These video files on transportation energy issues in the distant past are for your amusement.
Oil for Aladdin's Lamp (revised version) (ca. 1949) The romance of the petroleum industry, showing how dependent our society is on oil and petrochemical products. Remake and update of the original (1933) version
In My Merry Oldsmobile (1932) Surprisingly licentious advertising cartoon produced by the Fleischer brothers.
More Power to You (ca. 1930s) How oil is drilled, transported, refined, reformulated, and consumed. Narrator: Lowell Thomas.
Down the Gasoline Trail (1935) Cartoon showing what happens to a drop of gasoline from the time it flows into the gas tank to when it is exploded in the engine cylinder. This "fantastic voyage" through a glisteningly clean Chevrolet engine is an excellent example of the soft-sell industrial, where the product that's promoted is hardly ever mentioned by name.
Destination Earth (1956) In this corporate-sponsored cartoon, Martian dissidents learn that oil and competition are the two things that make America great.
Twenty-Four Hours of Progress (Part I) (1950) How the oil industry is central to the American economy which is brought to you by The Oil Industry Information Committee.