You know you are getting old when:

[2jakes]

When gas stations/mechanic on duty were all over the city.

In Texas, still have a few around but mostly now convenient stores
with pumps have taken over. These all over the neighborhood.

I noticed when I made a trip up North, this is not the case.
At least in Joplin. Took a long time before I found one.

Frustrated......I asked a native...”where the “heck" do you people get gas?”

He replied...”here.” .....

...oookkkaay!


There Are Now Fewer Than 12 Gas Stations Below 96th Street ...

 

[LizzieMaine]

I grew up in a town of about 1800 people. We had seven gas stations: Texaco (ours), Esso, Gulf, Mobil, American, Flying A, and Chevron. There was also a major Shell depot on the waterfront, but weirdly, no Shell station.

Four of these -- our place, the Esso, the Gulf, and the Mobil, had existed before 1950. The rest were a result of the explosion in oil-company real estate deals that happened in the 1950s, where companies would come into town and fight to buy up as much land as they could, and then throw stations up in a hurry, to lease short-term to dealers. None of those stations lasted very long, but the ones that had been there before 1950 all lasted at least into the 1970s, and all but the Esso building are still standing for other uses to this day.

 

[2jakes]

One Mobil gas station is still around. So is Ken’s Texaco, but is now Ken’s.
For the most part the rest have been converted to taco or bar-b-que eateries.

Although this Humble station has won the national “The Place Matters” contest,
it’s been abandoned for many years.

 

[Fading Fast]

It seems as if this thread is implying there are less retail gas stations than in the past - is this true? If so, are the ones still remaining larger as I doubt people are driving less (and the population has grown)? Living in a city, and not one I grew up in, I have no real exposure to gas stations or sense if the number has changed over the decades - real estate is so stupidly expensive here that the few stations i know are all in the fringe areas.

 

[Trenchfriend]

I'm very happy, that in Germany, the electronic-cash gas-stations (without a shop) couldn't establish themselves. There are still such stations existing, but luckily they are very rare. I think, the overpriced shops inside of classic gas-stations are much too lucrative.

 

[2jakes]

It seems as if this thread is implying there are less retail gas stations than in the past - is this true? If so, are the ones still remaining larger as I doubt people are driving less (and the population has grown)? Living in a city, and not one I grew up in, I have no real exposure to gas stations or sense if the number has changed over the decades - real estate is so stupidly expensive here that the few stations i know are all in the fringe areas.

I wouldn’t know about other places, only from what I been told
or read on the forum.

I’m sharing that the gas stations in my area where there was mechanics on hand
and full service at no extra cost has diminished.
The buildings are still around but have been altered for other purposes.

 

[2jakes]

Of the “gas stations” I visited with regards to my ’46 truck with plugs fouling
all the time.

The mechanic told me that even though I was regulating the fuel mixture,
the problem most likely was that I was no longer using “gasoline”.

At least not the kind that was used in 1946.

He recommended some additives for the stovebolt engine.



************************************************************

And you know you are getting old when:

Dropping a jacket for alterations at the cleaners where there is
a line or hose on the ground that makes a clinging sound and
although no one comes out to assist you.

Nevertheless, it reminds me when this was not the case.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I've never had any trouble with fouled plugs in the Plodge, and I run the cheapest grade of gas I can buy. But different blends are prepared for different parts of the country, so there's no uniformity from place to place, nor really ever was there.

There used to be a lot of "urban" gas stations, but most of that real estate got redeveloped decades ago. Even in my home town, where there were once five gas stations within a two-block section of Route One, now there are none. If you want to buy gas, you have to go a couple miles outside of town. If you want to buy a lobster t-shirt, a sea-glass gimcrack, or a Penobscot Marine Museum bumper sticker, though, you're all set.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Typical suburbanization of infrastructure?

We got a similar thing happened in the 90's, in Germany.

 

[2jakes]

I've never had any trouble with fouled plugs in the Plodge, and I run the cheapest grade of gas I can buy. But different blends are prepared for different parts of the country, so there's no uniformity from place to place, nor really ever was there.

There used to be a lot of "urban" gas stations, but most of that real estate got redeveloped decades ago. Even in my home town, where there were once five gas stations within a two-block section of Route One, now there are none. If you want to buy gas, you have to go a couple miles outside of town. If you want to buy a lobster t-shirt, a sea-glass gimcrack, or a Penobscot Marine Museum bumper sticker, though, you're all set.

That may very well be the case with the blends depending on the location.
On the other hand my ’63 bug will run on fumes....practically!

And in my neck of the woods, t-shirts, bumper stickers & flags saluting the
the “heroes of 1836” or “Go Spurs Go” is numero uno on the list of
“I can’t live without it!” for most folks down here.

 

[Trenchfriend]

On the other hand my ’63 bug will run on fumes....practically!

The beetle is just an old klingon-type of car.

