Wienermobile
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A "Wienermobile" is an automobile shaped like a hot dog on a bun that is used to promote and advertise Oscar Mayer products. It was created in 1936 by Oscar's nephew, Carl G. Mayer, and variants are still used by Oscar Mayer today. In 2004, Oscar Mayer announced a contest whereby customers could win the right to use the Wienermobile for a day. Within a month, the contest had generated over 15,000 entries. Drivers of the Wienermobiles are known as Hotdoggers and often hand out toy whistles shaped as replicas of the Wienermobile, known as Wienerwhistles.
History
The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile has evolved from Carl Mayer's original 1936 vehicle to the current vehicles seen on the road today. Although gas rationing kept the Wienermobile off the road during World War II, in the 1950s Oscar Mayer and the Gerstenslager Company created several new vehicles using a Dodge chassis or a Willys Jeep chassis. One of these models is on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI. These Wienermobiles were piloted by "Little Oscar" who would visit stores, schools, orphanages, children's hospitals, and participate in parades and festivals.
In 1969, new Wienermobiles were built upon a Chevrolet motor home chassis and featured Ford Thunderbird taillights. The 1969 vehicle was the first Wienermobile to travel to foreign countries. In 1976 Plastic Products, inc., built a fiberglass and styrofoam model, again on a Chevrolet motor home chassis.
In 1988, Oscar Mayer launched its Hotdogger program, where recent college graduates were hired to drive the Wienermobile through various parts of the nation and abroad. Using a converted Chevrolet van chassis, Stevens Automotive Corporation and noted industrial designer Brooks Stevens built a fleet of six Wienermobiles for the new team of Hotdoggers.
In 1995, the Wienermobile grew in size to 27-feet long and 11-feet high. The most recent version of the Wienermobile, built in 2004, has been updated to include a voice activated GPS navigation device, an audio center with a wireless microphone, and a horn that plays the Wiener Jingle in 21 different genres from Cajun to Rap to Bossa Nova, according to American Eats. There are seven Wienermobiles in existence. The current Wienermobile sports fourth generation Pontiac Firebird taillights.
Mishaps and incidents
In June 2002, a Wienermobile crew was grilled by police after driving on a road closed to commercial traffic near the Pentagon, just outside Washington, D.C. The "hot-doggers" (or Wienermobile drivers) were pulled over, questioned, then directed to the nearest exit without a ticket.
In June, 2007, a Wienermobile with the Wisconsin license plate of YUMMY made headlines after being stopped by an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer for having an allegedly stolen license plate. Officer K. Lankow had observed the Wienermobile slowing traffic and checked the license plate to determine if the vehicle was street legal. The license plate came back as being stolen out of Columbia, Missouri, so the officer stopped the Wienermobile and detained the driver. Oscar Meyer had not notified police that they had obtained a replacement plate after the previous one had been stolen, and that it should be considered stolen only if not on a Wienermobile. The Wienermobile was released soon after the error was revealed.
On August 9, 2007, a Wienermobile with the Wisconsin license plate of WEENR was ticketed by Chicago police for parking in a no-parking/no-standing zone on Chicago's Magnificent Mile.
On February 11, 2008, a Wienermobile slid off U.S. Route 15 outside of Mansfield, Pennsylvania, due to icy conditions following a winter storm, along with several other vehicles, drawing moderate local media attention. There were no injuries, and the Wienermobile suffered only minor damage.
On July 17, 2009, a Wienermobile on a dead end street in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, was attempting to turn around in a residential driveway. The driver accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, which lodged the Wienermobile under the house and destroyed a deck.[10]
From June 28, 2009, to July 19, 2009, a Wienermobile visited Hawaii and was met with harsh criticism from the local Outdoor Circle, best known for pushing Hawaii's strict billboard ban through the 1927 legislature. A representative for the Oscar Mayer company insisted that the mobile hot-dog-on-a-bun did nothing wrong. There was no indication that an environmental impact statement will be demanded.
On March 5, 2010, a Wienermobile was damaged when a car crashed into its side and took off the bumper. There was minor injury to a 7-year-old child standing up in the Wienermobile.
During a rain storm on June 28, 2010, a Wienermobile rear-ended a car in Diboll, TX, on US 59 at Lumberjack Dr. Although no tickets were issued by Diboll PD, both vehicles sustained minor damage in the accident. No injuries were reported.
Texas State Trooper Corporal Shawn McGee and Corporal Jesse Stewart have stopped the Weinermobile twice in the past two decades for speeding through the small east Texas town of Henderson.
Drivers
There are currently seven Wienermobiles, with each assigned a part of the country. The "hotdogger" position of driving the Wienermobile is open to U.S. citizens, and the job lasts from the first of June until the following first of June. Only college seniors who are about to graduate are eligible. Both current hotdoggers and Oscar Mayer recruiters visit college campuses across the country in search of the next round of hotdoggers. Candidates are screened from an average of 2000 applicants. Every March a pool of thirty final-round candidates are brought to Kraft and Oscar Mayer headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, for interviews. Each vehicle can hold two hotdoggers, and twelve people are chosen. Currently there are about 300 hotdogger alumni.
Models
Toys and smaller versions of the Wienermobile have been made over the years. Hot Wheels has issued two diecast versions of the car.
Vanity license plates
YUMMY
OUR DOG
IWSHIWR
OH I WISH
WEENR
WNRMOBL
BOLOGNA
RELSHME
LIL LINK
BIG BUN
WNR MBLE
