Petrol Stations

[Austin Maxi]

There was nothing like the distinctive smell of leaded 4-star and the exhaust fumes produced through the classic DYR era. Petrol stations have always been there, of course, but I still remember the National/Smurfs promotional tie-up of the 1970s/early '80s, and the Shell/Corgi promotion in the late '80s where £6 of fuel would get you a 'wheel' voucher - 4 of which would then get you a Corgi junior car in a funky-patterned box......and what was it with all the free wine glass offers?!

Then there were the classic logos - the red & yellow shell, the BP sheild, the Esso oval, etc.

There you go, pump number 4, the brown Allegro - that'll be £8.50, and there's your Green Sheild stamps.

Memories?

[sarcymarky]

My kids hate the smell of petrol, which I find odd as I used to love it! I think you're right that the old 4 star did smell different. I also remember our local garage used to have a machine for dispensing parafin I think. It was a little white pump with a pink cartoony type animal on it like an elephant or something. I also remember my father having a book full of green shield stamps.

[Trickyvee]

It was my job to get out and press the button for the grade of star petrol we wanted. I agree that it had a different smell then. Weirdly I used to think it had a whiff of cream cakes in amongst its pungent petrolyness. I liked it.

I only remember a few of the offers. My parents still have a couple of glass tumblers kicking around from the Shell garage, and I was given a few C60 blank cassette tapes that came from there too.

[wispa lover]

Shell, Gulf, Texaco, Esso, those and their logos are still around with the exception of BP's sheild.
Four defunct stations I remember are: Butler, Fina, Action and Flare.
On a related note, my dad (almost retired) worked for BP but Japs took over it and changed it to Zeon Chemicals.

[Jacqueline]

Do Murco petrol stations still exist? I always thought they sounded like whoever named them was having a bit of a laugh...

[Trickyvee]

What were the petrol stations that had a Viking's head as the logo? I think it was on a blue background, with the head in profile.

[Balbarian74]

i love the smell of petrol stations, the fumes always remind me of my grandads garage. He was always tinkering with a car or something and the petrol station smell brings them memories flooding back

[memoman]

Do Murco petrol stations still exist? I always thought they sounded like whoever named them was having a bit of a laugh...

I believe we passed a few on the way to the coast.And we have one the other side of town.

[memoman]

My kids hate the smell of petrol, which I find odd as I used to love it! I think you're right that the old 4 star did smell different. I also remember our local garage used to have a machine for dispensing parafin I think. It was a little white pump with a pink cartoony type animal on it like an elephant or something. I also remember my father having a book full of green shield stamps.

Petrol used to contain lead,But they use a lead substitue now for obvious reasons.Plus modern petrol has other additives.So the smell would have changed.Plus they no longer have 2/3/4 star so i think it is more generic.
How many people still have parafin heaters ?I would thought they were extinct now?

[FLYING SAUCER]

My Dad worked at a Local Garage and they had a Pink Paraffin machine, and yes the logo was a little pink elephant.

Was the Vikings head yellow with blue & white National Benzole? later to become National? (SMURFS!)

Anyone remember ZIP Petrol stations?

And finally, the little stand in the middle of the petrol island with a red and white striped top on, Pascall Murray sweets were sold in bags from it, Marshmallows were my fave and chocolate eclairs?

[Richard1978]

Some petrol stations didn't use to have 3 star, so my Gran used to put in half a tank or 2 star into her Triumph Acclaim & top up with 4 star.

Brands of petrol that don't seem to be around any more include Mobil (merged with BP), Apex, Burmah, Globe, Avia & Q8 (they are still around in Sweden, I noticed one in an episode of Wallenger). I remember Texaco's logo changed from the stripy hexagon back to it's original T star symbol in the md 1980s.

Until the early 1990s some diesel pumps were labelled DERV standing for Diesel Engined Road Vehicle.

My parents still have some glasses & cheap crockery we got from those 1980s offers.

When was the last time you saw a petrol station that was also a new car dealership & had a workshop? There was one near where I lived until the early 1990s.

[RetroAEROSMITH]

Aye I remember screaming my head off because i wanted what i thought was a drink from the drinks machine but was a pink paraffin dispenser thingy... i remember one of those promotions where you had to collect different cards with various members of Dallas on them and you had to find the left and right hand side of the coupons...so youd open one and it would be a left hand half of a larry hagman then you had to find the right hand side.

[Jacqueline]

When was the last time you saw a petrol station that was also a new car dealership & had a workshop? There was one near where I lived until the early 1990s.

When was the last time that you saw a petrol station that was open for business that wasn't attached to a supermarket? :(

[Austin Maxi]

Do Murco petrol stations still exist? I always thought they sounded like whoever named them was having a bit of a laugh...

I jet-washed my car at a Murco station only a few hours ago. Are Elf petrol stations still around?

