In my opinion, for what it is worth... The sign in question, is not Petro nor is it Automotive... It is Service Related... Same as AAA and other Travel Club Organizations signage....

This Hobby was founded to celebrate the "American Service Station"...

The Founders worked very hard to make sure there was a definite distinction between Petro and other Hobbies that were similar....

They worked hard to do research. Research that took weeks, months, even years. The same research that can be done now in a matter of seconds.... The Founders worked hard to form a Hobby that was quite specific in it's nature, now it is getting difficult to recognize that Hobby!

While growing up, I sat through many discussions where the concept of what is and is not Petro, was debated and argued...

Some Founders were Automotive People and they tended to want things like Auto Dealerships, Body Shops, Auto Repair Facilities to be included under the "Petro Banner"...

Others like my Father, who by the way, was building Race Cars and restoring Cars and building Rods. Felt that Petro should be separate from Automotive... As he pointed out, up to his death... Most Car Dealerships DID NOT sell gasoline to the Public... Most Auto Repair Shops DID NOT sell gasoline to the Public... Most Auto Body Shops DID NOT sell gasoline to the Public...

I've never found a link to where an Insurance Agency sold gasoline to the Public...

There have been "cross over" facilities... The Auto Repair Garage that sold gasoline to the Public.. The Auto Dealership that sold gasoline to the Public... The Tire Store that sold gasoline to the Public... The Country Store and/or Restaurant that sold gasoline to the Public... The Auto Parts Store that sold gasoline to the Public... The Auto Court/Travel Court that sold gasoline to the Public...These businesses were not the norm and as such were all "cross overs" and were discussed on an individual basis...

Too many now, see this Hobby differently than I... That is understandable... As I am still seeing this Hobby, through eyes that quite frankly are still back in the late 1950s into the 1970s... I can still "hear" the discussions that took place at dinner tables, lunch counters, in grungy wonderful auto repair shops... In Auto Parts Stores with uneven wooden floors...

I hope my health allows, that I can stick around for awhile and see/ even hopefully travel; this path that the Petro Hobby is now taking...


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