Full Tank by Olle Wilson

"Full tank" is the result of a peaceful research journey through a bygone Sweden to find the origins of the gas station. The oil barriers, the grease pits, the service men, when did it all disappear and why? The book is also a fascinating story about the 20th century, the dynamic century when the spread of the automobile came to change our reality at a frantic pace. A process that was reflected in particular in the progression of oil companies along the roads where closely spaced supermarkets offered exactly the same product at the same price. The means of competition were service, design and advertising. The author of the book, Olle Wilson, has long advocated for the installation of a gas station in Skansken, which has not yet happened. On the other hand, his respect for the ephemeral architecture of the oil trade contributed to a gas station being declared a historical monument for the first time in Skålan in Jämtland. When "Full Tank" was first published in 1995, it was almost immediately declared a cult classic by a unanimous press and set the tone for a new genre of retrospective picture books, a trend that continues to this day. When we republish the book, a careful modernization has been carried out and the scope has been properly expanded with newly added material.