Home Page American Government Reference Desk Shopping Special Collections About Us Contribute



Escort, Inc.






GM Icons
By accessing/using The Crittenden Automotive Library/CarsAndRacingStuff.com, you signify your agreement with the Terms of Use on our Legal Information page. Our Privacy Policy is also available there.

Gasoline


Gasoline
Person

Topic Navigation
Wikipedia: Gasoline

Page Sections
History
Multimedia
Photographs
Documents
Article Index
A motor vehicle fuel, also called petrol in many English-speaking countries.

History

The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Gasoline page on 29 October 2020, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Gasoline, or petrol is a clear petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. On average, a 160-liter (42-U.S.-gallon) barrel of crude oil can yield up to about 72 liters (19 U.S. gallons) of gasoline after processing in an oil refinery, depending on the crude oil assay and on what other refined products are also extracted. The characteristic of a particular gasoline blend to resist igniting too early (which causes knocking and reduces efficiency in reciprocating engines) is measured by its octane rating, which is produced in several grades. Once widely used to increase octane rating, tetraethyl lead and other lead compounds are no longer used in most areas (they are still used in aviation and auto-racing). Other chemicals are frequently added to gasoline to improve chemical stability and performance characteristics, control corrosiveness and provide fuel system cleaning. Gasoline may contain oxygen-containing chemicals such as ethanol, MTBE or ETBE to improve combustion.

Gasoline can enter the environment uncombusted, both as liquid and as vapor, from leakage and handling during production, transport and delivery (e.g., from storage tanks, from spills, etc.). As an example of efforts to control such leakage, many underground storage tanks are required to have extensive measures in place to detect and prevent such leaks. Gasoline contains benzene and other known carcinogens.

Etymology

"Gasoline" is an English word that denotes fuel for automobiles. The Oxford English Dictionary dates its first recorded use to 1863, when it was spelled "gasolene". The term "gasoline" was first used in North America in 1864. The word is a derivation from the word "gas" and the chemical suffixes "-ol" and "-ine" or "-ene".

However, the term may also have been influenced by the trademark "Cazeline" or "Gazeline". On 27 November 1862, the British publisher, coffee merchant and social campaigner John Cassell placed an advertisement in The Times of London:

The Patent Cazeline Oil, safe, economical, and brilliant … possesses all the requisites which have so long been desired as a means of powerful artificial light.


This is the earliest occurrence of the word to have been found. Cassell discovered that a shopkeeper in Dublin named Samuel Boyd was selling counterfeit cazeline and wrote to him to ask him to stop. Boyd did not reply and changed every ‘C’ into a ‘G’, thus coining the word "gazeline".

In most Commonwealth countries, the product is called "petrol", rather than "gasoline". "Petrol" was first used in about 1870, as the name of a refined petroleum product sold by British wholesaler Carless, Capel & Leonard, which marketed it as a solvent. When the product later found a new use as a motor fuel, Frederick Simms, an associate of Gottlieb Daimler, suggested to Carless that they register the trademark "petrol", but by that time the word was already in general use, possibly inspired by the French pétrole, and the registration was not allowed. Carless registered a number of alternative names for the product, but "petrol" nonetheless became the common term for the fuel in the British Commonwealth.

British refiners originally used "motor spirit" as a generic name for the automotive fuel and "aviation spirit" for aviation gasoline. When Carless was denied a trademark on "petrol" in the 1930s, its competitors switched to the more popular name "petrol". However, "motor spirit" had already made its way into laws and regulations, so the term remains in use as a formal name for petrol. The term is used most widely in Nigeria, where the largest petroleum companies call their product "premium motor spirit". Although "petrol" has made inroads into Nigerian English, "premium motor spirit" remains the formal name that is used in scientific publications, government reports, and newspapers.

The use of the word gasoline instead of petrol is uncommon outside North America, though gasolina is used in Spanish and Portuguese, particularly given the usual shortening of gasoline to gas, because various forms of gaseous products are also used as automotive fuel, such as compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

In many languages, the name of the product is derived from benzene, such as Benzin in Persian (Persian: بنزین) and German, benzina in Italian, or bensin in Indonesian; but in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, the colloquial name nafta is derived from that of the chemical naphtha.

