Phillips 66 is a brand of gasoline and service station in the U.S.
The
company that made Phillips 66 gasoline began in 1917 as Phillips Petroleum Company.
In 1927, the company's gasoline was being tested on U.S. Highway 66 in Oklahoma,
and when it turned out that the car was going 66 mph, the company decided
to name the new fuel Phillips 66.
The first Phillips 66 gas station
opened November 19, 1927 in Wichita, Kansas. The first station to be built in
Texas was built in 1929 at McLean. Both of these stations have been preserved
by local historical societies.
The Phillips 66 shield logo, created
for its link to the highway of the same number, was introduced in 1930 in a black
and orange color scheme that would last nearly 30 years. In 1959, Phillips
introduced a revised version of the shield in the colors, red, white and black
that is still in use to this day.
From the late 1930s until the 1960s,
Phillips employed groups of young women qualified as registered nurses as "Highway
Hostesses" who made periodic and random visits to Phillips 66 stations within
their regions to inspect station restroom facilities to ensure they were
well cleaned and stocked. The Highway Hostesses also served as ambassadors for
the company by directing motorists to suitable dining and lodging facilities.
Phillips
was among the first oil companies to introduce a multi-grade
motor oil, Trop Artic, in 1954. Such motor oils were designed to be used year-round
in automobile engines as opposed to single grades for which different grades
of motor oils were recommended to meet various weather variances. |
