Old gas stations

[Fading Fast]

Re Sinclair and Dino. I distinctly remember a commercial as a kid where, when ARCO merged with Sinclair, they retired Dino. It was an animated spot, and they gave Dino his walking papers and he walked toward the rear of the frame, disappearing. So, when I got older and travelled a bit more, I was surprised to go out west and find Sinclair stations, as I thought they were gone from everywhere.

Couldn't find the spot on Youtube, though.

⇧ This is very sad. First, he survives the extinction that did the rest of his species in, then, he finds himself a niche job - but a respectable one with a high profile - only to be dismissed in such a public fashion. Had to break the poor guy's spirit. Although, hopefully, in that era, he still had a decent pension plan.

 

[3fingers]

⇧ This is very sad. First, he survives the extinction that did the rest of his species in, then, he finds himself a niche job - but a respectable one with a high profile - only to be dismissed in such a public fashion. Had to break the poor guy's spirit. Although, hopefully, in that era, he still had a decent pension plan.

Fear not. He is alive and well. You can even buy Dino merch.
https://www.sinclairoil.com
http://store.sinclairoil.com/catalog/

 

[Fading Fast]

Fear not. He is alive and well. You can even buy Dino merch.
https://www.sinclairoil.com

Phew, glad he still has a career.

And to show my support for his post-TV career, I just ordered two of these (one for my girlfriend's dad - he'll love it and one for, well, me).

 

[2jakes]

Phew, glad he still has a career.

And to show my support for his post-TV career, I just ordered two of these (one for my girlfriend's dad - he'll love it and one for, well, me).

View attachment 97408

In my neighborhood where I ride my bike...

There's a Sinclair fan who has Dino in the front yard.

It was “Fiesta Time” & poor Dino was adorned with a sombrero and other knic-knacs!

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Rob

 

[LizzieMaine]

I was surprised to see on the Sinclair website that they're beginning to trickle back into their old Eastern territory -- there's four stations listed in the New York/New Jersey area. Fading should pop over to Hopewell or Port Chester and scope out the scene.

 

[Ghostsoldier]

What's old, is new again.

Rob

 

[Fading Fast]

I was surprised to see on the Sinclair website that they're beginning to trickle back into their old Eastern territory -- there's four stations listed in the New York/New Jersey area. Fading should pop over to Hopewell or Port Chester and scope out the scene.

What's old, is new again.

Rob

It was crazy to ever let that incredible dinosaur go as a mascot / as branding. The one that finally evolved to be "the one" is a perfect iconic "dinosaur" and the "connect" between fossil fuels and dinosaurs is fantastic in a, probably, missed-by-many, but gotten-by-an-equal-number, way.

Every day Lizzie's Boys from Marketing churn out ads, mascots, branding, ideas, etc., ad infinitum - and most are flotsam and jetsam - but every once in awhile one catches fire / click perfectly like the Sinclair Dinosaur. When that happens, you shouldn't let it go.

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Rob

 

[BobHufford]

Is the term "Motoring" used in the USA any longer?

 

[Ghostsoldier]

I haven't heard it used since the '70s.

Rob

 

[BobHufford]

Maybe a little later ...

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Happy Motoring!" was an Esso/Exxon slogan from the mid-thirties well into the seventies -- it's another one of those iconic phrases that just seemed to *work* without any need for any further explanation. When "Your Esso Reporter" on radio ended his news broadcast with a jovial "Happy Motoring!" it didn't sound forced at all, and it made it sound like the Esso Marketers Division of the giant octopus-like Nazi-aiding Standard Oil Company of New Jersey actually cared about your experience behind the wheel. You don't find a slogan that effective every day.

 

[LizzieMaine]

It was crazy to ever let that incredible dinosaur go as a mascot / as branding. The one that finally evolved to be "the one" is a perfect iconic "dinosaur" and the "connect" between fossil fuels and dinosaurs is fantastic in a, probably, missed-by-many, but gotten-by-an-equal-number, way.

Every day Lizzie's Boys from Marketing churn out ads, mascots, branding, ideas, etc., ad infinitum - and most are flotsam and jetsam - but every once in awhile one catches fire / click perfectly like the Sinclair Dinosaur. When that happens, you shouldn't let it go.

There are a lot of people on antique-car forums who to this day refer to mineral-based petroleum products as "Dino Oil," as opposed to modern synthetic oils. That association between oil and dinosaurs is due entirely to Sinclair and their effective use of dinosaurs in general and Dino in particular.

Where they really missed the boat is not sponsoring "The Flintstones" on TV in the 60s. I imagine the only thing that held them back was the fact that they didn't market nationwide, but still...

 

[Fading Fast]

Maybe a little later ...

You beat me to it - that exact lyric popped into my mind when I read your first post. Never quite sure what that song means, but I get what it is about. And hate to admit that I like it in all its cheesiness.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I haven’t found “Dino” atop Sinclair gas stations from the '30s.
Perhaps LizzieMaine can provide us with information or when
they began using the mascot on top of the stations.
View attachment 97155

I seem to recall the Sinclair stations in Colorado had the dino logo. When I lived there (1997-2001), I bought most of my fuel at Sinclair; there were no Exxons or Mobils, and Shell and Chevron were significantly more expensive.

 

[3fingers]

Dino never completely went away here. There weren't large numbers of Sinclair stations here, but we had a few. The smaller statons had him on their signs and on cardboard display stuff inside. When we travel to more populous areas or on interstates, the stations usually have the big fiberglass Dino outside.
I have more than once seen people getting their picture taken standing with him.

 

[Fading Fast]

...
I have more than once seen people getting their picture taken standing with him.

Who'd ever do anything as silly as that? Completely unrelated, where exactly would one find one of those big fiberglass ones?

 

[3fingers]

Who'd ever do anything as silly as that? Completely unrelated, where exactly would one find one of those big fiberglass ones?

Most of the larger Sinclair stations seem to have them.
Or you can occasionally see them for sale on ebay or Craigslist.
I've seen them offered between 8 and 1200.
Should we drop a hint to Super Girlfriend?
Christmas is only 2 weeks away.

 

[Fading Fast]

Most of the larger Sinclair stations seem to have them.
Or you can occasionally see them for sale on ebay or Craigslist.
I've seen them offered between 8 and 1200.
Should we drop a hint to Super Girlfriend?
Christmas is only 2 weeks away.

I love the idea (and, believe it or not, so would Super Girlfriend - which is part of the reason why she is Super Girlfriend) - but living in NYC, one has to always think about space. This is why I bought this guy for me when I learned about him from you. According to tracking, he should be here Tuesday (not that I'm excited to see him or anything).