Multimedia

DateMedia or Collection Name & DetailsFiles
1947Gasoline For Everybody
Audio Productions for the Ethyl Corporation

Topic Page
- 349MB - 12:54
11 September 2006Gasoline Distillation System Cuts Auto Emissions
Butler Cain for Voice of America News

Article Page
- 4:20


Photographs

Eagle Gasoline Can Subject:  Eagle Manufacturing Company Gas Can (Wellsburg, West Virginia)
Photographer:  Bill Crittenden
Event:  Green Street Cruise Night: 6 June 2011
View photo of Eagle Gasoline Can - 3,682KB
Sebring Gasoline Can Subject:  Sebring Fuel Dispenser (Sebring, Florida)
Photographer:  Bill Crittenden
Date:  2013
View photo of Sebring Gasoline Can - 3.6MB


Documents

DateDocument Name & DetailsDocuments
6 May 1999
hearing date
Reformulated Gasoline
Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Health and Environment of the Committee on Commerce
U.S. House of Representatives

PDF
- 219KB - 44 pages
2 March 2000
hearing date
National Implementation of the Reformulated Gasoline Program
Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Health and Environment of the Committee on Commerce
U.S. House of Representatives

PDF
- 3.6MB - 208 pages
6 September 2005
hearing date
Gasoline Prices
Hearing Before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
U.S. Senate

