80's Amoco prem marketing. "The Clear Difference!"

[Vizzy]

Anyone remember this I believe it was the late 80's or early 90's. Amoco stations used to have their premium pump labeled "clear" ulitmate premium. The nozzle handle had a window where you could actually see the gasoline flowing through and sure enough it was much lighter in color than other gasolines...

They tried to equate this with CLEANER burning, less deposits as well. Any truth to this claim?....it does make sense that an additional refinemnent step would create cleaner burning fuel.

 

[Herz]

top end gas usually burns cleaner and has less deposits than standard gasoline. It has more additives.

 

[lenjack]

Others will chime in, but I expect it was no more than marketing.

 

[Vizzy]

Amoco DID claim an additional refinement step. I don't see how they could unless they actually performed it...It would be interesting to know exactly what process was used....

 

[SHOPete]

As far back as the 50's Amoco Premium was lead-free. Clear while other leaded gasolines were pink. My uncle never ran anything but in his Cadillacs and boats thru late 60's when he died. Amoco lost their uniqueness when everyone went lead-free.

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: SHOPete
As far back as the 50's Amoco Premium was lead-free. Clear while other leaded gasolines were pink. My uncle never ran anything but in his Cadillacs and boats thru late 60's when he died. Amoco lost their uniqueness when everyone went lead-free.
Wouldn't that have been harmful to the valve seats of '50s and '60s cars? I was always told that in the '70s, when everyone was stuck using unleaded gas, massive numbers of '50s and '60s cars had valve seat recession, and needed new valve seats installed to handle the stuff. The only reason it didn't happen to '70s cars was because car builders knew unleaded gas would be required, so they hardened the valve seats right at the factory.

 

[G-MAN]

Originally Posted By: artificialist
Originally Posted By: SHOPete
As far back as the 50's Amoco Premium was lead-free. Clear while other leaded gasolines were pink. My uncle never ran anything but in his Cadillacs and boats thru late 60's when he died. Amoco lost their uniqueness when everyone went lead-free.
Wouldn't that have been harmful to the valve seats of '50s and '60s cars? I was always told that in the '70s, when everyone was stuck using unleaded gas, massive numbers of '50s and '60s cars had valve seat recession, and needed new valve seats installed to handle the stuff. The only reason it didn't happen to '70s cars was because car builders knew unleaded gas would be required, so they hardened the valve seats right at the factory.


American Oil and then Standard Oil of Indiana (the corporate ancestors of Amoco) used something other than tetraethyl lead in their premium "white gas" to facilitate valve seat and valve stem lubrication and boost the octane. Their premium was "water white," or clear, and using it back in the 50s and 60s could easily get you triple the normal mileage out of a set of spark plugs.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

I knew a lot of people who used it in their Caddys and Lincolns and had no issue with it...I knew someone who had a 60 Caddy and had no issues with it and thats the only gas he used...I used it for a long time in my 88 Town Car with no issues and the car had 300K miles on when I sold it.

 

[SHOPete]

Remember well the cautions against unleaded gas in the 70's, though never knew anyone with an issue. Comment about extended plug life sounded like right out of my uncle's mouth when I was 13 in 1961.

 

[Ed_T]

I used to pump gasoline at a full service station back when this product was sold. I used to ask various purchasers why they used it.

One fellow in a spiff Corvette said his car "never missed a beat".

Another guy who used to fill his beat up 67 Chevy Impala V-8 with it said he was getting 25 mpg using it, but when he used leaded regular, it would drop back to 15 mpg.

It was great stuff AFAICT.

 

[SHOZ]

Just like the ads for their Pure Ultimate premium, but that is 10-20% ethanol in Illinois.......

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: SHOZ
Just like the ads for their Pure Ultimate premium, but that is 10-20% ethanol in Illinois.......


10% is killing my mileage a bit...I can only imagine 20%...I feel sorry for the landscaping guys who work in this jungle heat down here as 10% was killing their equipment.

 

[Audi Junkie]

I remember they had a display Lucite block with samples of the clear and normal fuel inside.