Originally each manufacturer was approached by various oil companies to use specifically their blend of combustible fuel. Not all of it was even gasoline, or at

Originally each manufacturer was approached by various oil companies to use specifically their blend of combustible fuel. Not all of it was even gasoline, or at least gasoline as we know it. Some madmen even made two stroke kerosene engines. Esso and Sunoco (then known as Sun Oil Company) were the earliest to do this pressuring, having approached manufacturers like Stutz and Paige, and are partially to blame for the octane rating system we've had since 1927. The octane system and standardization of additives came about after two decades of reliability issues from vehicle owners buying the "wrong fuel" for their cars, and the oil companies all acted together before lawsuits could run wild and damage what was, at the time, possibly the fastest growing industry.