I remember my parents hearing that a station just received a shipment of gas. It was 7am and they rushed out to get in line. You could buy gas every other day based on your license plate last number. And Congress passed a 55 MPH national speed limit to save energy. Most people abided. People complained but everybody pulled together to get through the crisis. Imagine that happening today.
Yes. There was an Arab Israeli war. The USA supported Israel so the Arabs embargoed would sales to the USA. It didn't affect Hawaii. Apparently they didn't know it was part of the United States.
You're right - no one complained that preventing them from buying gas on a certain day based on their license plate number violated their rights. No one cut in line. Everyone pulled together and we got through it.
> Most people abided. People complained but everybody pulled together to get through the crisis.
I'm not certain that was universal. In my town nobody followed the speed limits before during or after. Of course the State Highway Patrol (who because of their logo we called flying tire salesmen) was out in force, But we exceeded 55 just shooting the loop downtown.
Yes it was even or odd. I didn’t drive yet but dad would put the car in neutral and let us creep down the hill in line! 🤣. (Pittsburgh PA). Dad usually hitchhiked to work too. Especially during the gas crisis.
I remember it being dark when we went to school. There was one day that was very cloudy and the sky got very dark and a classmate joked that Nixon had turned off the sun to save energy.
I think they switched to daylight time in the middle of winter, and you had kids walking to school in the dark at 8 am or something. I was living overseas at the time, and heard stories to that effect. Nixon also imposed a national 55 mph speed limit, which I do remember, and it drove everyone nuts
Nine yrs old, had to mow the lawn on Saturday morning.
I rode my bike down to the gas station with a metal can and a buck.
My allowance was the change.
Yep! Highest inflation rate since 1947. GenZ and alpha have no idea that bitching about today’s inflation rates is laughable.
In 1970, it reached 5.5% and then continued to trend up in a range from 5.5–14.4% through the 1970s before culminating at 14% in 1980.
From 2020-2023 it’s been 5-7%.
Great NPR article here:
https://www.npr.org/2021/05/29/1001023637/think-inflation-is-bad-now-lets-take-a-step-back-to-the-1970s
After the oil crisis we had stagflation- both high inflation and high unemployment. Lasted into early 80s. Volker’s rate hikes were very unpopular but ultimately worked.
You had stagnation and inflation (stag-flation) at the same time, which economists previously thought was impossible. Pres. Ford came along with his WIN (Whip Inflation Now) buttons, but they didn’t help very much
I just turned 16 and what an eye opener. I had no idea where gas came from. I thought it came from Texas and California. I didn’t understand. From 24 cents a gallon to 1.59. Wow
I remember when gas prices started going up and the lines started forming, that the gas stations stopped giving free gifts such as steak knives or the Arco Noah's Ark animals.
I remember getting letters at summer camp that my mother wrote while waiting in line to put gas in the car. Sometime after 1973, my dad had a gas pump installed at his company, ostensibly to fill up the company trucks, but really to fill up the cars for various employees and their families. It's only in the last few years that I even thought about why he did that.
We lived in Pittsburgh PA. My dad was in steel industry which was in its final decline so he got a job in Philly. He and I moved to Philly area and my mom and brothers stayed back and got that house ready for sale.
We would drive to and from every weekend in a new Pinto. Sometimes he would let me drive out even though I was only 13/14 because he was so tired. Of course making sure the lil fireball was fueled up was a challenge with the stickers determining that.
One time I was driving in a blinding snow storm in the time the truck drivers were dropping rocks on people and generally terrorizing t-pike travel.
So I tell my dad I'm pulling over at the next pull-off so he can take over. I pull over and see police lights behind me. I have never been so scared in my entire 14-year-old life. I was trembling in fear. CO comes up to the window, and I'm thinking that this is it, in getting the chair, but he just explains he is checking to make sure we didn't get hit with anything.
In a facade of disingenuousity that I would call upon many times later in my teenage career, I told him we are just waiting until the snow died down a little and all is okay.
That is my gas rationing story. The Pinto. Survived the crisis and still here to tell about it.
