10 iconic brands that disappeared

In the dog-eat-dog world of business, companies come and companies go. Yet some of the dearly departed retain a soft spot in our cultural memory.

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195Comments
Apr 10, 2012 5:18AM
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I worked for the AMOCO Terminal  in Tampa, Florida from 1990-1993.

 

Gas Prices for Regular Unleaded were 99 cents a gallon.

 

Now  in the 21st Century, Big Oil is getting away with first degree murder.

 

 

May 1, 2012 6:10PM
Apr 10, 2012 8:33AM
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One of the big icons that went down this year was Encyclopedia Britannica.
Aug 19, 2012 10:51PM
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any one rember S & H green stamps?

 

Apr 5, 2012 3:52PM
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Does anyone remember Oxydol Detergent?

 

Apr 10, 2012 5:49AM
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 was a sad day when  Pontiac ended.
Apr 5, 2012 12:10PM
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amaco gas i would like to have a penny for every gallon i pumped at my dads station all kinds of weather i cold new england starting at 19 cents a gallon checked the oil the air in the tires washed the windows and smiled went to woollworths for a shake  those were the days
Apr 5, 2012 3:55PM
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O and what about Buster Brown Shoes?
Apr 10, 2012 3:46AM
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Im gald Hummer is gone, Insecure "man" car; "Look at me, Tuff man!"

 

Always gets on my nerves when I see one, no use in having that on the road, great for military use, otherwise. its a "Little man car"

Apr 4, 2012 9:23PM
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Iconic words that went bye-bye

 

My main squeez

Groovy

Honest politician

I trully love you

Trust me

Long term employee

A caring employer

True Christian

Hard on

Horny

True American

I really do care

Money isn't everything

Virgin

Amercian Muslin

Fart

Married couple

Queer

I'am sorry

I made a mistake

 

 

Apr 5, 2012 10:44AM
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who wrote this? there are better icon's than this, such as: Montgomery Wards, Woolworth's, McCrory's, Zayre's, K&B, T.G.& Y., HR Fish & Chips, Falstaff, S&H Green Stamps, Gibsons Discount City, KayBee Toy's & Hobbies, Childrens Palace, Lionel Playworld, Just to name a few, there is so many......
Apr 10, 2012 9:11AM
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Chipwich? An icon? Never heard of it.  Wang was a flash in the pan, and Bowery Bank was a NY local not a national icon.  The young person who wrote this probably wasn't around when Montgomery Wards and FW Woolworth were real national icons. 
Apr 5, 2012 11:25AM
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what about International Harvester farm equipment , the Icon IH Red tractors will live forever in older farmers memories that worked the land and tilled the soil to feed americans for many yrs

Apr 4, 2012 11:33PM
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If you really want an iconic petroleum company how about Sinclair and their trademark dinosaur.
May 1, 2012 5:06PM
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Hummer?  That brand didn't even last 20 years?  Replace Hummer with Pontiac and/or Plymouth.  The names Hemi-Cuda, Roadrunner, GTX, Voyager, Fury and even the K-car are well known as Plymouths.  GTO, Firebird, TransAm, Grand Am, Bonneville etc for Pontiac are just as well known.

 

Or you could replace those regional brands listed that many have never heard of.

Apr 8, 2012 11:11AM
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Hummer never should have existed. It's true icon status is as an example of the overindulgent, overpriced, wasteful products that hit it big as conspicuous consumption. Someone should calculate just how much gasoline was wasted, and how much carbon dioxide was thrown into the atmosphere by Hummer and similarly sized SUVs in the last 10-20 years. A total waste so that a minority of wealthy and/or macho types could show off. And spare me the "free market" and "job creator" scenarios conservatives love to push. Just as many jobs could have been created making less wasteful vehicles. And this was not a product people went looking for- it was created and pushed as a new product because the maker knew it could throw a high mark up into the price. It answered a need no one had. We are still paying the price for this kind of blind arrogance and wastefulness through soldiers still dying in the Middle East and global warming.
Apr 10, 2012 7:41AM
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Western Auto was not on this list. Orignally founded in 1909 by George Pepperdine as a mail-order auto parts company enabling access to automobile parts to anyone with mail carrier service, and competed with dealerships to ultimately bring down parts and repair prices. They were the first national auto parts store, and later the first national auto service center, with lower prices and leeping costs down.In the 1980s, Western Auto was an $85B/yr revenue company, which is still a respectable number today, however substandard suppliers and selling out to Sears resulted in a diminished image and the closing of their own service locations (presumably closed by Sears to drive traffic back into theopir Auto Centers). Western Auto was sold to Advance Auto in 1999, which resulted in stores being rebranded or closed. Many brands got their start in Western Auto stores such as Western Flyer, Altec Lansing (then Sparkomatic), and many more. Auto labor prices skyrocketed when Western Auto closed, going from $25/hr to $70/hr in mere weeks.
Apr 10, 2012 7:06AM
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Believe it or not, looking over the comments...somebody mentioned Sucrets which were for the throat I bought some last year they used to come in a metal box for those of us who remember,...they have gone the way of all or most medicines ..cardboard.  Distributed by a Pharmaceuticals from Pa.  I miss the G.T.O. (by Pontiac) more I believe.. sort of our crotch rocket of another time. Do they still make Sunbeam Bread ? or Silvercup Bread ?  to name a few  whew,  getting old all the good stuff is slipping by.
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