Keep on Truckin’

December 7, 2014

East Coasters will notice a big change after this holiday season. A roadside staple, Hess gas stations will all change their name to Speedway. Why are we mentioning this on Small Talk? Because it’s also the last year the Hess’s classic green trucks will be available for purchase at their stations. It’s truly the end of an era! Hess gas stations began carrying small toys during the 1960 holiday season. As a survivor of the Great Depression, founder Leon Hess desired to create small, affordable toy cars that came complete with batteries. The Hess 1964 Tanker Trailer sold for less than five dollars.

Fifty years later, Hess has established itself as a desirable outlet for collectors and children’s playthings in the United States. In light of the celebration, the company is offering a commemorative heavy-duty, flatbed truck with modern additions like motion and button-activated sounds, retractable landing gear, and folding wings. For more modern Hess fans, the company has also created a space cruiser complete with a large cargo bay that houses a small scouter plane. Although the trucks will roll out of the stations forever, don’t fret, the Hess line of transportation toys will still be available for purchase online.