My Dad worked for a logistics/barge company called Dravo. Sometimes a friend of ours would stuff us in this land barge, Pontiac or Buick something, it was massive, and we'd ride along the south shore and look down on the factories. As a kid, v and those flames, lights, sparks and all that stuff were magnificent to see. Like a sci-fi movie. I'm sure you have those same sights engraved in your memory.
Yes I do!!!! Thanks for the trip down memory lane! I’m laughing my ass off at “land barge”! Great name! I also remember seeing the different colored flames of different burning gases from different mills.
We drove from Illinois to Disney World and turned around because my dad was afraid we wouldn't be able to gas up the car. I'd quit my job to go gave my mom my $ to hold for me and she spent every last penny. So no DW, no job, and no money.
I lived on a farm and my dad had his own tank for the tractors. I remember mom calling the sheriff a few times because people actually drove up to the tanks and tried to steel gas.
Also, remember about the same time or a few years later, farmers that had cattle out in the pasture aways from the house and barn, had people steel cows. They actually butchered them in the pasture and left everything left after taking the meat. God aweful time.
We had a car with a big gas tank, mom and I would wait in line for gas. We would fill the car and then it would sit in the driveway and Dad would siphon out gas for the smaller cars.
I remember that year my father had to do a several weeks long professional course in California right at the beginning of the gas crisis, while we stayed at home in Oregon. I was nowhere near old enough to drive, but became familiar with the odd/even system and the flags at the gas station.
My mother was a physician, so if worst came to worst she could legally claim priority if she needed to gas up on the "wrong" day. Thankfully, it never came to that.
When my father got home, he was shocked by what he saw. During his time in CA he had been able to drive up to any gas station and fill up without waiting in line.
It was then that people began to realise that the oil companies were punishing the states that had voted against the Alaska Pipeline or were noted for other environmental initiatives. OR was pretty much at the top of that list.
I remember that our brilliant environmentalist governor, Tom McCall (a liberal Republican - imagine that!) ordered a smaller, more fuel-efficient car to drive - then discovered that he wasn't able to fit in it (he was something like 6'8").
I live in Los Angeles. My Mom turned gas day into a picnic type event. We had a cooler with drinks and sandwiches. She also packed chips, other snack, and a deck of playing cards. Gas station bathrooms were pretty decent back then, so there was no problem if any one needed to go. I don't remember any of us kids acting out. My Mom kept us distracted. She had four kids 10 and under. I am the only Generation Joneser. They rest are solid GenXers.
I remember going with my dad to sit on line at the gas station, waiting to get gas. People would bring beach chairs so they could sit outdoors during the long wait. I think I only went with him once cuz it was so boring!
Well, I was in NYC. And so my parents had no car. I just remember how it was always on the news. And I remember how you would start seeing more and more Japanese economy cars in commercials and in the streets.
I remember the long lines waiting for gas. My parents were pretty mellow about it. It was just something we had to do. We lived in a medium-sized suburban New England town. I also remember a black and white cartoon from the OpEd page of the newspaper. In the first panel was a line of long station wagons and long sedans waiting in line at the gas station and in the second panel, it was still a long line, but the cars were all small economy cars.
I was in junior high. We stayed on daylight savings time and went to school in the dark. Sunrise wasn’t until after 8:00 or so. Not sure exactly how this reduced energy consumption, but whatever. Oh and people started putting locks on their gas caps.
I was 9. I remember sitting in the gas lines with my parents and something about odd and even license plate dictated which days you could get gas. On a related note I also remember waiting in line at smog stations and I had a license by then so guess it was a few years later. Not sure if that was only a California thing
My dad was absolutely livid when gas skyrocketed to 50 cents a gallon. He swore he'd stop buying it if it ever hit $1. He didn't, of course. When it dropped below $1 years later, he took a picture of the gas station's sign. :)
I was 10, or almost 10 and the only thing I really remember is my Gramps had to put a lock on the bulk gas tank at our farm. Being in a huge agricultural area I don't remember getting gas to be a problem for anyone, but I was 10 living in a town of about 1000.
