Who invented gas stations

Introduced in Los Angeles prior to World War I, super service stations combined operations that had been handled separately. Before that time, a motorist went one place for gas and oil, and other places for lubrication and cleaning, for repairs, or for tires and other accessories. Combining these activities was convenient for consumers and opened up new marketing possibilities for those interested in taking advantage of the boom in automobiles.

The earliest known super service station—Service Town—was built in , three miles from downtown Los Angeles. Several of these stations were constructed in southern California in the early s and soon spread across the country.

The concept of one-stop shopping for automobile services was particularly attractive outside the most populous city areas, where a wide variety of individual businesses were unlikely to congregate. Cities that had already been covered with signs selling all kinds of products were inundated with more and larger commercial signs in the automobile age to attract the attention of passengers in speeding vehicles.

A good example of an automobile-specific commercial outlet was the car wash, or auto laundry, as it was sometimes called. The first of these were not automated, but offered stationary car racks so that the undercarriages as well as sides and tops could be cleaned of dirt and grime from the road and from the operation of the vehicles themselves.

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This is also the first architect-designed station and the first to distribute free road maps. The rest of the decade sees the rapid growth of curbside fueling, with pumps literally on the curb in front of stores or in other highly trafficked areas. William Burton invents the process of thermal cracking, which doubles the yield of gasoline that can be refined from crude oil.

He later serves as president of Standard Oil from to A ruling by the New York Supreme Court upholds a Buffalo zoning ordinance that prohibited curbside fueling. Stations transition to lots where drivers pull in off the road, as opposed to fueling on the road, and real estate becomes an important element in developing a property for fueling. Many stores also begin to resemble the houses in the communities around them to help appease zoning concerns.

These cards followed the simple dog-tag style metal plates issued by department stores prior to World War I. The onset of the Great Depression a few years later severely quashed the use of credit cards for several decades. Other additions quickly follow, including grease services and car washes, as well as the sale of tires, batteries and other accessories, making the fueling station a true service station.

Unlike the local grocery stores, his store was already open 16 hours a day am to pm , seven days a week, so he decided to stock a few of those staples in addition to items he was already offering. As the company grows, it changes its store name to reflect its operating hours: 7-Eleven. Renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright designs a gas station to be built in Buffalo. He envisions a network of filling stations across the country, but never finds a company willing to fund his dream.

A stripped down version of his design is eventually used for a station built it in Cloquet, Minnesota. Late s: By the end of the decade, hour service stations already are in operation, serving the needs of, among others, the commercial trucking industry. Proceeds of the one-cent-per-gallon tax go into the general fund. The federal tax on gasoline has been The first state gasoline tax is created in , with Oregon levying a 1-cent-per-gallon tax to fund highway construction.

Maryville Oil Co. This sign allows prices to be easily seen by drivers before they pull in to the station. Prices per gallon are 7. Cleanliness is guaranteed and each station is registered by the company, which employs and trains inspectors. Phillips Petroleum adopts a similar program a year later. Within a few years, however, both programs are dropped. The store Hoosier Petroleum Co. Urich adds to the excitement by running empty tankers into the station, making it seem like supply was constantly being replenished to meet heavy demand.

A number of other independent stations begin to offer self serve, primarily in California, the Southwest and the Southeast, but the total number of stations offering self serve remain less than 3, until the early s. In , American Express and BankAmericard are introduced. Nearly 50, miles of interstate highways are constructed; approximately one-quarter of vehicle traffic today is on these roads. These new highway bypasses also changed the fueling landscape, as many small towns and retailers serving those towns become abandoned.

It is the earliest known use of this term Also, the first cold weather convenience stores open — with new stores appearing in Washington, DC, and in Denver, Colorado. By , only 6. Previously, self-service required an attendant to reset the pumps after each fueling and also collect the money at the fueling island. On that first day, fuels sales only total gallons, but this event ushers in the modern era of self-serve fueling. Total, convenience stores sell that much fuel every 0.

The decision paves the way for others states to similarly eliminate full-serve mandates. Today, self-serve is available in 48 states. New Jersey and Oregon still require full-service operations.

Toyota, Honda and Datsun enter the U. By , imports account for nearly one in five cars sold in the country. The system also allows faster filling rates and helps mitigate the release of gas vapors.

TEL had helped reduce engine knock and spurred the way for the development of high-power, high-compression engines. Starting with the model year, U. Arab nations cut production by 5 million barrels per day, which is partially offset by increased production in other countries adding 1 million barrels per day back into the system. Fuel shortages and long lines grow as the crisis deepens.

Odd-even gas rationing is also introduced for the first time since World War II. The final numerical digit contained in the plate determines if you can buy gas on a given day. If the last digit is even, you can buy gas on even-numbered days. By March , the embargo ends and the shortage abates. In , President Bill Clinton signs a bill lifting federal control over speed limits. Today, some states have speed limits of as much as 80 mph and a toll road in Texas has a speed limit of 85 mph.

The regulations are for passenger vehicles only, requiring car manufacturers to have an average fleet fuel efficiency of 18 miles per gallon beginning in The Act also authorizes the creation of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It begins operations in It has a million-barrel capacity to store oil in underground salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana. Embassy in Iran is stormed and hostages are taken. Midway through the year, Saudi Arabia cuts oil production and the price of crude oil soars.

An estimated 1.