# Is Citgo the ugliest name for an oil company? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [May 29, 2023, 1:16am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-citgo-the-ugliest-name-for-an-oil-company/190862 "2023-05-29T01:16:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RandomTroll](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/randomtroll/32/12184_2.png) [@RandomTroll](https://community.cartalk.com/u/RandomTroll)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2023, 1:16am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-citgo-the-ugliest-name-for-an-oil-company/190862/1 "2023-05-29T01:16:17Z")
Is Citgo the ugliest name for an oil company? Is Terrible Herbst the funniest for a gas station? ---
**Author:** ![shanonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@shanonia](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shanonia)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2023, 2:08am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-citgo-the-ugliest-name-for-an-oil-company/190862/2 "2023-05-29T02:08:33Z")
IIRC Citgo was a new name for Cities Service, sometime in the late 1960s. Logo color also changed, from green to red. Maybe a merger/acquisition was part of it all. ---
**Author:** ![LoudThunder](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/loudthunder/32/27769_2.png) [@LoudThunder](https://community.cartalk.com/u/LoudThunder)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2023, 2:34am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-citgo-the-ugliest-name-for-an-oil-company/190862/3 "2023-05-29T02:34:12Z")
> [@RandomTroll](#): > > Is Citgo the ugliest name for an oil company? I don’t know about Ugly Name; how about Stupid Names to name a company… Analtech – They make Chromatography Plates for manufacturing… Morning Wood Company – They build hand-made and custom hardwood furniture… Bunghole Liquors – They are a full-service liquor store as well as Bungwear for any occasions… Passmore Gas – They deliver propane to residential, commercial and agricultural businesses… There are so many more, but these are my favorites… You’ve got to admit that these businesses are memorable… ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2023, 12:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-citgo-the-ugliest-name-for-an-oil-company/190862/4 "2023-05-29T12:35:43Z")
> [@LoudThunder](#): > > You’ve got to admit that these businesses are memorable… Exactly why they have those names, or at least why they kept them. My guess is that analtech was pronounced by the owner as in analysis. Our good friends that introduced my wife and I first wanted to name their daughter Amanda Lynn until my wife told them to say it real fast. Alternate meanings for names didn’t stop my cousin and her husband from nicknaming their son Tad. His last name is Poole, and he still uses it today. ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2023, 12:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-citgo-the-ugliest-name-for-an-oil-company/190862/5 "2023-05-29T12:45:44Z")
I used to work for Harry Couch, and work with Jim Pees and Harry Glasscock. All had a sense of humor about it. ---
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2023, 12:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-citgo-the-ugliest-name-for-an-oil-company/190862/6 "2023-05-29T12:46:31Z")
Pump-n-munch is pretty good ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2023, 12:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-citgo-the-ugliest-name-for-an-oil-company/190862/7 "2023-05-29T12:53:02Z")
The Baltimore Sun newspaper had a long-time sports reporter and later columnist named Peter Schmuck. In his first column he said right away that it is his given name, and he didn’t know why his parents burdened him with that name. ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2023, 3:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-citgo-the-ugliest-name-for-an-oil-company/190862/8 "2023-05-29T15:21:11Z")
They didn’t have much choice on the “Schmuck” and, well, what are you going to do with that? “Gee, dear, how about naming him Peter?” Yeah, maybe Joseph or Michael or Alex? ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2023, 3:25pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-citgo-the-ugliest-name-for-an-oil-company/190862/9 "2023-05-29T15:25:46Z")
The guy is probably about 70 now and Peter may not have had the same slang meaning it does now, especially for his parents, likely born in the 1920s or 1930s. I wonder if it helped him with dates? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![lion9car](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/59ef9b/32.png) [@lion9car](https://community.cartalk.com/u/lion9car)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2023, 3:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-citgo-the-ugliest-name-for-an-oil-company/190862/10 "2023-05-29T15:53:35Z")
> [@RandomTroll](#): > > Is Citgo the ugliest name for an oil company? I’m afraid I disagree with you. The “go” connotation is kind of nice from a marketing psychology perspective for a product that’s supposed to make your car go (even though I assume it really came from “Gulf Oil”). In any event, the name is short but unique and easy to spell, which means that web searches will bring up the desired pages with no confusion and their URL is short, all of which is important these days. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2023, 8:17pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-citgo-the-ugliest-name-for-an-oil-company/190862/11 "2023-05-29T20:17:53Z")
CITGO was a brand name established by Cities Service Company in 1965. Nothing to do with Gulf Oil. I haven’t found an explanation of where the “G” came from. ---