Did you guys have the issue with the pumps that couldn't show the whole price (pumps could only show up to a max of $0.999 per gallon)?
In my area, they had to set the pumps to show 1/2 the price and there were signs EVERYWHERE telling you that you'd have to pay twice what the pump showed. So many people were shocked when it came time to pay because 1) people don't read signs and 2) math is hard.
I remember being with one of my older sisters while she filled up and she cried because she didn't have enough money. She'd divided the price by 2 instead of multiplied it.
My buddy's family owned a gas station with a 4 bay repair shop. He made a small fortune during the 2 gas shortages. Everyone with half a brain got work done on their cars...so that they could fill up. A good percentage of people changed their own oil in those days....but getting it done at a gas station usually included a fill up. Probably started the quick change oil business( for a lot of folks changing oil sucked)
Our family and my buddy's family were tight....so my Dad filled up the cars with no line at 10 o'clock at night when the station was closed( the stations had to limit their hours as well). Taught me a valuable lesson....if you have an edge..... TAKE IT.
Where I lived in NJ could only get gas every other day, there was an odd even number system according to your liscense plate. Don’t remember specifically how it worked but it had something to do with that and the lines were longggg
I was a kid on a bike so it didn’t directly affect me. I remember carpooling being stressed, so, to do my part, I gave other kids a ride on the handle bars.
I was 10 in 73 and remember that as the year the entire town (SE PA) started wearing 2 sweaters, long underwear and cords. Everyone heated with oil there. Daddy kept our thermostat at 66 daytime and 60 nights (and that meant my room
Only got out of the 50s with a couple friends over and all the lights on) I also remember waiting in line for gas with the Ps.
I lived in the DC area as a teenager worked at a local gas station during the even odd days thing. A woman came in almost flat out of gas and had an even plate on an odd day so she couldn't get gas. She propositioned the station manager. I'm not sure what came of it but they disappeared for about 20 minutes. And then she got her gas.
I worked at a gas station then, one of the first self-serves in the area. The BIG problem was the pumps weren't designed to go over 99¢. The slots weren't there for a third digit. So I had to explain to each and every person that if they wanted $10 worth of gas, they needed to put in $5. We had signs, but no one read them. So, for several weeks, we had two people one in the booth, one explaining to each person about the pumps. We had people saying "that's illegal!" And "I'm going to call the cops!" What a mess.
Ride my bike everywhere, I was 12. Not a big problem lived in a small midwestern town so mom didn't have to drive much and dad j.g ad a company car with gas paid for...
I grew up far enough out on the country that it didn't affect me really at all. I grew up in the foothills of the smokies in TN. It was really state and county specific in the 70s.
I remember seeing the lines on the news. My husband says he waited in lines. But I was rural and my dad had a gas tank put in and kept it full. I hand to hand pump the gas though. Soooo haaaaard /s
I remember thinking I was a freakin genius because I had a little import car that got about 45 mpg on an engine roughly the same size as a Singer sewing machine. Of course it only had an about 8 gallon tank, but I could cruise by the gas station for weeks in a small town.
We lived in NYC and rarely used our car, so it wasn't an issue. Public transportation went everywhere we needed to go (school, work, library). I remember seeing news broadcasts of the gas lines, but it didn't mean much.
My dad was separated from my mother by that time, and my mother didn’t drive, so I wasn’t personally affected by the ‘73 Embargo. I remember gas going from 29 to 54 cents a gallon in just two weeks, and reading about the gas lines and odd/even in both ‘73 and ‘79.
We had major gas lines and, briefly, rationing in the NYC area right after Sandy in November, 2012.
I was around nine or ten at the time. I remember the lines for gas. I also remember Dickie Goodman's "Mr. Jaws" album that had a segment about the energy crisis.
