Bardahl is a

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

oil additive Oil additives are chemical compounds that improve the lubricant performance of base oil (or oil "base stock"). The manufacturer of many different oils can utilize the same base stock for each formulation and can choose different additives for each ...

lubricant A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces, t ...

s and

gasoline additive Petrol additives increase petrol's octane rating or act as corrosion inhibitors or lubricants, thus allowing the use of higher compression ratios for greater efficiency and power. Types of additives include metal deactivators, corrosion inhibitors, ...

s for

motor vehicles A motor vehicle, also known as motorized vehicle or automotive vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on Track (rail transport), rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of pe ...

and

internal combustion engines An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...

made by Bardahl Manufacturing Corporation in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Ole Bardahl

Bardahl Oil Company was founded in 1939 by Ole Bardahl (January 28, 1902 – August 11, 1989), a Norwegian immigrant to the United States. Ole Bardahl arrived in Seattle in 1922 with $29 in his pocket. He became a millionaire by the age of 39 as a

general contractor A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...

in Seattle, building homes. After that, he founded the Bardahl Oil Company in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. The company is still owned and managed by the Bardahl family.

1950s

Its original factories were located in Ballard. In the mid-1950s, Bardahl was the leading brand of

motor oil Motor oil, engine oil, or engine lubricant is any one of various substances used for the lubrication of internal combustion engines. They typically consist of base oils enhanced with various additives, particularly antiwear additives, deterg ...

and

s in the United States. Bardahl's oil additive was advertised during the 1950s in magazines and animated TV commercials which showed the product's effectiveness in combating engine problems such as "Dirty Sludge", "Sticky Valves," "Gummy Rings," and "Blackie Carbon," all of which were

anthropomorphized Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

in the commercials.

1960s

In the early 1960s York Research Corporation, an independent commercial testing laboratory of

Glenbrook, Connecticut Glenbrook is a neighborhood of the city of Stamford, Connecticut. Spanning an area of about , about 15,400 people live in Glenbrook as of 2007. Glenbrook is located on the eastern side of the city, east of Downtown, north of the East Side and t ...

conducted controlled testing on Bardahl. As the result of those tests, York President Warren C. Hyer was featured in regional and national Bardahl television advertisements touting the benefits of Bardahl as an oil additive. For many years the York Research company seal could be found on all cans of Bardahl.

Miss Bardahl

The company remains prominent as a result of its sponsorship of motor sports competitors. The

Miss Bardahl ''Miss Bardahl'' was an Unlimited Hydroplane that raced from 1957 to 1969. Between 1963 and 1968, the team won five American Power Boat Association The American Power Boat Association (APBA) is an American membership-owned corporation. In 1903, N ...

Hydroplane was a six-time National Champion and five-time Gold Cup winner, racing in the United States from 1957 to 1969. Ole was inducted into the

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles, Sp ...

in 2014.Ole Bardahl
at the

Today

Bardahl can be found in more than 90 countries. The Bardahl product line includes 250 products, including engine oils, motor oil and

fuel additives A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...

, and specialty lubricants. The company has expanded to foreign markets, opening plants in countries such as France, Belgium, Italy, Argentina, México, Brazil and Singapore.

Sponsorships

Bardahl has been involved in racing, using events as proving grounds for its products, as well as for the new technologies produced by the company's research and development arm. Types included Unlimited Hydroplanes, offshore powerboats, unlimited

air racing Air racing is a type of motorsport that involves airplanes or other types of aircraft that compete over a fixed course, with the winner either returning the shortest time, the one to complete it with the most points, or to come closest to a prev ...

, IndyCars, CART Racing,

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

and snowmobile racing. Al Young's Bardahl sponsored World Championship winning 1970

Dodge Challenger The Dodge Challenger is the name of three different generations of automobiles (two of those being pony cars) produced by American automobile manufacturer Dodge. However, the first use of the Challenger name by Dodge was in 1959 for marketing a ...

is part of the

Museum of History and Industry The Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) is a history museum in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest private heritage organization in Washington state, maintaining a collection of nearly four m ...

(MOHAI) artifact collection in Seattle, WA.

Formula 1 Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

drivers such as Fangio, Guerney and Fittipaldi are associated with the Bardahl brand. Bardhal products were often given away as promotional products to studio audience members or contestants on The Gong Show

OEM recognition

Bardahl has network of distributors in 90 countries under brands such as Bardahl and Protex by Bardahl. Formulations meet or exceed

OEM An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...

Top Tier Performance requirements for the automotive industry: Audi - BMW - Chrysler - Citroën - Ferrari - Fiat - Ford - GM - Honda - Hyundai - Mazda - Mercedes - Mitsubishi - Peugeot - Porsche - Renault - Volkswagen

Notes

References

* ''The Ole Bardahl Story'' (James W. Phillips. Sons of Norway, 60:46. March, 1963) *''Trønderen Ole Bardahl kom til USA'' (Brooklyn, NY: Nordisk Tidende. Volume 22, July 11, 1963) Norwegian * ''Seattle’s Ole Bardahl - Trønder og multi-millionær'' (Henning C. Boe. Western Viking, Volume 24, May 19, 1967)

External links

*{{official website, http://bardahl.com/about-us/history Motor oils Petroleum products