# Why Did Esso become Exxon in USA? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 2, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-esso-become-exxon-in-usa/146127 "2003-01-02T01:02:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-esso-become-exxon-in-usa/146127/21 "2003-01-04T05:40:44Z")
Here in SF, I can think of at least one “Standard” gas station. If you don’t read the familiar blue/white marquee, then you probably wouldn’t even notice it wasn’t a Chevron. (Van Ness/California-ish) There’s also a McDonald’s on Market Street that has a neon “Standard” sign, a fake (or refurbished?) gas pump, and a Standard gas station motif throughout. Very strange. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lodoen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b3f665/32.png) [@Jeff\_Lodoen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lodoen)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-esso-become-exxon-in-usa/146127/22 "2003-01-04T09:15:56Z")
And “Roxxon” sounds way more sinister than “Rosso”. (geeky I know) ---
**Author:** ![MC\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@MC\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_E)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-esso-become-exxon-in-usa/146127/23 "2003-01-04T15:01:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ringo \* > \*\*How long until they drop the Mobil and go back to being just Exxon (thinking of the couple of years it took BP-Amoco to finish digesting Amoco and go back to being just BP)? \*\* Here in central MD, we had both BP and Amoco stations. The name BP went away, and they all became Amoco’s. Maybe it’s a regional thing. ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-esso-become-exxon-in-usa/146127/24 "2003-01-05T04:17:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mehitabel \* > \*\*Whoa. Now that’s a slim profit margin. 😉 > > It was a shocker seeing an Esso station up in Canada last year. I even took a picture.\*\* They’re all over the place (in Canada), as you may have noticed. I had long thought they were a Canadian company from two clues: the connection with ‘Imperial Oil’ (Sounded like an unlikley brand name for an American company) and the semblance to the French _essence_, meaning (usually), fuel, specifically gasoline. Being used to businesses in Canada trying to make up names that work in both English and French, Esso fit very well. ---
**Author:** ![zelskid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c4cdca/32.png) [@zelskid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelskid)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-esso-become-exxon-in-usa/146127/25 "2013-09-20T11:42:20Z")
I heard that Esso discovered their name meant no go in Japanese. That come from my bro0ther who worked for them in the seventies. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-esso-become-exxon-in-usa/146127/26 "2013-09-20T12:26:23Z")
> [@zelskid](#): > > I heard that Esso discovered their name meant no go in Japanese. That come from my bro0ther who worked for them in the seventies. It is only Chevy Novas that won’t go with Esso in them. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-esso-become-exxon-in-usa/146127/27 "2013-09-20T12:51:03Z")
**Moderator Note** Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Board, **zelskid**. Please note that the thread you are replying to is over ten years old. We tend to refer to old posts like this that have been revived as “zombies”. Don’t be surprised if your comment receives a few zombie jokes as responses. While zombies are permitted here, we ask that you only revive an old thread if you have new information or something substantial to contribute to the topic. Also, please note that due to this thread’s extreme age, many of its original participants are likely no longer around to respond to your comments. In the future, please consider carefully whether or not a response is worthy of reviving such an old thread. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-esso-become-exxon-in-usa/146127/28 "2013-09-20T14:07:20Z")
> [@zelskid](#): > > I heard that Esso discovered their name meant no go in Japanese. That come from my bro0ther who worked for them in the seventies. A great illustration of the ways that urban legends mutate over the years. There was a story that the Chevy Nova didn’t sell well in Spanish-speaking countries because no va means “no go.” That’s [idiotic](http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp), and it’s hard to tell whether it started as a joke or whether people actually believed it. Of course, I also can’t be sure if zelskid was just making a joke, too. That’s the problem with joking about idiocy; it’s a subset of Poe’s law. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-esso-become-exxon-in-usa/146127/29 "2013-09-20T14:58:59Z")