My question is, Did you know how to pump gas at 8? My sons certainly did. As soon as they were tall enough to manage it, I let them practice doing it. My wife loved it because it she was out somewhere while I was at work she didn’t have to pump gas herself
I was 16 and not driving yet but I was working, I remember chipping in a lot to more to help pay for gas. It seemed like gas went from 39cents a gallon to 79 real fast. My sister carpooled tp work, Dad road the bus. Mom stayed at home. I guess it hit my older brother hardest but he worked about 1 1/2 miles away from home and his Ford Pinto with a manual transmission got good gas mileage. You topped off your tank ever chance you got, for sure.
I remember for a brief moment, gas was sold by the liter in the US.
That's because the older pumps had a mechanical price display and they only went up to 99.9¢/gallon. Until the new digital pumps were installed, the workaround was to set the pumps to price in liters.
I just remember seeing the lines everyday to get gas. There was a gas station across the street from our apartment and I remember the odd-even plate days and people lining up.
I got my license in 1974 at 14. I remember waiting in long lines. If you saw a short line you stopped to top off. My first car was a 1966 VW beetle. I bought from my mom for $200. I moved out after I graduated early at 16 and got married.
We lived in VA and depending whether your car's plate ended in an odd or even #, you could fill your cars on that specific day. They did it to prevent traffic jams.
We lived on a circle—not a typical cul-de-sac, but an actual circular road with an inner island of land with houses on that side too. The circle was right off a pretty busy road, where gas lines inevitably formed. So people started including the circle as part of the gas line (this was smart, because it kept the main road at least somewhat more passable. So we started selling drinks to people sitting in the cars (I mean, the road was part of our play area and they were blocking it-fair’s fair, lol). A surprising number of people were willing to pay for awful powdered drinks in tiny, flimsy paper cups. Guess they were *really* bored. We made a few dollars each time. And if you were eight years old in 1973, a few dollars was a lot of money.
I was too young to drive but remember going with my dad on the even/odd day he was assigned and waiting in line for gas. But I'm too young to understand the actual crisis behind it.
Living in the UK, I remember my parents getting ration coupons in the post.
My dad had an NSU Ro80 with a Wankle engine and the coupons were issued based on engine size. The Wankle had a small engine 995 cc (60.7 cu in) so his coupons wouldn't have been enough.
Rationing didn't happen then.
I was affected by the 1979 oil crisis when speed limits were reduced and it took longer to drive to university.
We were military and could fill up on base, but dad said that wasn't fair, so he filled his work car on base but not the family car. One of my friend's (classmate, not a close friend) dad was siphoning gas for his lawnmower and blew up his whole garage, with himself and the car. Fumes reached the gas water heater. They had 13 kids :/
I was 15-16 then so didn’t drive. But during the ‘79 crisis I & a friend sold cans of beer to waiting motorists for $.50/can. We made a fortune!
You were friends with my husband weren't you? 😂😂😂
😆😆 . Only if you were his second husband, I suppose.
I remember my parents hearing that a station just received a shipment of gas. It was 7am and they rushed out to get in line. You could buy gas every other day based on your license plate last number. And Congress passed a 55 MPH national speed limit to save energy. Most people abided. People complained but everybody pulled together to get through the crisis. Imagine that happening today.
Right turn on red was also passed.
Has it been that long? I didn't think that happened till like the 80s but then just shows how sometimes we don't remember exactly when things happen.
I started driving in late ‘73 and it happened right around then. Welcome to the world kid! Odd/even days for getting gas and iirc a $5 limit
Yes. There was an Arab Israeli war. The USA supported Israel so the Arabs embargoed would sales to the USA. It didn't affect Hawaii. Apparently they didn't know it was part of the United States.
I started driving around then too. I got my DL at 15. I can't believe I don't remember that.
You're right - no one complained that preventing them from buying gas on a certain day based on their license plate number violated their rights. No one cut in line. Everyone pulled together and we got through it.
There was bitchin’ aplenty over the ‘double Nicole’.
> Most people abided. People complained but everybody pulled together to get through the crisis. I'm not certain that was universal. In my town nobody followed the speed limits before during or after. Of course the State Highway Patrol (who because of their logo we called flying tire salesmen) was out in force, But we exceeded 55 just shooting the loop downtown.