**Author:** ![Triedaq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Triedaq](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Triedaq)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2023, 8:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-citgo-the-ugliest-name-for-an-oil-company/190862/12 "2023-05-29T20:42:13Z")
I don’t think Citgo is any worse than Sohio (Standard Oil of Ohio) or Socony (Standard Oil of New York). Then there was Enco which stands for something. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2023, 9:01pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-citgo-the-ugliest-name-for-an-oil-company/190862/13 "2023-05-29T21:01:35Z")
If I told what my neighbors name is, I would be unfairly exposing him. He’s a nice guy but I still snicker a little. First name Harry. I thought it was cit co not go but who knows? At any rate at the farm store, this brand is all recycled oil and not to be used in anything you care about. Talk about ruining a brand. Lots of brands seem to be intent on destroying their brand so maybe just ahead of their times. I suspect there was an mba summer course taught as a joke on how to destroy your employer and some didn’t know it was a joke. ---
**Author:** ![RandomTroll](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/randomtroll/32/12184_2.png) [@RandomTroll](https://community.cartalk.com/u/RandomTroll)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2023, 9:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-citgo-the-ugliest-name-for-an-oil-company/190862/14 "2023-05-29T21:18:40Z")
> [@shanonia](#): > > IIRC Citgo was a new name for Cities Service, Yes. They also used the name Sinclair. I guessed they thought Cities Service long and dorky, hoped that Citgo would be fast and hip. > [@LoudThunder](#): > > I don’t know about Ugly Name; how about Stupid Names to name a compan Start your own thread. > [@lion9car](#): > > I’m afraid I disagree with you. Don’t be afraid. ‘Cit’ reminds me of %$#!, which teams up with go. Made me want to use their restroom. > [@bing](#): > > If I told what my neighbors name is, I would be unfairly exposing him. He’s a nice guy but I still snicker a little. First name Harry. Ft Wayne had a long time city councilor and mayor named Harry Baals, pronounced as though it had 2 ls instead of 2 as. A few years ago the city held a vote to name the new government center - his name won in a landslide, much to the council’s chagrin. > [@bing](#): > > Lots of brands seem to be intent on destroying their brand so maybe just ahead of their times. You buy a brand then sell it out: make cheesy stuff, get people to buy it on the brand’s reputation, until everyone figures out it’s now bad. This was a plot element on an episode of ‘Perry Mason’, the original. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2023, 9:36pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-citgo-the-ugliest-name-for-an-oil-company/190862/15 "2023-05-29T21:36:40Z")
> [@RandomTroll](#): > > They also used the name Sinclair. I don’t think they ever did that. ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2023, 1:10am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-citgo-the-ugliest-name-for-an-oil-company/190862/16 "2023-05-30T01:10:48Z")
Popular car dealer in our area, porcaro, thinking poor car oh! ---
**Author:** ![LoudThunder](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/loudthunder/32/27769_2.png) [@LoudThunder](https://community.cartalk.com/u/LoudThunder)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2023, 2:01am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-citgo-the-ugliest-name-for-an-oil-company/190862/17 "2023-05-30T02:01:10Z")
> [@RandomTroll](#): > > You buy a brand then sell it out: make cheesy stuff, get people to buy it on the brand’s reputation, until everyone figures out it’s now bad. Virginia is still a tobacco producing state and we grow about 30 million pounds a years. I know several folks who still invest in the industry. I learned that there are various small cigarette companies that stay in business just shy of 5-years and close up/shut down/sell out (I’m not sure what specific legal maneuver they use…) so that they cannot be made party to legal action against the health risks caused by smoking… I guess it’s like the "Bank Secrecy Act " (commonly referred to as the Russo Act) where bank must report money transfers over $10,000. Transfer less, like $9,000, at one time and it goes unreported. And if the Tobacco Company is in business for less than 5-years, something also to do with the IRS’s 5-year Profit ruling… They cannot be enjoined in a class action suit against an industry… ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2023, 11:03am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-citgo-the-ugliest-name-for-an-oil-company/190862/18 "2023-05-30T11:03:17Z")
> [@texases](#): > > I don’t think they ever did that. +1 Citgo and Sinclair are separate corporations–both years ago, and today. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2023, 11:59am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-citgo-the-ugliest-name-for-an-oil-company/190862/19 "2023-05-30T11:59:01Z")
> [@RandomTroll](#): > > I guessed they thought Cities Service long and dorky, hoped that Citgo would be fast and hip. IMO they changed the name to make it more ambiguous yet still somewhat familiar. Cities Service has an urban connotation, and my suspicion is that they wanted something more universal. ---
**Author:** ![TwinTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@TwinTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TwinTurbo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2023, 5:19pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-citgo-the-ugliest-name-for-an-oil-company/190862/20 "2023-05-30T17:19:35Z")
It’s only my guess but I think the GO in CITGO stands for Gas and Oil which is what the company was known for at the time. [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-citgo-the-ugliest-name-for-an-oil-company/190862.md?page=2)