The ABC's of Gasoline Rationing

Our wartime chariot was a DeSoto

When gasoline rationing first started to govern our lives, I tried diligently to grasp all the pertinent facts regarding the use of our ration book. I learned how many gallons could be purchased with each coupon. I memorized when one set of coupons expired and the following became valid. I could even estimate the number of miles our car would probably travel during each ration period.

But no sooner had I mastered this new information than an entirely different procedure was introduced. It was all I could do to keep track of the changes in the food rationing system. Gasoline rationing was even more complicated and at least twice as confusing! And so I was more than happy to admit defeat and turn everything to do with the gas rationing book over to my husband, Harold. Alas, no matter how hard I tried to ignore the whole business, it was impossible to ignore how the restrictions in the sale of gas slowly but surely took over and placed severe limitations on all our activities.

The Fuel Facts of Gasoline Rationing…
Each coupon in the ration book entitled its owner to buy a specific number of gallons of gasoline. Once all the coupons were used, no more gasoline could be purchased until the beginning of the next designated period. And so it was necessary that every driver exercise rigid control over his few gallons of gasoline, carefully plan his route of travel and make no unnecessary stops or detours. At different times during the war we had “A,” “B,” and “C” ration cards, depending on criteria such as the distance we were living from Harold's duty assignment. But no matter which card a driver was given, no one had any fuel to waste on going even one unnecessary mile out of his way.

We all understood that our military needed the gasoline, and accepted without question the many changes this required in our daily routines. No longer was anyone's family car used for pleasant but non-essential Sunday afternoon excursions. No longer would we get in the car and drive to the grocery store for a few extra items or to a movie theater within walking distance. Weekend sightseeing trips were over for the duration. We thought more than once before we accepted an invitation to a friend's home several miles away. Nor was it possible to transport our friends and relatives to the bus or train station. Incoming guests generally completed their journey to our apartment by bus or on foot.

The gasoline allotted for our use was supposed to be used strictly for “essential” purposes. The number of gallons allowed was based on the actual mileage traveled between home and place of employment during a specific ration period. If one had a late model auto and got unusually high mileage to a gallon of gas, so much the better. He would probably have a gallon or so to spare. But for those whose automobiles were older or heavier and could boast of but eight or ten miles to each gallon— well, they probably would not have enough gasoline for their necessary transportation and would have to park their cars and make other arrangements at least part of the time.

Gasoline ration coupons

Like most families, we never felt we had an extra drop of gas to fritter away on frivolous driving. Like so many others during wartime, my husband was on twenty-four call at his duty station. And so in addition to his regular shifts at the Navy Department, our family car was likely at any moment to be called into service for an emergency — an even more important reason to save our automobile for essential use.

Not everyone was as fortunate. It was not an uncommon sight to see stranded cars left deserted beside the road, nor to see them being towed home. Other cars had erratic and undependable mileage records and despite the driver's careful calculations they would always run out of gas too soon. Some family cars had to be shared by a number of drivers and if even one person forgot to keep mileage records, the inevitable happened. The poor old cars would always run out of gas just at the wrong moment.


Many Stored or Sold Their Cars…
Many car owners found the rewards of having an automobile were just not worth dealing with all the difficulties. Some placed their cars in storage and kept them there until the end of the war. Many sold their autos, for prices on used cars skyrocketed during the war years.

No new model automobiles came out from 1942 until 1946, so every car of any make or model had a greatly inflated value. At first, people sold their cars to the highest bidders and there were tales of fantastic prices paid. Before long, the OPA placed a ceiling price on every model and type of used car and this was the maximum price allowed under the law. Nevertheless, the sale value was generally a good bit more than the original cost of the car and so many persons sold their cars feeling, I suppose, that they were making a good deal and ridding themselves of a potential “white elephant.”

 

Gasoline Shortages Added to the Problem…
Car owners were not the only ones adversely affected by gasoline rationing. Filling stations were hard pressed to remain open and they were generally operated by the owner with few, if any, assistants. The boys who worked for him so willingly a few years ago had all gone off to war or had taken better paying war industry jobs.

In the outlying Washington areas, it was not uncommon to see filling stations boarded up, closed for the duration. The owners could not sell enough gas to justify keeping them open. The reason? People could not afford to waste one drop of gas by taking any route but the most direct one.

We had gas shortages, too, when all the filling stations in the city were without supplies. These periods somehow seemed to occur most frequently near the end of a ration period. No one was angrier than drivers whose last valid coupon expired unused simply because they could find no gasoline to purchase.

The filling stations which did remain open always did a huge volume of business. Sometimes cars were lined up for blocks waiting their turn at the gas pump. “High test” gasoline was non-existent here but it did not matter. Anything at all that would make the cars run was popular with everyone.

Some drivers had to manually push their cars to the station to receive their newly authorized fill up. Others cursed as their cars ran dry while they were waiting to be served behind dozens of other vehicles. The gasoline we did receive was of an inferior quality and it was blamed for every ailment our cars developed. Our own car developed the most elaborate set of knocks I've ever heard. Some days they sounded like sobs, some days like clicks, but generally they sounded like a hammer pounding a drum.

Old Cars + Old Parts = Big Problems
Many cars settled their owners' ration woes permanently. They simply collapsed and nothing short of a wrecker ever induced them to move again. There were times when I secretly wished our car would offer us the same salvation.

Here in our apartment village car pools were inaugurated and operated successfully for many months. Although commonplace in many areas today, I do believe the general use of car pools originated during wartime gasoline rationing.

Tires were rationed too, and any tire in any condition became a valuable possession. Flat tires were once again the expected rather than the unusual occurrence. Seeing a man remove his car's flat, worn and patched rear tire, replacing it with a spare equally dilapidated, was an every day sight.

I can remember when I was a young child and my entire family climbed aboard the family auto for Sunday afternoon outings. We always set forth equipped with a lunch for we never knew just when we might return. We also went equipped with all the equipment necessary to change and patch a tire — jack, wrench, pump, rubber cement, etc. My father not only expected to have a number of flats during the afternoon but he always had them. Stopping to change the tires was just as much a part of the excursion as the ride itself.

Somehow when I saw the poor, worn out cars struggling along the Washington streets or stranded along the roads I was reminded of the cars we had during my childhood. The comparison seemed to grow even stronger with each succeeding year of the war.