Originally Posted by danarnold

Actually, the first major use of petroleum was for lighting in the 1850's where it started to replace expensive vegetable oils and the very expensive whale oil, a commodity so valuable long before the automobile that several species of whales were threatened with extinction.

Half a century later, certainly the triumph of the gasoline engine over its competitors was made possible by cheap oil. Standard Oil and Shell and others were huge, powerful companies long before the automobile came along. The Prize, Daniel Yergin, is a fascinating read.