Remnant fuel stations

[BamaZeus]

The station that has disappeared from my radar is Sunoco.  Where are all the Sunoco station?

Sunoco has become ever more common in Maryland and Virginia.  At least some stations that were once Mobil became Sunoco after the Exxon/Mobil merger.

And Sunoco has the gas station concession contracts on the Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware Turnpikes (there's only one service plaza on the very short Delaware Pike), and nearly all of the stations on the Garden State Parkway.

Sunoco has made an appearance in eastern Tennessee.  I may be mistaken on this but I think I've seen them in western NC and northern GA.

Historically, back in the '60s and '70s they were all up and down the east coast.

Perhaps their resurgence in the south is due to being "The Official Fuel of NASCAR"

They're also slowly making their way into Alabama.  I'm fairly sure the NASCAR connection has something to do with it, but I don't know off-hand which brand they're replacing, or if they're building new.  There are a few scattered ones in Birmingham, I think, but I haven't been to one yet.

[bugo]

The major gas stations in Tulsa are:

QT
Kum and Go (seriously)
Shell

[US71]

Havent seen it mentioned before, so might as well start it! Canal was a service station chain in Louisiana, with only one left in operation (in Krotz Springs). There was also an Esso station in downtown Pineville, Louisiana operating until at least 2006. Any other examples of chains downsized to only a few remaining stations?

Is the Canal still there? I found an abandoned one in Alexandria a couple years ago.
http://gassigns.org/canal.htm

There's a Bayou station in Bunkie, LA that was part of a small chain, but I don't know if there are any others left.

The last original Road Runner is in Idabel, OK

There are 2-3 Delano stations left in Missouri

There is a DX (signed) station in Mulberry, AR.

[agentsteel53]

There is a DX (signed) station in Mulberry, AR.

DX was long ago bought out by Sunoco.  (1960s?)  I'll bet the station is independent and they didn't bother to replace the old livery.  DX, I believe, does not exist as an active brand anymore, and apparently Sunoco is not fighting too hard to maintain their trademark over the new proprietors of that station, as the general public does not know what "DX" means.

there is a DX lollipop sign in Baxter Springs, Kansas on old US 66, but the pumps are abandoned (if not long gone) and the building is now used by a locksmith.

[US71]

There is a DX (signed) station in Mulberry, AR.

DX was long ago bought out by Sunoco.  (1960s?)  I'll bet the station is independent and they didn't bother to replace the old livery.  DX, I believe, does not exist as an active brand anymore, and apparently Sunoco is not fighting too hard to maintain their trademark over the new proprietors of that station, as the general public does not know what "DX" means.

there is a DX lollipop sign in Baxter Springs, Kansas on old US 66, but the pumps are abandoned (if not long gone) and the building is now used by a locksmith.

I suspect as much which is why I said "signed"   There's another one that's now a repair shop in Henryetta, OK.

DX got bought in 68, but was still branded into the mid 70's, I think. I have a couple 70's maps that are co-branded Sunoco/DX.

[agentsteel53]

DX got bought in 68, but was still branded into the mid 70's, I think. I have a couple 70's maps that are co-branded Sunoco/DX.

I wonder what the name of the station actually is.  I'll bet if you get a receipt, it will say something completely different.  either that, or Sunoco is really really lazy about checking up on the new owners.

I've seen stations where the old livery can be recognized - for example, the distinct oblong TEXACO lollipop has been repainted with the new station name.

here is an example of an original Texaco hexagon.



I cannot find an example offhand of one which was repainted.  While I do not have a photo, I do know that the one in Sentinel, AZ on I-8 is like this: old Texaco hexagon but with the new name in plain letters over whitewash.

[TheStranger]

I cannot find an example offhand of one which was repainted.  While I do not have a photo, I do know that the one in Sentinel, AZ on I-8 is like this: old Texaco hexagon but with the new name in plain letters over whitewash.

There's one not far from me in Sacramento, where Route 16 turns from Folsom Boulevard to Jackson Road:

http://streetview.merchantcircle.com/480X360/4/0/6/2/4454062.JPG

After the ChevronTexaco merger a few years ago, Texaco disappeared from NorCal...but then made a comeback:

- stations that switched on the original transition include one at US 50 Exit 15 in Rancho Cordova, which went Texaco > independent > 76 (and this week has gone from 76 to Chevron!), and one in Daly City on Junipero Serra Boulevard, which went Texaco > 76

- on the other hand, an Arco off of US 50 Exit 13 became Texaco about 2 years ago, and a former Arco that had gone independent in Dixon off of I-80 became Texaco last year.