One of the things that was odd for me as an American was to go to Canada and see the Esso stations - they had the same color scheme/livery as Exxon, but it was _called_ something different. It was one of a few subtle differences that let me know _I wasn’t in America anymore_. Interestingly enough, the Esso name doesn’t seem to be _fully_ dead in the US - many Exxon stations brand their _diesel_ pump as “Esso diesel”. This could be a way to inconspicuously hold on to the trademark as an asset - it is my understanding that Verizon (another survivor of a breakup…) is doing the same thing with the old Bell System trademark. They quit using it as a primary branding image/identity back in the late 90’s (ish), and transitioned to sticking it inconspicuously on repair vans and on payphones seemingly almost as an afterthought. The idea is that if they decide to bring the Bell System logo back as part of a re-imaging or marketing gimmick, they can claim legally that they never stopped using the trademark, and there is a principle in US law that if you abandon a trademark it becomes fair game for others. BP (who bought Amoco) seems to be doing something similar - their premium gas is branded “Amoco Ultimate” even though the rest of the station is labeled BP. Thus they can keep the “Amoco” name as an asset. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-esso-become-exxon-in-usa/146127/30 "2013-09-20T16:22:37Z")
I thought it just sounded cooler. BTW My first “real” job was working for a sign company that got a contract to change 725 of those signs. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-esso-become-exxon-in-usa/146127/31 "2013-09-20T17:07:10Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > One of the things that was odd for me as an American was to go to Canada and see the Esso stations - they had the same color scheme/livery as Exxon, but it was _called_ something different. It was one of a few subtle differences that let me know _I wasn’t in America anymore_. > > Interestingly enough, the Esso name doesn’t seem to be _fully_ dead in the US - many Exxon stations brand their _diesel_ pump as “Esso diesel”. This could be a way to inconspicuously hold on to the trademark as an asset - it is my understanding that Verizon (another survivor of a breakup…) is doing the same thing with the old Bell System trademark. They quit using it as a primary branding image/identity back in the late 90’s (ish), and transitioned to sticking it inconspicuously on repair vans and on payphones seemingly almost as an afterthought. The idea is that if they decide to bring the Bell System logo back as part of a re-imaging or marketing gimmick, they can claim legally that they never stopped using the trademark, and there is a principle in US law that if you abandon a trademark it becomes fair game for others. > > BP (who bought Amoco) seems to be doing something similar - their premium gas is branded “Amoco Ultimate” even though the rest of the station is labeled BP. Thus they can keep the “Amoco” name as an asset. And Mobil still hasn’t retired [Pegasus](http://asklogo.com/images/M/Mobil%20Pegasus.jpg); it’s on the side of their convenience stores. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-esso-become-exxon-in-usa/146127/32 "2013-09-22T11:12:02Z")
> [@zelskid](#): > > I heard that Esso discovered their name meant no go in Japanese. That come from my bro0ther who worked for them in the seventies. That’s just not true. Esso-branded stations are fairly common here. [http://www.emg-ss.jp/ss-search/](http://www.emg-ss.jp/ss-search/) I can’t think of a common word or expression that sounds like “Esso” and means “no-go”. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-esso-become-exxon-in-usa/146127/33 "2013-09-22T12:35:49Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > **Moderator Note** > > Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Board, **zelskid**. Please note that the thread you are replying to is over ten years old. We tend to refer to old posts like this that have been revived as “zombies”. Don’t be surprised if your comment receives a few zombie jokes as responses. While zombies are permitted here, we ask that you only revive an old thread if you have new information or something substantial to contribute to the topic. > > Also, please note that due to this thread’s extreme age, many of its original participants are likely no longer around to respond to your comments. In the future, please consider carefully whether or not a response is worthy of reviving such an old thread. You just cut/paste that spiel don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-esso-become-exxon-in-usa/146127/34 "2013-09-22T14:41:54Z")
put a zombie in your tank. Esso had trouble when people though that tigers were being hunted down to provide fuel additives. It was a public relations nightmare. ExxonMobil contributes to Save the Tiger Fund in order to remove that lingering perception. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-esso-become-exxon-in-usa/146127/35 "2013-09-22T15:09:27Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > You just cut/paste that spiel don’t you? Hope so. Seems awfully silly not to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-esso-become-exxon-in-usa/146127.md?page=1)