PDF
- 595KB - 156 pages


Article Index

DateArticleAuthor/Source
24 June 1997Exxon Settles FTC charges: Ground-breaking Educational Ad Campaign Ordered
Consumers who were exposed to ads that claimed that Exxon high octane gasoline would reduce auto maintenance costs will get important new information from Exxon soon.
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topics: Exxon, Gasoline
17 September 1997FTC Finalizes Exxon Settlement
The Federal Trade Commission has approved as final a consent agreement with Exxon Corporation that has triggered the launch of a massive consumer education and advertising campaign.
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topics: Exxon, Gasoline
22 June 2000FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky Comments on Midwestern Gas Prices
"The high price differential between reformulated and non-reformulated gasoline in the Midwest region has raised significant questions for the FTC that can only be answered by a thorough investigation."
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topics: Gasoline,
Robert Pitofsky
28 June 2000FTC Chairman Testifies Before House Committee Regarding Recent Midwest Gasoline Price Increases
FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky described several potential causes for the increases and assured Congress that the Commission's investigation into whether such increases have resulted from anti-competitive, collusive or otherwise illegal behavior will be "thorough, objective and as expeditious as possible."
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topics: Gasoline,
Robert Pitofsky
13 July 2000FTC Competition Director Testifies Before Senate Regarding Recent Midwest Gasoline Price Increases
FTC Competition Director Richard G. Parker described several potential causes for the increases and assured Congress that the Commission's investigation into whether such increases have resulted from anti-competitive, collusive or otherwise illegal behavior will be "thorough, objective and as expeditious as possible."
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topics: Gasoline,
Richard G. Parker
28 July 2000Federal Trade Commission Issues Interim Report on Midwest Gas Price Investigation
The report explains the chronology of the price spikes of reformulated gasoline (RFG) in the Midwest region and how these price increases led Commission staff to begin a preliminary investigation in early June and the Commission to launch a formal investigation on June 21.
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topic: Gasoline
30 March 2001FTC Issues Report on Midwest Gasoline Price Investigation
After a nine-month investigation into the causes of the gasoline price spikes in local markets in the Midwest during the spring and summer of 2000, the Federal Trade Commission today announced its findings into the causes behind such price increases.
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topic: Gasoline
25 April 2001FTC Chairman Testifies Before Senate Committee on Merger Enforcement in the Gasoline Industry
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Robert Pitofsky presented the Commission's testimony today before the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Foreign Commerce, and Tourism concerning merger enforcement in the gasoline industry.
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topic: Gasoline,
Robert Pitofsky
7 May 2001FTC Closes Western States Gasoline Investigation
The Federal Trade Commission today announced the completion of its investigation of various marketing and distribution practices employed by the major oil refiners in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington ("Western States").
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topic: Gasoline
12 July 2001FTC to Hold Public Conference/Opportunity for Comment on U.S. Gasoline Industry in Early August
On August 2, 2001, the Federal Trade Commission will hold an initial public conference to examine factors that affect prices of refined petroleum products in the United States.
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topic: Gasoline
13 September 2001Consumer Awareness at Gasoline Pumps Urged
Since Tuesday's tragic events, the Federal Trade Commission has received numerous complaints of dramatic gasoline price increases in several states.
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topic: Gasoline
21 December 2001FTC to Hold Second Public Conference on the U.S. Oil and Gasoline Industry in May 2002
From May 6-9, 2002, the Federal Trade Commission will hold a second public conference to examine factors that affect prices of refined petroleum products in the United States.
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topic: Gasoline
13 February 2002Announced Actions for February 13, 2002
Staff of the FTC's Office of General Counsel, the Bureaus of Competition and Economics, and the Midwest Region-Chicago have submitted comments to the EPA concerning the competitive effects of clean fuels regulations, which require unique gasoline fuel blends, on the supply and distribution of gasoline.
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topic: Gasoline
23 April 2002FTC Testimony Highlights Multi-prong Strategy To Ensure Competitive Gasoline Pricing
Testifying today before the House Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Natural Resources and Regulatory Affairs, FTC General Counsel William E. Kovacic reported that, in recent years, the FTC has devoted almost one-third of its Bureau of Competition's total enforcement budget to energy industry investigations.
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topic: Gasoline,
William E. Kovacic
1 May 2002Factors That Affect Gasoline Prices To Be Discussed at FTC Conference