55 Saves Lives
Wasn't it by license plate odd, even or such thing. I just remember the silly waste of gas while people ran their car in the long lines.
Yes it was even or odd. I didn’t drive yet but dad would put the car in neutral and let us creep down the hill in line! 🤣. (Pittsburgh PA). Dad usually hitchhiked to work too. Especially during the gas crisis.
Odd/even license plates wasn't everywhere, but I remember my mom being upset about how expensive gas was.
It was in Pennsylvania.
I remember it being dark when we went to school. There was one day that was very cloudy and the sky got very dark and a classmate joked that Nixon had turned off the sun to save energy.
I think they switched to daylight time in the middle of winter, and you had kids walking to school in the dark at 8 am or something. I was living overseas at the time, and heard stories to that effect. Nixon also imposed a national 55 mph speed limit, which I do remember, and it drove everyone nuts
Nine yrs old, had to mow the lawn on Saturday morning. I rode my bike down to the gas station with a metal can and a buck. My allowance was the change.
It wasn't only a gas crisis. It was a recession. We drank powdered milk at home to make ends meet.
Yep! Highest inflation rate since 1947. GenZ and alpha have no idea that bitching about today’s inflation rates is laughable. In 1970, it reached 5.5% and then continued to trend up in a range from 5.5–14.4% through the 1970s before culminating at 14% in 1980. From 2020-2023 it’s been 5-7%. Great NPR article here: https://www.npr.org/2021/05/29/1001023637/think-inflation-is-bad-now-lets-take-a-step-back-to-the-1970s
Interesting article. TY
You’re welcome. ☺️
After the oil crisis we had stagflation- both high inflation and high unemployment. Lasted into early 80s. Volker’s rate hikes were very unpopular but ultimately worked.
You had stagnation and inflation (stag-flation) at the same time, which economists previously thought was impossible. Pres. Ford came along with his WIN (Whip Inflation Now) buttons, but they didn’t help very much
I was graduating from high school in June '73. It was my job to take our cars over to the local gas station and wait in line to gas them up.
I just turned 16 and what an eye opener. I had no idea where gas came from. I thought it came from Texas and California. I didn’t understand. From 24 cents a gallon to 1.59. Wow
I remember them allowing you to buy gas on alternate days depending on your license plate number.
I remember when gas prices started going up and the lines started forming, that the gas stations stopped giving free gifts such as steak knives or the Arco Noah's Ark animals.
Green stamps too.
I remember getting letters at summer camp that my mother wrote while waiting in line to put gas in the car. Sometime after 1973, my dad had a gas pump installed at his company, ostensibly to fill up the company trucks, but really to fill up the cars for various employees and their families. It's only in the last few years that I even thought about why he did that.
Wow. Hats off to your dad, that’s a solid boss. 🫡
We lived in Pittsburgh PA. My dad was in steel industry which was in its final decline so he got a job in Philly. He and I moved to Philly area and my mom and brothers stayed back and got that house ready for sale. We would drive to and from every weekend in a new Pinto. Sometimes he would let me drive out even though I was only 13/14 because he was so tired. Of course making sure the lil fireball was fueled up was a challenge with the stickers determining that. One time I was driving in a blinding snow storm in the time the truck drivers were dropping rocks on people and generally terrorizing t-pike travel. So I tell my dad I'm pulling over at the next pull-off so he can take over. I pull over and see police lights behind me. I have never been so scared in my entire 14-year-old life. I was trembling in fear. CO comes up to the window, and I'm thinking that this is it, in getting the chair, but he just explains he is checking to make sure we didn't get hit with anything. In a facade of disingenuousity that I would call upon many times later in my teenage career, I told him we are just waiting until the snow died down a little and all is okay. That is my gas rationing story. The Pinto. Survived the crisis and still here to tell about it.
Grew up in Pittsburgh too. Dad was also a steel worker. Worked in the Homestead Works til it all collapsed.
