Subject:
|
Re: is Octan a real brand?
|
Newsgroups:
|
lugnet.general
|
Date:
|
Thu, 28 Jun 2001 22:40:08 GMT
|
Viewed:
|
1032 times
|
| |
|
|
Hi, I'm the portuguese guy who actually saw the Octan fuel station and
caused this thread. I believe I must explain the whole thing:
- There IS (or at leat there was - see below) one "Octana" fuel station
located in my city, and I can name the street: Rua do Campo Alegre, in
Porto, Portugal. It shared both logo and colours with Octan (Lego version).
- Under portuguese law, it is my understanding that fuel stations are
registered under the operator's name (i.e., "Mr. Jhon Doe & Sons, Ltd"), not
under the names of the fuel brands ("Shell", for instance). Hence, it is
unlikely to find any "Octana" reference on the Internet.
- Up until recently (maybe 10 yrs) there were only major international
companies operating here, along with the national "GALP". Under that system,
all fuel produced here by PETROGAL was sold by GALP, and Shell, Mobil and BP
sold their own spanish-refined fuel.
Then, something must have ocurred, because a considerable number of small
town pumps adopted the most varied names and brands for their stations.
Since ALL the fuel in Portugal comes from National or Spanish refineries,
these brands must "buy" to the Majors and re-sell at a lower margin, to compete.
It is possible that someone here wanted to open a small (actually, very
small) pump, and "Octana" offered the best contract. I dunno.
- I have sent an e-mail to a portugese association of Auto-related dealers,
asking if they knew such brand; I'll keep you informed of what they reply.
- Last, but not the least, I will try to offer a visible proof: After my
exam season in college, I will go there and try to take a snapshot of the pump.
The only thing is, I haven't gone there in a long time (maybe a year), and
it may have shut down in the meantime. The reason for that is the location,
right in front of a Hotel. Noone wanted trucks loaded with fuel parked in
front of a large hotel...
So all I can do is HOPE the Octana Station is still working (and under that
brand), in order to prove what I stated.
Pedro
|
|
Message is in Reply To:
 | | is Octan a real brand?
|
| Hi, I received a mail from someone in Portugal who commented on my description of Octan in the LEGO Lexicon: (URL) pointed out that in Portugal there is a real company with gas stations over the country branded 'Octan' and it uses the exact same (...) (23 years ago, 26-Jun-01, to lugnet.general)
|
12 Messages in This Thread:
 
 
- Entire Thread on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
|
|
|
|
