gnu Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 Over here, there is now starting to be some consistency and a little less confusion. Here's the way that I've understood the chronological sequence. Gulf became Chevron as a result of a merger. Then Chevron merged with Texaco. Then Texaco merged with Shell. Now over here, the Texaco stations changed their name to Shell. But some of the Conoco stations are now Texaco. Now I've noticed that what used to be Chevron stations are now Shell. How can Texaco now be at those former Conoco stations if Shell bought it out? Now, it's consistent if all of the former Chevron and Texaco stations all become Shell. What were Diamond Shamrock stations are now called Valero. Is something similar to all of this happening in Houston? I think you are a little confused as we all are highlights of an old chron article http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive....id=2004_3745009 Since early 2002, Texaco has been in a sort of limbo after exclusive rights were acquired by Shell Oil Products and Motiva, a joint supply venture between Shell and Saudi Refining.These rights were acquired when the Federal Trade Commission decided they must be divested as a condition to the October 2001 merger between Chevron and Texaco. But on June 30, the exclusivity of Shell's rights will expire, and on July 1, 2006, ChevronTexaco regains exclusive rights to the Texaco brand. Shell decided that splitting its effort between two brands wouldn't work. Consequently, Shell embarked on one of the most ambitious rebranding efforts ever. In the Houston area, about 270 Texaco stations have seen their red signs replaced by the yellow Shell insignia Nationwide, some 4,600 Texaco stations have thus far been rebranded to Shell with about 2,400 left to do, Herring said. Also, 323,000 Texaco credit cards have been "migrated" to the Shell brand. There may be some Texaco stations in Houston and across the nation currently supplied by Shell that will have until the end of June 2006 to convert, Herring said. This means that in certain parts of the country, Shell and ChevronTexaco are in head-to-head competition to sign up stations. ChevronTexaco isn't interested in having company-owned stations, Woertz said. and then you have ConocoPhillips: http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive....id=2003_3616184 http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive....id=2006_4122872 www.savethe76ball.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashikaga Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 I think you are a little confused as we all are highlights of an old chron article http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive....id=2004_3745009 and then you have ConocoPhillips: http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive....id=2003_3616184 http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive....id=2006_4122872 www.savethe76ball.com Excellent research, Gnu! It's simply too difficult for non-business people like me to understand and keep up with all of these mergers which result in name changes. I've recently noticed over here that what used to be Bank Ones are now Chase. Getting back to gasoline. Previously on the Howard Johnson's topic I wrote about what I heard was the reason for motel/hotel chains changing their logos to ones that are plain, less aesthetically-appealing, and less eye-catching. It seems that's what now happening to places where you buy gasoline. You no longer see the Union 76 orange ball, the Texaco star, the Gulf orange disc, the Conoco triangle, the Phillips 66 highway sign, the Sinclair dinosaur, etc. The reasons I heard for motels/hotels is that nowadays most people make advance reservations. So they know exactly where they're going. They haven't been driving on the highway all day, hungry and tired, and need an eye-catching logo to make them decide to pull into a place and stay for the night there. Now, I wonder why gas station's logos are no longer eye-catching? Yes, the days when the gasoline brand names were acronyms: TEXACO-Texas Company CONOCO--Continental Oil Company ARCO--Atlantic Richfield Company (this was formerly SINCLAIR) AMOCO--American Oil Company If I left any out, feel free to post them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashikaga Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 How....flatulent.I completely forgot about the merger between Exxon and Mobil. Why didn't they become one name like Shell, Valero, etc.? On the same street in the town that I live in, there a convenience store that sell Mobil and another one that sells Exxon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowbrow Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 UNOCAL--Union Oil Company of CaliforniaBP--British PetroleumESSO--"S.O."--Standard OilExxon--Mixture of ESSO and the "double cross company"Pennzoil--merger of South Penn Oil and Zapata OilSaudi Aramco--Saudi Arabia bought a california company called ARabian AMerican oil COmpany Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashikaga Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 UNOCAL--Union Oil Company of CaliforniaBP--British PetroleumESSO--"S.O."