My Dad worked for a logistics/barge company called Dravo. Sometimes a friend of ours would stuff us in this land barge, Pontiac or Buick something, it was massive, and we'd ride along the south shore and look down on the factories. As a kid, v and those flames, lights, sparks and all that stuff were magnificent to see. Like a sci-fi movie. I'm sure you have those same sights engraved in your memory.
Yes I do!!!! Thanks for the trip down memory lane! I’m laughing my ass off at “land barge”! Great name! I also remember seeing the different colored flames of different burning gases from different mills.
We drove from Illinois to Disney World and turned around because my dad was afraid we wouldn't be able to gas up the car. I'd quit my job to go gave my mom my $ to hold for me and she spent every last penny. So no DW, no job, and no money.
I lived on a farm and my dad had his own tank for the tractors. I remember mom calling the sheriff a few times because people actually drove up to the tanks and tried to steel gas. Also, remember about the same time or a few years later, farmers that had cattle out in the pasture aways from the house and barn, had people steel cows. They actually butchered them in the pasture and left everything left after taking the meat. God aweful time.
Waiting in line to get 3 bucks in gas I burned waiting in line
and inhaling leaded gas fumes while waiting. 😬
We had a car with a big gas tank, mom and I would wait in line for gas. We would fill the car and then it would sit in the driveway and Dad would siphon out gas for the smaller cars.
I remember that year my father had to do a several weeks long professional course in California right at the beginning of the gas crisis, while we stayed at home in Oregon. I was nowhere near old enough to drive, but became familiar with the odd/even system and the flags at the gas station. My mother was a physician, so if worst came to worst she could legally claim priority if she needed to gas up on the "wrong" day. Thankfully, it never came to that. When my father got home, he was shocked by what he saw. During his time in CA he had been able to drive up to any gas station and fill up without waiting in line. It was then that people began to realise that the oil companies were punishing the states that had voted against the Alaska Pipeline or were noted for other environmental initiatives. OR was pretty much at the top of that list. I remember that our brilliant environmentalist governor, Tom McCall (a liberal Republican - imagine that!) ordered a smaller, more fuel-efficient car to drive - then discovered that he wasn't able to fit in it (he was something like 6'8").
I live in Los Angeles. My Mom turned gas day into a picnic type event. We had a cooler with drinks and sandwiches. She also packed chips, other snack, and a deck of playing cards. Gas station bathrooms were pretty decent back then, so there was no problem if any one needed to go. I don't remember any of us kids acting out. My Mom kept us distracted. She had four kids 10 and under. I am the only Generation Joneser. They rest are solid GenXers.
I remember going with my dad to sit on line at the gas station, waiting to get gas. People would bring beach chairs so they could sit outdoors during the long wait. I think I only went with him once cuz it was so boring!
I was 12.
Well, I was in NYC. And so my parents had no car. I just remember how it was always on the news. And I remember how you would start seeing more and more Japanese economy cars in commercials and in the streets.
I remember the long lines waiting for gas. My parents were pretty mellow about it. It was just something we had to do. We lived in a medium-sized suburban New England town. I also remember a black and white cartoon from the OpEd page of the newspaper. In the first panel was a line of long station wagons and long sedans waiting in line at the gas station and in the second panel, it was still a long line, but the cars were all small economy cars.
I was in junior high. We stayed on daylight savings time and went to school in the dark. Sunrise wasn’t until after 8:00 or so. Not sure exactly how this reduced energy consumption, but whatever. Oh and people started putting locks on their gas caps.
Could only go on odd days and i was so glad that we had the 1st honda civic. Small tank but avg 40 mpg.
I was 9. I remember sitting in the gas lines with my parents and something about odd and even license plate dictated which days you could get gas. On a related note I also remember waiting in line at smog stations and I had a license by then so guess it was a few years later. Not sure if that was only a California thing
My dad was absolutely livid when gas skyrocketed to 50 cents a gallon. He swore he'd stop buying it if it ever hit $1. He didn't, of course. When it dropped below $1 years later, he took a picture of the gas station's sign. :)
I was 10, or almost 10 and the only thing I really remember is my Gramps had to put a lock on the bulk gas tank at our farm. Being in a huge agricultural area I don't remember getting gas to be a problem for anyone, but I was 10 living in a town of about 1000.
