Faygo is most certainly sold here in the Midwest. Myriad flavors line the shelves at my local grocery store here in central IL. IIRC, Faygo is also the official cola of the ICP.
Not a jugalo, though.
Until the early 80s they used to advertise RC nationally. Pepsi was making great headway in the 70s against Coke.
Remember the “Me and My RC…” campaign. Remember when Mike bet Gloria (All in the Family) he could tell the difference between Coke and Royal Crown Cola (Mike liked it).
As Pepsi gained on Coke it became increasingly difficult for any third brand. We in the midwest had Shasta too. As RC faded so did Shasta. Until the mid 80s you could find RC machines. The New Coke publicity pretty much effectively ended any real competition except for Pepsi.
I almost died reading that one! Thanks. 
One was just installed at the grocery store 2 blocks from my house, theyre still there.
When did RC Cola become the “poor man’s soda”?
Probably about the time that the great Nehi (that wonderful selection of fruit flavors, along with cola) faded into almost obscurity. I’ve not seen a Nehi in ages! We used to like to dig them out from the bottom of those huge, old galvanized, ice filled coolers, numbing our hands almost in the process in the melt water. Mmmmmm! They were delicious when head-hurtingly cold!
'Nother Midwesterner checking in.
We’ve got RC soda machines all over town. I buy it only when there’s no Pepsi machines close by as I think it tastes better than Coke by a long shot. We’ve got Shasta here as well.
When I lived in Texas my sister-in-law (MN) stayed with us for a year. She nearly left when she found out that Mello Yello was not sold in TX (or at least not in central TX). I had never heard of it either until I visited my home state and there it was on the grocery shelf. I brought her home two cases.
The “poor man’s soda” here is known as Sam’s Cola, sold in all fine Sams Clubs and Walmarts. Urk.
3 liters? Am I missing something here?
3-liter sodas are sold in a lot of places. They’re about the same height as 2-liters, but fatter. Usually, they’re a slightly better deal, but today in the grocery store I saw 2-liter Coke for 99¢ and 3-liter Coke for $2.09.
Nope Shasta is known for having 3 liter bottles so much so that coke has tried it out once or twice around here before but couldnt go cheap enough
there huge there about the same height of a regular 2 liter bottle but they added width in the bottles
Sung to the tune of… well, I don’t know what…
Comics books and rubber bands
climbing through the tree-tops
falling down and holding hands
bicycles and RedPop
remember when you were a kid?
well part of you still is
and that’s why we… make Faygo.
I used to love their commercial that included this song and the old Boblo boat.
I was glad when I finally saw Faygo down in Alabama, but never could find any Rock & Rye. Thankfully my mom brought me a 2-liter back from her last trip up there.
Faygo is all over Michigan. RedPop! Rock’n’Rye !(what the hell is that flavored with, anyway!?). Their cola suck ass though, and I am normally indifferent to brand and buy Kroger brand soda all the time.
When I was a kid, The local candy shop (Zumo’s) in the Green Ridge section of Scranton, PA carried nothing BUT RC and Pepsi, but RC was the big winner. After school we’d run over to Zumo’s and buy RC and hope that our lid had a .05, .10 or .25 cent winning cap… We’d go nuts over that. I LOVED RC!
But damn has it dissapeared over the years. I tried it maybe 2 years ago, and it tastes like crapola compared to Coke (But it’s still better than Pepsi).
Ah well…
My best friend in grade school and I always called RC “Rotten Crotch” cola. I am not sure why. She was from Texas.
[ul]I miss Nehi and also Orange Crush. 
[/ul]
Here’s what I know about the history of RC Cola, based on recently having completed a public television documentary about the former chairman of the board of RC Cola. RC was based in Columbus, Georgia, and began life as Nehi. I’m not sure when the name was changed. But it was mostly a regional brand until the 1960s.
The company introduced Diet Rite Cola, the first diet cola. It was sweetened with cyclamates, which were banned by the FDA after a study showed they caused cancer in laboratory rats. (It is suspected they gave the rats enormous quantities of the substance. What wouldn’t cause cancer in such great quantities? It was further suggested the ban was pushed for by sugar interests.) So, as it was mentioned above, RC was something of an innovator. It was also the first cola manufacturer to put its drinks in cans.
It was however, a distant third to the bigger Coke and Pepsi. RC attempted a “splash” in big advertising with a wholly sponsored television special with Nancy Sinatra, still available on videotape called “Movin’ With Nancy.” (It’s a real hoot; the psychadelic colors of her outfits are fabulous.)
John Glenn was, in fact, associated with RC Cola, and more than in “name only.” He was brought on the board in the early 1960s after he retired from the Marine Corps and later, named president of RC International. Another celebrity on RC’s board during this period was Art Linkletter.
Despite the banning of cyclamates, RC was a solid company through the 1970s, diversifying into other companies such as juices, home furnishings and fast food (Arby’s). It attracted the attention of Victor Posner, a famous 1980s corporate raider, who made a bid for the company. The board chairman and members tried to buy the company themselves, but Posner offered a much greater per-share price and the company was sold.
I’m not sure of RC’s fortunes after this. It remains for sale in the South, according to my own observations, where it remains a local favorite. Today’s Diet Rite is one of the few diet sodas that are not sweetned with aspertame.
The board chairman (the subject of our documentary) went on to other business ventures, including Thoroughbred horse breeding, eventually winning the 1996 Kentucky Derby.
Damn, but I do so love the TM’s…
Whoda thunk a question about RC cola would be read by a person that just so happened to make a DOCUMENTARY about RC COlA (To an extent)…
Remarkable!
Actually heh i must be lucky cuase i still see orange and grape crush occasionaly
now a "micro"soda thats in glass bottles is jones bros soda… they have some wild flavors like strawberry lime
there more expensive that the normal sodas but if ya like alternatives there the best
R.C. tastes wayyy better to me than coke and at least a little better than pepsi IMO. RC makes a much tastier ‘crown and coke’
than coke. (or should i say Royal Crown and Crown Royal?)
On a slight aside, 3-liters generally didn’t become popular because they lose their carbonation much more quickly than 2-liters. This is why you generally see them only for bargain soda, instead of “top-tiers” like Coke and Pepsi.