I also recall a faded Texaco hexagon somewhere on East 14th Street in East Oakland about 4-5 years ago.

[US71]

I cannot find an example offhand of one which was repainted.  While I do not have a photo, I do know that the one in Sentinel, AZ on I-8 is like this: old Texaco hexagon but with the new name in plain letters over whitewash.

Okaton, SD


Staunton, IL


Ida, LA

[Takumi]

There's a faded wooden Texaco diamond at a long-closed station in Matoaca, VA. I photographed it in 2010, but not sure where the photo's stored.

In the mid 1990s, there was, of all brands, an Agip at the intersection of US 1/301 and secondary route 620 (off I-95 exit 58) in Chesterfield County. Before that, it was a Sunoco and afterward, a Citgo (along with a 7-Eleven/Citgo combo directly across the the street!). Now it's a used car lot. Long story short, was Agip ever a big name in the US? I've never seen one elsewhere.

[agentsteel53]

I vaguely remember seeing an Agip somewhere in the US, but cannot recall.  this was in the mid-2000s.

it is definitely popular in Europe, and maybe elsewhere globally as well.

another brand which you will find many of elsewhere, and very few of in the US, is PEMEX.  It is Mexico's national monopoly, and is everywhere in that country. 

In the US (somewhere around Kansas City, I think), an enterprising pair of businessmen decided to call their gas station PEMEX, as to better attract Mexican immigrants, of which there are a lot in the area.

no word as of now from Real Mexican Pemex's lawyers.

[formulanone]

Interestingly, I think that when Gulf mostly disappeared in the 1980s, Chevron had assimilated it.

In the early-1990s, the BP brand converted almost all the Gulf locations in Florida.

Sunoco appeared "out of nowhere" and has popped up around Florida since the mid-2000s.

speaking of Exxon, I don't see that brand around as much as I used to.  they were mostly rebranded Mobil.  m being lost.

Is this related to the bad publicity lingering from the Exxon Valdez?

I think that was the case in southern Florida; they essentially "disappeared" from the area by 1994-95, but there's still plenty of Exxon stations in the rest of the state and beyond, to this day. Must have been some sort of other reason.

What happened to Texaco? I rarely see those anymore; they've disappeared from Florida, and I never seem to find them in my travels; maybe the merger with Chevron changed their branding strategy. (Edit: missed that discussion above.)

In the mid 1990s, there was, of all brands, an Agip at the intersection of US 1/301 and secondary route 620 (off I-95 exit 58) in Chesterfield County...Now it's a used car lot. Long story short, was Agip ever a big name in the US? I've never seen one elsewhere.

I would have driven out of my way to see that! A logo with a two-legged, four-nippled, fire-breathing beast (never mind they were Scuderia Ferrari sponsors for decades) is worth some film...

[agentsteel53]

two-legged, four-nippled

I thought that was six legs!  the four in the middle slightly smaller to give perspective.

[formulanone]

two-legged, four-nippled

I thought that was six legs!  the four in the middle slightly smaller to give perspective.

I thought that too...but I'd also heard that it was supposed to be the beast that nursed Remus and Romulus, the founders of Rome, which makes more sense (at least from the vague and skewed perspective of mythology).

[agentsteel53]

I thought that too...but I'd also heard that it was supposed to be the beast that nursed Remus and Romulus, the founders of Rome, which makes more sense (at least from the vague and skewed perspective of mythology).

shouldn't that be four legs and two nipples, then? 

also, the nipples look like legs.

furthermore, nipples is a funny word.  nipples, nipples, nipples.

that concludes my very, very serious logical argument.

in other news: nipples.

[Takumi]

They do look like legs.

[cpzilliacus]

I vaguely remember seeing an Agip somewhere in the US, but cannot recall.  this was in the mid-2000s.

There was one for a while at the corner of U.S. 29 (Colesville Road) and Md. 193 (University Boulevard) at Four Corners in Silver Spring, Montgomery County.