[Jacqueline]

I jet-washed my car at a Murco station only a few hours ago. Are Elf petrol stations still around?

Is that where Will Ferrell works?

[Austin Maxi]

Is that where Will Ferrell works?

lol! She's here all week! ;-)

[Marillion]

Kids (or even adults) who like the smell of petrol or parafin had better be careful They might end up seeing pink elephants.

[Trickyvee]

The smell of petrol also reminds me of going for rides in my uncle's van. He had one of those small Ford Transits, a right old banger and I had to sit on a cushion in the back in amongst all his tools and rubbish, but it was great fun. It must have had a fuel tank leak though as it used to stink of petrol inside. I'm surprised we didn't pass out!

[HG]

When was the last time that you saw a petrol station that was open for business that wasn't attached to a supermarket? :(

I've got two BP stations about a mile from me, I don't how they survive though with Asda being about a mile from them and 5p a litre cheaper.

[Jacqueline]

Good for them. It's very depressing to see so many going out of business.

[Richard1978]

I often noticed that 2 petrol stations near each other will have the same prices, though sometimes I'm surprised when I notice one is lower.

[Austin Maxi]

Just out of interest, I was looking through some photos I took in 1999 yesterday, and one is of a street scene with a petrol station. At that time, unleaded was 69.9p a litre.

[Heather74]

http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w309/huggie74/pinkparaffin.jpg

[Star Attraction]

If you're thinking of a yellow and white head (4 sections) on a blue background, the answer is National, the firm who was promoting The Smurfs in the late 1970s.

[Trickyvee]

Yeah, that's the fella

2866

[memoman]

I think shell did a simular smurf promotion in the 70s.

[Colin]

What were the petrol stations that had a Viking's head as the logo? I think it was on a blue background, with the head in profile.

National (I think originally it was National Benzole)

[goldenone]

My dad always used to fill up at National on his way home from work and brght me a different Smurf each week. Still have them somewhere.

After he lost his job in the 80's he then started to use Texaco and i got a collectors booklet of England vs West Indies cricket characature cards from a series sponsored by the company. I remember pictures of Gower, Botham, Willis, Lloyd, Greenidge, Garner, Marshall, Richards etc :)

[darren]

My dad always used to fill up at National on his way home from work and brght me a different Smurf each week. Still have them somewhere.

After he lost his job in the 80's he then started to use Texaco and i got a collectors booklet of England vs West Indies cricket characature cards from a series sponsored by the company. I remember pictures of Gower, Botham, Willis, Lloyd, Greenidge, Garner, Marshall, Richards etc :)

tell me mate have you still got these.
bound to worth a few quid id say.

did the smurfs come in packaging or come without packaging.

[tulip]

Apparently,it was my dad's cousin's idea for forecourt shops.Dunno if that's actually true,but that's what I was told.

tulip

[sf1378]

But there have been forecourt shops worldwide...Or do you mean just in the UK he suggested the idea? Cool though if true, not so cool now that its all the same and naff.

[goldenone]

tell me mate have you still got these.
bound to worth a few quid id say.

did the smurfs come in packaging or come without packaging.

Now then CM ;)

I'm pretty sure that they are kicking around somewhere at my parents house. Must have a collection of anywhere between 20-40.

None of them came boxed but all were in different poses such as riding a skateboard leaf, operating a National petrol pump, playing football etc. I really must try and track these down as this thread has brought back memories :)

[tulip]

But there have been forecourt shops worldwide...Or do you mean just in the UK he suggested the idea? Cool though if true, not so cool now that its all the same and naff.


I m really not sure it was ages ago and my mum can't remember.

tulip

[Roxxy]

[QUOTE=FLYING SAUCER;138764]My Dad worked at a Local Garage and they had a Pink Paraffin machine, and yes the logo was a little pink elephant.

Later replaced by a blushing, naked fat man with the 'Pink Paraffin' logo concealing his middle!!

[Roxxy]

I remember when there were far more independent petrol stations around than there are now- these days, they tend to be confined to small villages, but in the '70s they could be found far more frequently.
There was one in the Glynneath Valley in West Glamorgan that we used to stop at on the way back from visiting my grandma- it was a green corrugated iron building run by a little fat guy with glasses, I don't think he even advertised the brand of fuel he sold! We used to get free silver-coloured plastic pixies with our purchases, he sold Green Shield stamps too. Long gone as a buisness now, although the building itself is still there.

When I was little, the 'clock-face' style pumps that sometimes had illuminated petrol company logos on the top, were being slowly replaced by the lower, squarer 'fruit machine' style ones that gave the readout in revolving number gauges and were activated by throwing a lever at the side. Some garages still have these for doing paraffin sales.

[stud1al]

I stopped at a service station in Ireland one time and a guy told me
"i must warn you that this is an I.R.A service station."
I told him "Okay,just blow up the tyres"