By Michael Karl Witzel ©2007-2008
Americans drive more than 2.5 trillion miles per year in cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles—a distance equal to 14,000 round trips to the sun! To rack up this amazing mileage, the U.S. motoring market consumes 146 billion gallons of gasoline every year.
With so much refined petroleum being bought and [...]
Posted in American Icons, Car Culture, Gasoline, Gasoline Stations | 
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By Michael Karl Witzel ©2007-2008
During World War II, Allen P. Bell was transferred to the Air Base in Kingman, Arizona to work his tour of duty as an aircraft mechanic. On his 21st birthday he stepped off the train, walked down old Route 66 a ways, and observed the desolation. “What is [...]
Posted in American Icons, Gasoline Stations, Legendary Route 66 | 2 Comments »
By Michael Karl Witzel ©2007-2008
In 1947, Art Lacey opened a small, five pump filling station along Highway 99E in Milwaukie, Oregon. It was the same year he had his biggest—and his best—idea: Why not mount a full-sized, four-engined airplane on top of a roadside gas station business?
When he heard that the military was scrapping [...]
Posted in American Icons, American Rewind, Food and Drink, Gasoline Stations, Historic Highways, Roadside America | No Comments »