Esso Extra

With a smaller proportion of new vehicles on the road requiring high-octane gasolines and the octane ratings of both regular and premium grades continuing to climb, demand for the more expensive super-premium grades, never really that high, dropped dramatically. In the fall of 1961, Esso and Gulf both discontinued their super-premium grades of fuel in favor of lower octane fuels to supplement their regular and premium offerings. Esso increase the octane of its premium Esso Extra and introduced a new middle grade of gas, Esso Plus, which was inserted in price and octane rating between Extra and their regular fuel. Gulf took a different direction by replacing its super-premium Gulf Crest with a new sub-regular product, Gulftane, which was priced about one or two cents less than its Good Gulf regular - and also designed for vehicles that could use gasolines with octane requirements lower than regular grades. In the process, Gulf created a subregular product that was priced on par with regular gasolines offered by cut-rate independent gas stations that generally sold gas for a few pennies less than major-brand stations - sparking off “gas wars” in many areas of the country where prices often dropped as low as 18 cents per gallon for regular and subregular grades (compared to the prevailing normal regular fuel price of 25-26 cents per gallon).

Subject ID: 112309