Ertl Collectibles, Texaco Series

Ertl Collectibles, Texaco Series

Wed Feb 01, 2012

by Mark Macreading

The name Texaco came from the cable address of their N.Y. office and soon became popular as a product name. In 1906, they registered the name and star logo as a trademark. The star-and-T logo appeared in 1909, but it wasn't until 1959 that they formally changed the company name to Texaco Inc. The red star represented the lone state of Texas. Gasoline actually started out as a waste byproduct of kerosene, but once the internal combustion engine took off, gas was in demand. In 1911, they opened their first gas station in Brooklyn, N.Y. By 1928, Texaco was a national brand sold in all 50 states.

In 1931, they bought Indian Oil Co., which gave them the rights to Havoline wax-free oil. In 1932, they introduced Fire Chief Gas, considered to have octane high enough to run fire trucks. The development of Sky Chief Premium gas came in 1938. Industrial designer, Walter Darwin Teague, was hired to design the modern gas station for Texaco, which also included his and her rest rooms. Texaco was known for popular catch phrases, such as "Trust your car to the man who wears the star."

In 1981, their logo was changed to a red T inside a white star. In 2001, Chevron merged with Texaco, and Shell Oil bought some of Texaco's interests.

One year later, Shell started rebranding Texaco gas stations to Shell gas stations. This was the largest retail rebranding in U.S. history. Texaco gas stations vanished across the country. In 2004, Chevron regained the rights for the Texaco brand name in the United States.

Texaco came to realize in the late 1950s that to really promote a product you need to start with the young future customers. They did so by producing promotional toys to help make the Texaco name a household word.

In 1957, they had Buddy L produce a pressed-steel GMC tanker truck. You could buy these mail order for $3.50 with a coupon from your local Texaco dealer. Buddy L also produced a jet fuel tanker for Texaco. AMC/Wen MAC produced a beautiful Texaco fire truck in the '60s, which you could purchase for $3.98 when you bought gas from a Texaco station. [Subscribe to Toy Trucker & Contractor and read the rest of this article.]