Their service stations provided service. A popular movie a few years ago even joked about it. In Back to the Future a young man transported to his parents' high school era watched in amazement as a car pulled into a service station and a squad of employees swarmed over it. Today, we mostly pump our own gasoline. Fewer service stations take care of the minor and major ills of our vehicles.
Cars are much more complicated.
The cost of training and equipment to make repairs has skyrocketed. Most service stations have exited that business. Instead, they sell us gas and Twinkies. Oil companies have entered the convenience store business with a vengeance. But while all oil companies are turning to a convenience store-service station hybrid for their retailing future, they have adopted very different marketing strategies.