This station started out as an Esso, then became Texaco, then Steuart Petroleum and finally Agip.  Then the State Highway Administration bought the property as part of an intersection improvement project at that corner and tore the gas station down and removed the tanks.

it is definitely popular in Europe, and maybe elsewhere globally as well.

I don't know that I have seen one anywhere else.

another brand which you will find many of elsewhere, and very few of in the US, is PEMEX.  It is Mexico's national monopoly, and is everywhere in that country. 

In the US (somewhere around Kansas City, I think), an enterprising pair of businessmen decided to call their gas station PEMEX, as to better attract Mexican immigrants, of which there are a lot in the area.

no word as of now from Real Mexican Pemex's lawyers.

I don't think I have ever seen a PEMEX outside of Mexico, though I would much rather patronize PEMEX than Lukoil, but it would seem like a smart move to attract Mexican and Mexican-American customers.

[agentsteel53]

I don't know that I have seen one anywhere else.

there's plenty in Hungary.  I think I also saw some in Germany and the Netherlands but am not 100% sure. 

I don't think I have ever seen a PEMEX outside of Mexico, though I would much rather patronize PEMEX than Lukoil, but it would seem like a smart move to attract Mexican and Mexican-American customers.

there aren't any official Pemexes (Pemeces?) outside of Mexico.  Just a station that is called Pemex founded by two enterprising Americans in Kansas City.  but that's the equivalent of me calling my business Shell.  doesn't actually make it one.

[agentsteel53]

They do look like legs.

I hereby propose introducing the word "titlegs" to the common discourse.

suggested use, at least at first: "shaddup, titlegs, you don't know what you're talking about!"

[elsmere241]

They do look like legs.

I remember hearing a radio ad for them that said "look for the six-legged dog" or somesuch.  This was after I came back from two years in Italy where that sign is so common (almost every other gas station there is an Agip) that I never gave the dog's anatomy a second thought.

[formulanone]

Fine, those are just mythical city founders having a snack then at the fabulous creature milk bar.

Either that, or I have been inhaling too many petrol fumes.

[doorknob60]

Sinclair is still here and there -- saw one this summer in a tiny town in Idaho -- but used to be much bigger.

They are ALL OVER in Idaho (or at least the Boise area). Within two miles from the NNU campus in Nampa, there's at least 4 Sinclair stations I can think of (they are all called "Stinker", but also Sinclair) I haven't seen them anywhere else though, can't recall any in OR, WA, or CA.

[jdb1234]

The station that has disappeared from my radar is Sunoco.  Where are all the Sunoco station?

Sunoco has become ever more common in Maryland and Virginia.  At least some stations that were once Mobil became Sunoco after the Exxon/Mobil merger.

And Sunoco has the gas station concession contracts on the Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware Turnpikes (there's only one service plaza on the very short Delaware Pike), and nearly all of the stations on the Garden State Parkway.

Sunoco has made an appearance in eastern Tennessee.  I may be mistaken on this but I think I've seen them in western NC and northern GA.

Historically, back in the '60s and '70s they were all up and down the east coast.

Perhaps their resurgence in the south is due to being "The Official Fuel of NASCAR"

You can also find Sunoco stations in metro Birmingham.

[DTComposer]

on a related note, I believe there is one Standard station for every state in which Chevron operates, just to assert the brand and prevent trademark protection from being lost.

I was just in San Francisco and saw one of the Standard stations, which led me to find this:

[roadman]

speaking of Exxon, I don't see that brand around as much as I used to.  they were mostly rebranded Mobil.

When Exxon and Mobil merged, a number of the Exxon stations in New England were sold to other companies (mostly Gulf), which is why there's a higher percentage of Mobil stations in one given area than there are Exxon stations.  If it was a court-mandated thing, it's been applied in an odd way.  For example, in the Reading/Stoneham/Wakefield (Massachusetts) area, prior to the merger there were four Mobil stations, two Exxon stations, and three Gulf stations within close proximity (2 miles or under) to each other.  The four Mobil stations remain, and there's now four Gulf stations, but there are no longer any Exxon stations (one became Gulf, and one just closed completely).

[TheStranger]

The most notable West Coast effect of the Exxon/Mobil merger: California Exxon franchisee Valero became an independent gas brand that has expanded quite nicely in the decade or so since.