--Standard OilExxon--Mixture of ESSO and the "double cross company"Pennzoil--merger of South Penn Oil and Zapata OilSaudi Aramco--Saudi Arabia bought a california company called ARabian AMerican oil COmpanyNow you've made me remember something else. Back in the 1960s while riding around with my parents, I would see ENCO gas stations here in Texas. On some weekends when we would go over to Lake Charles or Lafayette, Louisiana, those stations were called ESSO. Was there some reason for their having different names in different states?But when that company became EXXON, they were all the same no matter what state they were in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 UNOCAL--Union Oil Company of CaliforniaBP--British PetroleumESSO--"S.O."--Standard OilExxon--Mixture of ESSO and the "double cross company"Pennzoil--merger of South Penn Oil and Zapata OilSaudi Aramco--Saudi Arabia bought a california company called ARabian AMerican oil COmpanyI think ESSO was actually Eastern States Standard Oil. Before that it was known as Standard Oil of New Jersey. Now we know it as the Exxon part of ExxonMobil.I remember when I was young there was also Sohio (Standard Oil of Ohio) stations. These were both the remnants of the Standard Oil breakup, which also formed:Sohio - Standard Oil of Ohio, which was bought by BPStanolind - Standard Oil of Indiana, which became Amoco (American Oil Company) and was also eaten by BP.Socony - Standard Oil of New York, which became Mobil, and is now part of ExxonMobil.Standard's Atlantic and Richfield oil merged to become Arco. West coast operations were eaten by BP. East coast operations are now Sunoco.Kyso - Standard Oil of Kentucky, eaten by Standard Oil of California, now Chevron.Conoco - Continental Oil Company, now part of ConocoPhillips.The Ohio Oil Company, we know it as Marathon Oil.ARCO--Atlantic Richfield Company (this was formerly SINCLAIR)Sinclair is still out there. I don't know if it's owned by Arco, or is independent, but they are the dominant company in the upper midwest, esepcially in the Dakotas and Wyoming. I saw a Sinclair station in northern Minnestoa just a couple of weeks ago. Best oil company mascot ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowbrow Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Now you've made me remember something else. Back in the 1960s while riding around with my parents, I would see ENCO gas stations here in Texas. On some weekends when we would go over to Lake Charles or Lafayette, Louisiana, those stations were called ESSO. Was there some reason for their having different names in different states?But when that company became EXXON, they were all the same no matter what state they were in.After the Standard Oil Spin-off (anti-trust 1911) some states black-balled the use of the Esso name and in those states they used the Enco name. In 1973, Esso, Enco and Humble became Exxon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57Tbird Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Socony - Standard Oil of New York, which became Mobil, and is now part of ExxonMobil.I remember Magnolia filling stations before they became Mobil. In fact, when I was a little kid and we traveled to Dallas, I would always look for the big flying red horse on top of the Magnolia Building to see how soon I could spot it before we got there. Wonder where Magnolia Oil fits in here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowbrow Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 (edited) I remember Magnolia filling stations before they became Mobil. In fact, when I was a little kid and we traveled to Dallas, I would always look for the big flying red horse on top of the Magnolia Building to see how soon I could spot it before we got there. Wonder where Magnolia Oil fits in here?Magnolia Petroleum was originally the John Sealy Company (of Galveston fame) which handled the processing of much of the Spindletop oil. Magnolia got bought by Socony-Vacuum and eventually merged with Socony-Mobil Oil Company. By 1959 it was just called Mobil Oil Company. Edited July 7, 2006 by Lowbrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashikaga Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 After the Standard Oil Spin-off (anti-trust 1911) some states black-balled the use of the Esso name and in those states they used the Enco name. In 1973, Esso, Enco and Humble became Exxon.Yes, not only not, but it was confusing back in the 1960s. In Texas, the sign in front of the station said ENCO. In Louisiana, the sign in front of the station said ESSO. But at both of the, the word HUMBLE was on the front of the building.But there's something else I've always wondered: Is there any real difference in the brands of gasoline? Do any of us really care if we pull into an EXXON, SHELL, VALERO, etc. All we know is is that our vehicle needs gas, and when the needle on the gas gauge points to "E," that that doesn't mean "ENOUGH." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowbrow Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 (edited) Yeah the Humble thing had to go... it was an image that they had a hard time selling across america, although they tried. Hard to be aggressive with a name like Humble. The whole station name and fuel supplier connection is rather complicated and something of a hoax. That being said I totally buy into that hoax. My car is super sensitive to the type of fuel I put in it. 92 Octane is the bare minimum. I almost always hit Exxon or Shell for thier detergents. I've had bad knocking from both Diamond Shamrock and Texaco in the past. Although I have also used Costco without incident. Edited July 7, 2006 by Lowbrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashikaga Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 Yeah the Humble thing had to go... it was an image that they had a hard time selling across america, although they tried. Hard to be aggressive with a name like