 

[2jakes]

^^^^^^

 

[2jakes]

You know you are getting old when:

This was known as a station wagon.

We had a ’47 Ford which was driven daily.
Best thing for going camping with a large family.

 

[tonyb]

As a teenager I worked for a fellow who owned a Texaco service station (he specialized in brake jobs, but he and the shop were equipped to perform most any and all repairs and maintenance) and a self-serve place called Gull (not Gulf). The Gull had pumps under a big-ol' awning and a Fotomat-sized structure that housed the attendant and a few racks holding cigarettes and snack foods.(And a water closet.) All I did was take money for gas and smokes and junk food. (And occasionally visit the WC.) I felt like a prisoner in that little booth.

 

[GHT]

You know you are getting old when:
This was known as a station wagon.

We had a ’47 Ford which was driven daily.
Best thing for going camping with a large family.

In Brit-speak, those sort of Woodies were known as: "Shooting Brakes."

 

[HudsonHawk]

It seems as if this thread is implying there are less retail gas stations than in the past - is this true? If so, are the ones still remaining larger as I doubt people are driving less (and the population has grown)? Living in a city, and not one I grew up in, I have no real exposure to gas stations or sense if the number has changed over the decades - real estate is so stupidly expensive here that the few stations i know are all in the fringe areas.

The number of gas stations in the US has drastically shrunk, a good bit of it in the last 20 years. In 2004, there were about 210,000 gas stations in the US, today there are about 150,000. The number of pumps has increased at each station, and about 85% of stations are attached to some sort of convenience store.

Some other gas station facts:

• "Regular" gasoline accounts for only about half of gas station sales.
• Only about 3% of all stations are owned by producers today, and less than 0.5% are owned by one of the "majors" (The vast majority of those being owned by Chevron).
• Only about 40% of stations carry the brand of an API member (Shell, Exxon, Mobil, etc).
• About 60% of all stations are still locally owned and operated by a family or individual who operates a single station.

 

[Stearmen]

We are getting these now. I literally thought it was a joke when I saw the first one! Some of you may remember the old hitch hiker joke along those lines!

 

[2jakes]

All I did was take money for gas and smokes and junk food. (And occasionally visit the WC.) I felt like a prisoner in that little booth.

I felt the same when I worked for ma bell as “directory assistance” operator.

I was issued a plastic card the size of a credit card which was used to scan for the name
& phone number that the customer was requesting.
Was only allowed so many seconds by the supervisor. Customers were rude.
The worse part was not being able to talk with the girls next to me.
Just sit there from 8 to 12 with a short break & back to the same for the afternoon.

I lasted about a week.

And working at a Beverly Hills ladies shoe salon, was very unpleasant.
The things I saw when kneeling down to measure the women’s feet
sitting in front of me made it very difficult to stand up and walk
without embarrassing myself.
The women took pleasure in doing this.
I quit on the second day.

This when I was young & so naive....

 

[Fading Fast]

The number of gas stations in the US has drastically shrunk, a good bit of it in the last 20 years. In 2004, there were about 210,000 gas stations in the US, today there are about 150,000. The number of pumps has increased at each station, and about 85% of stations are attached to some sort of convenience store.

Some other gas station facts:

• "Regular" gasoline accounts for only about half of gas station sales.
• Only about 3% of all stations are owned by producers today, and less than 0.5% are owned by one of the "majors" (The vast majority of those being owned by Chevron).
• Only about 40% of stations carry the brand of an API member (Shell, Exxon, Mobil, etc).
• About 60% of all stations are still locally owned and operated by a family or individual who operates a single station.

Good info. Less stations more pumps per station probably makes sense. I am surprised at how many stations are individually owned.

One summer I worked pumping gas for a family-owned gas station. The owner made all his money - so he told me - on repairs (he had three bays, I think) and viewed selling gas as a necessary annoyance to bring in repair customers.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Most of the stations around here are owned by regional chains, or by Irving Oil of Canada, which first appeared on this side of the border in the 80s and quickly began to dominate. Most of the old-line oil companies left Maine between the 70s and 90s -- where once every other station, it seemed, was an Esso/Exxon or a Mobil (we were long ago a prime part of "Soconyland"), now Mobil is disappearing fast and Exxon is completely extinct. Gulf stuck around because it became a ghost brand owned until recently by a chain of convenience stores. Citgo has come and gone -- it's currently harder to find than it was ten years ago, but it'll probably be back. Shell, which was the first of the major companies to abandon us, just recently reappeared. Texaco survives only as a logo on a vanishing chain of quikie-lube places.

I can't remember the last time I pulled into a gas station wihtout a c-store, but that's kind of a full-circle trend. There were always stores here with pumps, the only difference being the nature of the junky snacks you get at the checkout stand.

When we had our place, we were never a major-repair kind of garage, but we did well with oil changes and grease jobs. "Marfak Lubrication" was just starting to fade away when we went out of business.