In the near future, I will be doing more research into a favorite subject of mine, gas station history. However, I will be profiling more of what's out there today as compared to yesteryear.
Considering the constant fluctuation of gas prices, I've wondered recently why the price displays don't go LED or digital. I've seen some stations change their prices three times in one day - and most always with an employee using one of those sticks to move plastic numbers around. Especially in frigid weather, why subject the employee to the elements just because gas became more (or less) valuable?
Were the gods listening to me? I doubt it, but there are two or three service stations around me now that are going the red LED route. Isn't it easier to control price displays with a remote control? You'd think many stations would have caught on by now... but a Google search into display signs turned up NO photos of digital displays. I guess they're not as popular as they should be.
This would be my only admittance that some modernization of gas stations is needed through time. But I still prefer the old friendly service stations. Those people my age will remember some of the great ones, including Texaco, Boron, Sohio and others.
But who's in charge of naming these places now? I can understand off-shoot brands & independent owners. But some of these names strike a nerve: "WOW!", "Fusion" (when seen from afar it looks like it reads "Tucson"), and the worst one I've seen yet: "Welcome".
Can you imagine these companies demanding royalty payments every time the words are used, LOL? It's no wonder, as I've said before, that petroleum companies are where the money ends up.
