You could only buy gas on odd dates or even dates depending on the last digit of your license plate... I rode my Bicycle in Chico, California at the College... I Totally Missed this Event.
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and then there were 106 comments
on my Facebook Group about
Growing Up in Los Gatos...
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The Conclusion was The "Oil Crisis" Was Fake.
Designed to Increase Prices and Profits.
Many People Spoke With Insider Knowledge.
Like, Their Dad Owned a Gas Station...
Classic Example of #Runaway Corporate Greed.
#RememberFrance1789
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I remember it well -- I'm a tad older than you, Gregory Laan! I recall one occasion specifically; the gas station across from my workplace allowed us to park our car in the line, which was visible out the window of my office, and retrieve it once fueled up. On one particular occasion, I was informed the "line ended at the car just ahead of me." Ouch! Locking gas caps became popular during the "gas shortage."
In 1973 I was the most junior person in the small electronics company I worked at (Apple), so was sent to sit in line to fill the gas tanks for more senior people. ...paid the same, I suppose.
The trick was to have two cars in the household. One with even, one with odd! I’m not sure what the answer was for all letter vanity plates.
My folks had gas stations...I used to sew the red, yellow and green flags to hang our front. Red was no gas, yellow I think was emergency only and green was open for the odd or even plate for the day. Lines were outrageous.
We had a truck with commercial license plates so we could go on any day! Then we would go home and siphon gas to the other cars.
Gregory Laan: I DO Remember the 1979 Gas Crisis... I was Living in Maryland and the GIANT BOATS that deliver gasoline were just parked in the Chesapeake Bay... waiting for no reason to unload in Baltimore... a Totally Contrived Crisis... there was plenty of gas, they just were not unloading it...
I was working at Lark Avenue carwash and you could get gas either day if you bought a carwash. Record breaking days.
My friend and I were in San Francisco for an AMD Christmas party, and I realized I was low on gas, my plate was wrong number, so we ran out of gas on 101 somewhere past Eastside San Jose, we were hitchhiking in our disco dresses at like 3:30am and got picked up by CHP who took us to next exit and dropped us at Jack in the box. We hitched a ride from there
They implemented odd and even license plates to get gas. I had to get up at O dark thirty and take my parent's cars and wait in those damn lines. It was all a sham to enrich oil executives. Never was a shortage. I remarked that they let the oil companies get away with it, everything goes up. For example a box of cereal was .50 cents. Now the same box is about five dollars.
My Dad's Chevron was on the odd-even system. He always maintained that there was never really a gas shortage. He was never low on gas and continued to receive regular deliveries. The rationing was mandated by Chevron/Standard Oil corporate.
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