My first "real" job was at a Gulf gas station. I was 13-14 and had to get a "Work Permit" from school to work there during part of the day when most were in school. Gas was typically in the mid 30 cent range for regular. But right down the street was our "arch enemy", Vince's ARCO. He and the owner of the Gulf station hated each other and would do almost anything to steal business from each other and generally annoy each other. So the gas wars were always part of the plan. I remember regular dipping just under 20 cents a gallon during the peak of the gas wars. I imagine they were actually losing money at that price but you "had to win the war". This was right before the first Arab oil embargo when gas suddenly shot up to 60-70 cents a gallon and then way beyond. Our gas pumps would only go to 99.9 cents a gallon at the time so eventually, the pumps were replaced.
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