Humble.The whole station name and fuel supplier connection is rather complicated and something of a hoax. That being said I totally buy into that hoax. My car is super sensitive to the type of fuel I put in it. 92 Octane is the bare minimum. I almost always hit Exxon or Shell for thier detergents. I've had bad knocking from both Diamond Shamrock and Texaco in the past. Although I have also used Costco without incident. I thought that Costco was a pharmacy. Maybe I have the name confused with some other company. Yes, I personally believe that brand-name gasolines (Shell, Exxon, etc.) are OK. It's the ones that have no brand-name (RaceTrac/RaceWay, and some convenience stores that have no names on the pumps) that I've heard can cause a vehicle problems. The last gas that I put gas in my car was Valero, the time before that was Conoco. Since my car needs a fuel filter, I can't tell any difference if different brands affect my car's performance. When I get the money to have a new fuel filter installed, maybe then I'll notice a difference. Yes, I remember Mobil's Pegasus logo. And also Enco/Esso's slogan: "Put A Tiger In Your Tank." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 Yeah the Humble thing had to go... it was an image that they had a hard time selling across america, although they tried. Hard to be aggressive with a name like Humble.The whole station name and fuel supplier connection is rather complicated and something of a hoax. That being said I totally buy into that hoax. My car is super sensitive to the type of fuel I put in it. 92 Octane is the bare minimum. I almost always hit Exxon or Shell for thier detergents. I've had bad knocking from both Diamond Shamrock and Texaco in the past. Although I have also used Costco without incident. This was covered in another thread. The base gasoline is pretty much all the same, but each major company has patented detergents that they add to the mix. When I drove my Boxster, I bought into the hype, with nothing but ExxonMobil or Shell premium gas. Now, my Toyota pickup runs on anything. I could put muddy water in it if I wanted to, and it would still run. Valero is the largest refiner in the country, so their gas is pretty consistent. Never had any problems with it. The independent convenience stores are where you may run into problems with bad gas or water in the underground tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxmulder Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 I completely forgot about the merger between Exxon and Mobil. Why didn't they become one name like Shell, Valero, etc.? On the same street in the town that I live in, there a convenience store that sell Mobil and another one that sells Exxon.Most Mobil's(atleast the two arround me) have a "service station" you can get emissions test's, oil changes and "tune up's." Exxon i believe atleast most modern stores sell gas and snacks. Often gas is 7-10cents higher than the stores down the street. The full service Mobil station on Southmore and Richey sells' unleaded gas 3.34 a gallon and that's for regular! This is the only FULL SERVICE station i have seen this century! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashikaga Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 Most Mobil's(atleast the two arround me) have a "service station" you can get emissions test's, oil changes and "tune up's." Exxon i believe atleast most modern stores sell gas and snacks. Often gas is 7-10cents higher than the stores down the street. The full service Mobil station on Southmore and Richey sells' unleaded gas 3.34 a gallon and that's for regular! This is the only FULL SERVICE station i have seen this century!There's a Chevron full service station down the street from me. They perform state vehicle inspections and they sell new tires (a brand that I've never heard of). I don't know if in due time it will become a Shell like most of the Chevrons and Texacos in this area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 I'm surprised there wasn't alot of uproar when they put that sign on the (what is now) Chase Bank Building. I'm sure the art/architecture lovers of the city were appauled when a big ugly orange 'Gulf' sign was plopped on top of the "Wedding Cake Building".It's like putting a huge billboard on the side of the Chryslar Building.I also find it very Ironic how the city has such a strict sign ordinence against certain things, yet look at our Freeways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxmulder Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 I'm surprised there wasn't alot of uproar when they put that sign on the (what is now) Chase Bank Building. I'm sure the art/architecture lovers of the city were appauled when a big ugly orange 'Gulf' sign was plopped on top of the "Wedding Cake Building".It's like putting a huge billboard on the side of the Chryslar Building.I also find it very Ironic how the city has such a strict sign ordinence against certain things, yet look at our Freeways.I drove down 225 in pasadena....I counted about 10 billboard in a few miles. Damn CBS and Viacom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 I'm surprised there wasn't alot of uproar when they put that sign on the (what is now) Chase Bank Building. I'm sure the art/architecture lovers of the city were appauled when a big ugly orange 'Gulf' sign was plopped on top of the "Wedding Cake Building".It's like putting a huge billboard on the side of the Chryslar Building.I also find it very Ironic how the city has such a strict sign ordinence against certain things, yet