Amoco.  Quickly enough, though, the Amoco moniker was removed all together, though the company continued to abide by Amoco’s grading system. Shell, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is part of Royal Dutch Shell in the Netherlands and one of the largest companies worldwide. Since 1999, the word ‘Shell’ no longer appears on the yellow shell. Texaco began in 1901. For many years it was the only brand of gasoline being sold in all fifty states. It had a catchy motto, “Trust your car to the man with the star.” Mobil was also birthed at the beginning of the 20th century in the United States.  Through much of the 1940’s and 1950’s it was the biggest selling brand of gasoline. It merged with Exxon in 2001, though is still sold under the name ‘Mobil’ or ‘On the Run.’ Esso, meanwhile, was a phonetic spelling of its pre-1911 name, Standard Oil (SO=Esso). In 1972 the brand was replaced in the U.S. by Exxon after it bought Humble Oil. Ironically, the Esso name is still used worldwide, but not in the U.S. Chevron, based in California, is the third-largest oil company in the world. Chevron is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining, marketing and transport; chemicals manufacturing and sales; and power generation. It acquired Texaco in 2000. Finally, Union 76, known for its orange ball with blue numbers, is owned by Phillips 66. After merging with Conoco, the gas was known as ConocoPhillips. For decades it was only a western brand, but has slowly infiltrated the northeastern market.