Valero's position on Top Tier fuels....

[Nickdfresh]

Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker

I don't really even consider top tier fuel. Most stations around me don't have top tier, and I am not going to go tracking it down. Especially since the cost in both price and the extra driving to go get it doesn't justify it.

There are two Valero stations within driving range of me, one is very expensive and the other tends to be among the cheapest stations in the area. But I work and live near several Mobil stations - so Top Tier isn't an issue for me. I also run Sunoco a lot, which is not Top Tier but states it has more detergent additives than mandated...

 

[RTexasF]

When Valero came charging into our area a few years ago they just flat took over! They were everywhere, some right across the street from each other. We used their fuel for some time with no problems and it was the cheapest in town. Then my MPG went in the toilet for several tanks. Shortly thereafter my lawn equipment ran poorly or wouldn't start at all. The lawn equipment was expensive to repair and I was shown the old fuel in a clear container........what a mess! The shop owner told me if locals kept using Valero gas it would put his kids through college. I switched to top tier Exxon and my fuel mileage was back within a tank or two. The lawn equipment has run fine ever since. I'll believe they are top tier when I see it posted on the pumps and will likely still steer clear of them.

 

[chuck wood]

Originally Posted By: RTexasF

I'll believe they are top tier when I see it posted on the pumps and will likely still steer clear of them.

I noticed yesterday it is now posted on the pump here in Colorado. We've been using it for years and never had a problem. Always good mileage out of it.

 

[Drew2000]

Yes, Valero is now a top tier fuel. Valero Gasoline Products My local Valero is a newish 5- y/o station mom 'n pop with a nice little C-store and very well kept. They still are among the cheapest in town for gas, so it's a win-win as far as TT fuel.

 

[HerrStig]

From what we know about the fuel distribution system, especially when additives are introduced into the fuel, what's the actual price difference for a little more cleaner dumped into the tanker?

 

[147_Grain]

4 - 5 cents.

 

[fdcg27]

I drive by a Valero every weekday on my commute. It's typically the low price leader in the area, so I've bought a lot of fuel there. Nice to get whatever real advantages there may be with top-tier fuel for cheap. The station itself is a little bit ghetto and trashy, but I've seen much worse here and there.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27

I drive by a Valero every weekday on my commute. It's typically the low price leader in the area, so I've bought a lot of fuel there. Nice to get whatever real advantages there may be with top-tier fuel for cheap. The station itself is a little bit ghetto and trashy, but I've seen much worse here and there.

Valero around here is whatever the franchise owner wants it to be. There are a few that have some of the cheapest prices outside of Costco, Arco, and some independents. The neighborhood is similar to what you describe; it's not some place I want to be for long. There's another that's moderately priced. I know of one that's across the street from a Shell station and those two stations' prices are almost always in lock-step. I don't think it's collusion, but when one see the price changes the other one reacts quickly. It's like they have the same prices 98% of the time I pass by. Then there's one Valero station that has the highest gas prices in the area. I'm not sure what it is, but I did hear that it's a taxi and government fleet refueling station. I'm guessing they don't really care about the public fueling there and the fleet customers (who don't pay the public listed prices) give them almost guaranteed business.

 

[y_p_w]

Just as an additional though, I don't think that Valero has really established what it wants to be as a retail brand. Chevron, Shell, Exxon/Mobil, etc have sort of established themselves as selling a high-end product. Then there are the bargain brands like Arco that sell themselves as an equivalent product at a lower price. I don't know as much about many other brands since they're not common here, but I know there are well known brands that don't really try to forge an retail identity other than they're a big oil company. That's sort of what Valero seems to be, and their station owners sort of develop their own identities as either low-price, high-end, mid-priced, etc. As an aside, I was randomly driving around and found a Sinclair branded gas station. Never saw one before in the area, but remember seeing them around Las Vegas.

 

[DBMaster]

Most Valero stations around here are former Diamond Shamrock outlets. It is my understanding that Valero is actually BP. Valero is a relatively recent addition to the list of Top Tier retailers. Seems like they would want to tout that since it does cost them a substantial sum to maintain that status.

 

[badtlc]

Valero is NOT BP. The only affiliations with BP is Amoco. valero is associated with Valero, Diamond Shamrock, Shamrock, Ultramar, Beacon, and Texaco brands. They also purchased some exxon stations in cali back in the day.

 

[DBMaster]

Thanks for clearing that up. I don't recall where I heard that.

 

[badtlc]

another tidbit is Valero is based in San Antonio, TX. So they are an american oil/fuel/energy company for those that care.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: badtlc

Valero is NOT BP. The only affiliations with BP is Amoco. valero is associated with Valero, Diamond Shamrock, Shamrock, Ultramar, Beacon, and Texaco brands. They also purchased some exxon stations in cali back in the day.

Not sure about Texaco since Chevron bought Texaco. BP owned Arco until 2013 when they sold it off to Tesoro. The way they handled the divestiture was really convoluted. Apparently BP still owns the ampm convenience store trademark and it gets licensed back to Arco stations that Tesoro controls. Then BP licensed back the Arco name for gas stations from Northern California to Washington. I'm not sure how it all worked out for the Top Tier certification, since all gas stations of a certain brand have to meet the requirement. I'm guessing there was a fair deal of discussion on this between BP and Tesoro. Maybe even some sort of two-part certification where BP submitted its paperwork separate from Tesoro.

Quote:

http://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/pr...--retail-a.html With the transaction’s closing on June 1st, Tesoro took ownership of the 266,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery near Los Angeles as well as the associated logistics network of pipelines and storage terminals and the ARCO-branded retail marketing network in Southern California, Arizona and Nevada. While the sale included BP’s ARCO retail brand rights, BP has exclusively licensed those rights from Tesoro for Northern California, Oregon and Washington. BP retains ownership of the ampm convenience store brand and has franchised it to Tesoro for use in the Southwest.

 

[badtlc]

not sure you are aware but I said amoco, not arco. they are not the same and amoco/BP still exists.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: badtlc

not sure you are aware but I said amoco, not arco. they are not the same and amoco/BP still exists.

I understood your comment. However, BP does have the rights to the Arco brand name in Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. So BP still has an involvement in Arco, although it's kind of convoluted. I'm also curious as to how they handle their marketing since it's probably split with Tesoro.

 

[badtlc]

Originally Posted By: y_p_w

Originally Posted By: badtlc

not sure you are aware but I said amoco, not arco. they are not the same and amoco/BP still exists.

I understood your comment. However, BP does have the rights to the Arco brand name in Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. So BP still has an involvement in Arco, although it's kind of convoluted. I'm also curious as to how they handle their marketing since it's probably split with Tesoro.

I guess I still don't understand why you brought up arco in this thread.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: badtlc

Originally Posted By: y_p_w

Originally Posted By: badtlc

not sure you are aware but I said amoco, not arco. they are not the same and amoco/BP still exists.

I understood your comment. However, BP does have the rights to the Arco brand name in Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. So BP still has an involvement in Arco, although it's kind of convoluted. I'm also curious as to how they handle their marketing since it's probably split with Tesoro.

I guess I still don't understand why you brought up arco in this thread.

You stated that the only affiliation that BP has is Amoco. I think your comment was in a response to someone claiming that Valero was part of BP. I was just pointing out BP still markets fuel with the Arco name in a few markets through that relicensing of the name (that they sold to Tesoro).