This conference seeks to elicit information and views on major factors that affect the price of refined petroleum products and the relative importance of each.
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topic: Gasoline
8 May 2002FTC Chairman Opens Public Conference Citing New Model To Identify and Track Gasoline Price Spikes, Upcoming Reports
Chairman Timothy J. Muris today said that the FTC has developed a statistical model that is being used to identify and monitor "unusual" gasoline price movements in 360 cities across the country.
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topic: Gasoline,
Timothy J. Muris
16 April 2003Massive Gas Price Hike in Zimbabwe Sparks Calls for General Strike Peta Thornycroft
23 March 2004US Gasoline Prices at All-Time HighVoice of America
7 April 2004FTC Testifies on "Market Forces, Anticompetitive Activity, and Gasoline Prices"
General Counsel William Kovacic detailed the agency’s initiatives to maintain competitive energy markets, and said that the Commission will take enforcement action, if warranted, to protect U.S. consumers from price increases resulting from illegal anticompetitive conduct.
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topics: Gasoline,
William E. Kovacic
22 June 2004Americans Watch Gasoline Prices Rise Ted Landphair, VOA News
7 July 2004FTC Testifies on its Initiatives to Protect Competitive Markets for Gasoline
General Counsel William Kovacic said “the single most important factor affecting both the level and movement of gasoline prices in the United States is the price of crude oil. Changes in crude oil prices account for approximately 85% of the variability of gasoline prices.”
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topics: Gasoline,
William E. Kovacic
15 July 2004FTC Testifies on Initiatives to Protect Competitive Markets for Gasoline
In testimony today, the Federal Trade Commission told the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce that the price of crude oil, not mergers in the petroleum industry, is the major factor in determining gasoline prices at the pump.
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topics: Gasoline,
William E. Kovacic
30 April 2005Pay-by-Plastic pumps up gas prices in U.S.Wikinews
5 July 2005FTC Releases Report on Gasoline Price Changes: the Dynamic of Supply, Demand, and Competition
One of the Report’s conclusions is that over the past 20 years, changes in the price of crude oil have led to 85 percent of the changes in the retail price of gasoline in the U.S., while other important factors have included increasing demand, supply restrictions, and federal, state, and local regulations such as “clean fuel” requirements and taxes.
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topic: Gasoline
28 July 2005Federal Trade Commission to Challenge Aloha Petroleum Ltd.s Planned Purchase of Hawaiian Gasoline Assets of Trustreet Properties, Inc.
Aloha seeks to acquire from Trustreet a 50 percent interest in the Barbers Point petroleum importing terminal on Oahu. Aloha already owns the other half.
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topic: Gasoline
17 August 2005Canadian gasoline tops $1 a litre, politicians consider optionsWikinews
18 August 2005Iraqi gasoline is the cheapest in the world at $.05 per gallonWikinews
6 September 2005FTC Resolves Aloha Petroleum Litigation
Aloha's Agreement with Mid Pac Restores Competition That Would Have Been Lost in the Bulk Supply Gasoline Market in Hawaii.
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topic: Gasoline
27 December 2005Leaded Fuel to be Phased Out in Sub-Saharan AfricaCathy Majtenyi
1 March 2006GasKevin Stith
1 March 2006Gas PricesKevin Stith
1 March 2006Gas StationsKevin Stith
30 April 2006Hawaii legislature reaches agreement to suspend gasoline price capWikinews
6 July 2006Gasoline Shortages Frustrate Iraqis Margaret Besheer
6 September 2006Gas PainsBill Crittenden
7 September 2005FTC Testifies on Initiatives to Protect Competitive Markets in the U.S. Petroleum Industry
“Gasoline prices are among the most visible prices in our complex economy. Consumers closely follow gasoline prices, and in recent months these prices have experienced dramatic increases.”
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topics: Gasoline,
John Seesel
11 September 2006Gasoline Distillation System Cuts Auto Emissions Butler Cain
21 September 2005FTC Provides Senate Testimony on Initiatives To Protect Competition in the U.S. Petroleum Industry
FTC Associate General Counsel for Energy John Seesel detailed the FTC’s varied initiatives to protect competitive markets in the production, distribution, and sale of gasoline, and discussed in detail an important Commission study issued earlier this year on the factors affecting gas prices across the United States.
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topics: Gasoline,
John Seesel
9 November 2005FTC Provides Joint Senate Committee Testimony on Gasoline Prices and Competition in the U.S. Petroleum Industry
The Chairman began the testimony by citing the critical role the energy industry plays in the U.S. economy, saying that “[n]o other industry’s performance is more deeply felt, and no other industry is so carefully scrutinized by the FTC.”
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topics: Gasoline,
Deborah Platt Majoras
22 May 2006FTC Releases Report on its Investigation of Gasoline Price Manipulation and Post-Katrina Gasoline Price Increases
The report details the results of an intensive, Congressionally-mandated Commission investigation into whether gasoline prices nationwide were “artificially manipulated by reducing refinery capacity or by any other form of market manipulation or price gouging practices” and into gasoline pricing by refiners, large wholesalers, and retailers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topic: Gasoline