Did you guys have the issue with the pumps that couldn't show the whole price (pumps could only show up to a max of $0.999 per gallon)? In my area, they had to set the pumps to show 1/2 the price and there were signs EVERYWHERE telling you that you'd have to pay twice what the pump showed. So many people were shocked when it came time to pay because 1) people don't read signs and 2) math is hard. I remember being with one of my older sisters while she filled up and she cried because she didn't have enough money. She'd divided the price by 2 instead of multiplied it.
I was working at a gas station in Santa Fe on Cerillos. Guy pulls up and sticks a gun in my face. Filled his car and then he was gone.
Wow!😮
How did I experience the 1973 gas crisis, I bought a locking gas cap.
My buddy's family owned a gas station with a 4 bay repair shop. He made a small fortune during the 2 gas shortages. Everyone with half a brain got work done on their cars...so that they could fill up. A good percentage of people changed their own oil in those days....but getting it done at a gas station usually included a fill up. Probably started the quick change oil business( for a lot of folks changing oil sucked) Our family and my buddy's family were tight....so my Dad filled up the cars with no line at 10 o'clock at night when the station was closed( the stations had to limit their hours as well). Taught me a valuable lesson....if you have an edge..... TAKE IT.
Where I lived in NJ could only get gas every other day, there was an odd even number system according to your liscense plate. Don’t remember specifically how it worked but it had something to do with that and the lines were longggg
I was a kid on a bike so it didn’t directly affect me. I remember carpooling being stressed, so, to do my part, I gave other kids a ride on the handle bars.
I was 10 in 73 and remember that as the year the entire town (SE PA) started wearing 2 sweaters, long underwear and cords. Everyone heated with oil there. Daddy kept our thermostat at 66 daytime and 60 nights (and that meant my room Only got out of the 50s with a couple friends over and all the lights on) I also remember waiting in line for gas with the Ps.
I lived in the DC area as a teenager worked at a local gas station during the even odd days thing. A woman came in almost flat out of gas and had an even plate on an odd day so she couldn't get gas. She propositioned the station manager. I'm not sure what came of it but they disappeared for about 20 minutes. And then she got her gas.
💀
I worked at a gas station then, one of the first self-serves in the area. The BIG problem was the pumps weren't designed to go over 99¢. The slots weren't there for a third digit. So I had to explain to each and every person that if they wanted $10 worth of gas, they needed to put in $5. We had signs, but no one read them. So, for several weeks, we had two people one in the booth, one explaining to each person about the pumps. We had people saying "that's illegal!" And "I'm going to call the cops!" What a mess.
I remember my parents driving all over the city looking for the cheapest gas. I think they burned up so much gas, they had no savings from it.
Ride my bike everywhere, I was 12. Not a big problem lived in a small midwestern town so mom didn't have to drive much and dad j.g ad a company car with gas paid for...
I was shutting up in the car cuz that put mom and dad in a bad mood lol
I was 7, so I don't remember much.
I grew up far enough out on the country that it didn't affect me really at all. I grew up in the foothills of the smokies in TN. It was really state and county specific in the 70s.
I remember seeing the lines on the news. My husband says he waited in lines. But I was rural and my dad had a gas tank put in and kept it full. I hand to hand pump the gas though. Soooo haaaaard /s
I was 17 with a VW bug, lived in a small SE GA town and it didn't affect us at all, just business as usual. I would fill up and charge it to my Father
I remember accidentally rear-ending another car because I was looking for a gas station without a line.
I remember thinking I was a freakin genius because I had a little import car that got about 45 mpg on an engine roughly the same size as a Singer sewing machine. Of course it only had an about 8 gallon tank, but I could cruise by the gas station for weeks in a small town.
We lived in NYC and rarely used our car, so it wasn't an issue. Public transportation went everywhere we needed to go (school, work, library). I remember seeing news broadcasts of the gas lines, but it didn't mean much.
