(MONEY Magazine) – America's ties to the open road, always a major part of our culture, are particularly strong these days. Thanks to the sluggish economy and lingering concerns about terrorism, more people are vacationing via car instead of flying, and the onset of the autumn foliage season is bringing a fresh influx of travelers to our highways. Unfortunately, however, one of the essential elements of road travel--the gas station--has become a bland, utterly faceless affair.

It wasn't always this way. When I was growing up in the early 1970s, the local Texaco man wouldn't just pump my parents' gas--he'd also clean the windshield, check the oil and chat. Today that protocol has been supplanted by self-serve islands, credit-card pumps and Mobil's Speedpass. Gas station architecture and signage, which used to rank with those of diners and motels among the classics of roadside design, have been replaced by sterile, cookie-cutter buildings. And gas station attendants, once trusted partners in the motoring experience, now spend most of their time making sure the coffee is fresh at the station's convenience store.

The road to this sorry state of affairs began in 1893, when Charles and Frank Duryea created the first automobile powered by gasoline, which until then had been a waste byproduct of refining petroleum into kerosene. Since the car required periodic refueling, the auto and gas industries were linked. Curbside gas sales, often literally by the bucketful, began around 1901, and the first gas pumps appeared later that decade.

Happily, many old filling stations have been restored--some as museums and a few as still-functioning gasoline outlets. Either way, they're great places to visit, providing living links to America's automotive heritage. Of those that still pump gas, the oldest and quirkiest is the TEAPOT DOME SERVICE STATION (Exit 54 off I-82, Zillah, Wash.; 509-829-5100; agilitynut.com/vessels6.html). Shaped like a giant teapot--a reference to the Teapot Dome scandal--it was built in 1922, making it America's oldest functioning gas station.

An even more distinctive design can be found in Winston-Salem, N.C.: A 1930S SHELL STATION SHAPED LIKE A GIANT SCALLOP SHELL (1111 Sprague St.; 336-788-0765; oldgas.com/info/ws_shell.htm). The last survivor of eight such Shells in the area, the station had fallen into disrepair before being leased by Preservation North Carolina, a nonprofit historical group. They not only restored the station to its former glory but also moved one of their regional field offices into it, ensuring that this gem will get plenty of hands-on maintenance. Visitors are welcome, and the building makes an ideal backdrop for snapshots.

Somewhat more conventional, but just as special, is the RED CROWN MINI-MUSEUM (Sixth and South Sts., Lafayette, Ind.; 765-742-0280; oldgas.com/info/redcrown.htm), whose red-tile roof and glazed-brick exterior have been lovingly restored by car enthusiast Don Stein. The former Standard Oil station, in service from 1927 through 1979, had become an eyesore and was slated for demolition in 1991, when Stein offered to restore it and use it to house his extensive collection of memorabilia, which ranges from gorgeous old pump globes to antique cars. The result is a nostalgia lover's dream, and a de facto history lesson on the gas station's evolution. The museum isn't staffed, but Stein--an absolute peach of a guy--happily gives tours "for groups of one or more" at a phone call's notice.

A similar story is behind WESTBROOK'S ESSO (101 W. High St., Kingwood, W.Va.; 304-329-1100; oldgas.com/info/westbroo.htm), a 1926 station whose colorful history includes having once changed ownership by a coin toss. It is owned today by Tom Westbrook, who attended high school across the street and hung out at the station during lunch breaks. He bought the place in 1994 so he could work on antique cars in its garage, but soon he got the restoration bug, and the station is now loaded with old signs, pumps, oil cans and a vintage Coke machine. Much like Don Stein, Westbrook isn't always on-site but will arrange to meet those who call ahead (preferably a day in advance). He's also an enthusiastic ambassador for his town and is happy to direct nostalgia-minded travelers to nearby historic attractions.

For more vintage gas stations, go to the comprehensive listing and links at oldgas.com/visit.htm or check out Tim Steil's Fantastic Filling Stations (MBI Publishing). And incidentally, while full-service stations are extinct throughout most of America, they're still plentiful in New Jersey and Oregon, where pumping your own gas remains illegal. So travelers in those two states can still enjoy the old customer-attendant relationship. And if you ask, they'll even check your oil--and maybe chat with you besides.

Paul Lukas knows gas fumes are toxic but loves the smell anyway.