Special Collection: Hurricane Katrina
23 May 2006FTC Provides Senate Testimony on its Investigation of Gasoline Price Manipulation and Post-Katrina Gasoline Price Increases
FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras described the major issues addressed in the report released Monday entitled “Investigation of Gasoline Price Manipulation and Post-Katrina Gasoline Price Increases.”
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topic: Gasoline
Special Collection: Hurricane Katrina
30 August 2007FTC, Antitrust Division Send Report to President on Factors Explaining National Average Gasoline Price Increases During Spring and Summer of 2006
In April 2006, while the FTC was completing its intensive investigation of petroleum industry conduct and gasoline pricing following Hurricane Katrina, President Bush directed DOJ to work with the FTC and the Department of Energy to conduct inquiries into rising gasoline prices.
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topic: Gasoline
Special Collection: Hurricane Katrina
11 April 2008Gasoline Tax ProfitsLori Robertson, FactCheck.org
26 May 2008Diesel Fuel and Gasoline CostsBrooks Jackson, FactCheck.org
21 November 2008Gas prices in the U.S. fall below $2 a gallonWikinews
13 October 2010US Permits More Ethanol in Motor FuelVOA Breaking News
21 April 2011US to Monitor Gas Prices for FraudVOA Breaking News
1 September 2011FTC Issues New Report on Gasoline Prices and the Petroleum Industry
“This report is part of our ongoing focus on competition in energy markets. The American people need to understand why they often pay so much for gasoline,” FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said.
Press Release (text)
Agency: FTC
Topic: Gasoline
3 October 2011Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Arizona; Update to Stage II Gasoline Vapor Recovery Program; Change in the Definition of ``Gasoline'' To Exclude ``E85''Keith Takata
5 October 2012$5.69/gal. for regular?Gus Philpott, The Woodstock Advocate
10 October 2012Statement by FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz on Gasoline Price Spikes in California
“The Commission is keenly aware of recent gasoline price spikes in California, and fully appreciates the strain that high gasoline prices place on individual consumers who have less money for other necessities, and on the economy as a whole.”
Press Release (text)
Author: Jon Leibowitz
Agency: FTC
Topic: Gasoline
22 August 2013Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; NESHAP for Gasoline Distribution Facilities (Renewal)John Moses
22 August 2013Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Reformulated Gasoline Commingling Provisions (Renewal)John Moses
30 April 2014Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Detergent Gasoline (Renewal)Federal Register: EPA (Byron Bunker)
22 December 2014Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Reformulated Gasoline and Conventional Gasoline: Requirements for Refiners, Oxygenate Blenders, and Importers of Gasoline; Requirements for Parties in the Gasoline Distribution Network (Renewal)Courtney Kerwin
6 February 2015Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Extension of the Reformulated Gasoline Program to Maine's Southern CountiesFederal Register: EPA (Gina McCarthy)
28 October 2016U.S. Drivers Consumed 71.8 Billion Gallons of Gasoline in First Half of 2016FHWA
23 November 2016Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Reformulated Gasoline Commingling Provisions (Renewal)Federal Register: EPA (Byron Bunker)
29 June 2017Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Gasoline VolatilityFederal Register: EPA (Byron J. Bunker)
29 August 2017Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Gasoline Volatility (Renewal)Federal Register: EPA (Courtney Kerwin)
6 October 2017Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Detergent Gasoline (Renewal)Federal Register: EPA (Byron J. Bunker)
28 February 2018Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Detergent GasolineFederal Register: EPA (Courtney Kerwin)
10 April 2018Proposed Information Collection Request Renewal; Comment Request; Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements Regarding the Sulfur Content of Motor Vehicle Gasoline, Gasoline Additives, Denatured Fuel Ethanol and Other Oxygenates, Certified Ethanol Denaturant, and Blender-Grade PentaneFederal Register: EPA (Byron Bunker)
20 August 2019Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Reformulated Gasoline and Conventional Gasoline: Requirements for Refiners, Oxygenate Blenders, and Importers of Gasoline; Requirements for Parties in the Gasoline Distribution Network (Renewal)Federal Register: EPA (Byron J. Bunker)
1 April 2020Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Gasoline VolatilityFederal Register: EPA (Byron J. Bunker)
22 May 2020Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Reformulated Gasoline and Conventional Gasoline: Requirements for Refiners, Oxygenate Blenders, and Importers of Gasoline; Requirements for Parties in the Gasoline Distribution Network (Renewal)Federal Register: EPA (Courtney Kerwin)
30 October 2020Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Gasoline Volatility (Renewal)Federal Register: EPA (Courtney Kerwin)
10 June 2022National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Gasoline Distribution Technology Review and Standards of Performance for Bulk Gasoline Terminals Review
The EPA is proposing to revise NESHAP requirements for storage tanks, loading operations, and equipment leaks to reflect cost-effective developments in practices, process, or controls.
Federal Register Notice ( PDF)
Signing Official: Michael S. Regan
Agency: EPA
Topic: Gasoline




The Crittenden Automotive Library