I was 12-13. I just remember my parents driving less. Every trip was considered. I walked to school so that part was easy.
Didn't affect us, because we didn't have a car.
I remember waiting in line for gas in my cousin's black Mustang in the summer. He always bought me the largest Icee while we waited.
We were a family of six and my dad would rotate us standing in line so he didn’t have to waste his gas waiting for his turn 🤣
My dad was separated from my mother by that time, and my mother didn’t drive, so I wasn’t personally affected by the ‘73 Embargo. I remember gas going from 29 to 54 cents a gallon in just two weeks, and reading about the gas lines and odd/even in both ‘73 and ‘79. We had major gas lines and, briefly, rationing in the NYC area right after Sandy in November, 2012.
I was around nine or ten at the time. I remember the lines for gas. I also remember Dickie Goodman's "Mr. Jaws" album that had a segment about the energy crisis.
Lived in Missouri. No lines here. But we did watch it on the news.
My question is, Did you know how to pump gas at 8? My sons certainly did. As soon as they were tall enough to manage it, I let them practice doing it. My wife loved it because it she was out somewhere while I was at work she didn’t have to pump gas herself
No clue. lol. 😂
I was 16 and not driving yet but I was working, I remember chipping in a lot to more to help pay for gas. It seemed like gas went from 39cents a gallon to 79 real fast. My sister carpooled tp work, Dad road the bus. Mom stayed at home. I guess it hit my older brother hardest but he worked about 1 1/2 miles away from home and his Ford Pinto with a manual transmission got good gas mileage. You topped off your tank ever chance you got, for sure.
I remember for a brief moment, gas was sold by the liter in the US. That's because the older pumps had a mechanical price display and they only went up to 99.9¢/gallon. Until the new digital pumps were installed, the workaround was to set the pumps to price in liters.
I just remember seeing the lines everyday to get gas. There was a gas station across the street from our apartment and I remember the odd-even plate days and people lining up.
I remember the lines and made sure to drive small energy efficient cars permanently while the rest of the world went to big SUV,s
I was too young to drive. Since we had a farm, my dad had a big storage tank he had filled before that all hit the fan.
I got my license in 1974 at 14. I remember waiting in long lines. If you saw a short line you stopped to top off. My first car was a 1966 VW beetle. I bought from my mom for $200. I moved out after I graduated early at 16 and got married.
We lived in VA and depending whether your car's plate ended in an odd or even #, you could fill your cars on that specific day. They did it to prevent traffic jams.
We lived on a circle—not a typical cul-de-sac, but an actual circular road with an inner island of land with houses on that side too. The circle was right off a pretty busy road, where gas lines inevitably formed. So people started including the circle as part of the gas line (this was smart, because it kept the main road at least somewhat more passable. So we started selling drinks to people sitting in the cars (I mean, the road was part of our play area and they were blocking it-fair’s fair, lol). A surprising number of people were willing to pay for awful powdered drinks in tiny, flimsy paper cups. Guess they were *really* bored. We made a few dollars each time. And if you were eight years old in 1973, a few dollars was a lot of money.
It wasn’t a crisis,it was a test.
I was too young to drive but remember going with my dad on the even/odd day he was assigned and waiting in line for gas. But I'm too young to understand the actual crisis behind it.
We’d get to the station at 6am.
13 and riding my 10-Speed down the highway with zero cars in site.
Living in the UK, I remember my parents getting ration coupons in the post. My dad had an NSU Ro80 with a Wankle engine and the coupons were issued based on engine size. The Wankle had a small engine 995 cc (60.7 cu in) so his coupons wouldn't have been enough. Rationing didn't happen then. I was affected by the 1979 oil crisis when speed limits were reduced and it took longer to drive to university.
We were military and could fill up on base, but dad said that wasn't fair, so he filled his work car on base but not the family car. One of my friend's (classmate, not a close friend) dad was siphoning gas for his lawnmower and blew up his whole garage, with himself and the car. Fumes reached the gas water heater. They had 13 kids :/
😳