look at our Freeways.You know, I think at the time the sign was put up large building signs were common, so perhaps no one gave it much thought. It doesn't seem to have become an issue until the 1970s, when a lot of the signs had to be turned off to save energy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmainguy Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 You know, I think at the time the sign was put up large building signs were commonLike Tenneco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted July 10, 2006 Author Share Posted July 10, 2006 Most Mobil's(atleast the two arround me) have a "service station" you can get emissions test's, oil changes and "tune up's." Exxon i believe atleast most modern stores sell gas and snacks. Often gas is 7-10cents higher than the stores down the street. The full service Mobil station on Southmore and Richey sells' unleaded gas 3.34 a gallon and that's for regular! This is the only FULL SERVICE station i have seen this century!Head to New Jersey. It's one of the states where it is ILLEGAL to pump your own gas. All of the stations are full-service, and surprisingly New Jersey tends to have the lowest gas prices in the nation.In a previous life I used to have to commute across the onion fields of Orange County, New York to get to work. One day I stopped for gas and got yelled at by the station manager. I didn't realize that I'd accidentally crossed into New Jersey a few feet and he had to pump the gas for me. There are a lot of strange rules when it comes to marketing fuel in New Jersey. My favorite one is the fact that giveaways and contests are also illegal. So when Hess runs a TV commericals where you get a toy or something "with a minimum eight gallon purchase" in the New York market, you can go to any Hess station in New Jersey and just ask for the toy and they have to give it to you for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 You know, I think at the time the sign was put up large building signs were common Like Tenneco Or "The Derek Zoolander Center For Children Who Can’t Read Good And Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashikaga Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 The Gulf lollipop! I love it. That sucker was huge . There needs to be a museum for these sorts of relics - the Gulf sign, the throbbing, er, blinking ball atop the Continental building, the Indians atop Bill Williams , plus relics of by-gone Houston commerce such as Cheek-Neal's Maxwell House Coffee, Duncan's Admiration Coffee, Magnolia's Wamba Coffee, the various beers that have been brewed here, etc. At one time many years ago, didn't Gulf have a slogan that went something like: "Look for the orange disc"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technoevil Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 Or "The Derek Zoolander Center For Children Who Can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashikaga Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 I remember Enco/Esso's (now Exxon) slogan: "Put A Tiger In Your Tank". At least that didn't sound as bad as Gulf's.Now I just remembered something else when I was a kid. Over here there were gas stations that had no brand name. The neon sign in front of the stations was a hand with a finger pointing downward and the word "GAS" inside the hand. Some signs said Open 24 Hours under it. There were several over here, but they've been gone for many years. Were there any of those in Houston?There are still some convenience stores over here that sell gas that doesn't have a brand name, such as E-Z Mart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plumber2 Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 Thanks for the pic. It does kind of look like one of those old timey gas pumps with the big orange sign on top. Good idea or bad , it must have been quite a sight in its day!The Continental Oil Co had a CONOCO sign on top of their building also during this period. Tennessee Gas had TENNECO spelled out on the top of their building on all four sides. It was really neat for awhile. They all came down during the Nixon era price freezes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fresnel151 Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 Gulf Building folklore...A former co-worker who worked in the Gulf Building years ago told me a story about a maintenance worker who fell 20+ floors in an open elevator shaft as the result of a practical joke. I believe he said the perpetrator of the joke was the guy's brother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 Anyone got a picture or postcard of our skyline when the giant Gulf sign was up? (Subdude?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heights2Bastrop Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 I worked for Gulf starting in September of Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmariar Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 Anyone got a picture or postcard of our skyline when the giant Gulf sign was up? (Subdude?)I hope someone will have a better photo for you, but I believe you can see it here:http://www.cah.utexas.edu/db/dmr/image_lg....iable=e_bb_4449 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Anyone got a picture or postcard of our skyline when the giant Gulf sign was up? (Subdude?)I think I might, but sorry, I can't get to them at the moment. They let people on the roof while the sign was rotating? Wasn't that dangerous? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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