January 17, 2014

The Weiner Mobile

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"The 'Wienermobile' may be one

of the most famous promotional cars in America, having been on the road in one form or another since 1936. Shaped like hot dogs on a bun, a fleet of Wienermobiles is used to promote Oscar Mayer products across the US. Oscar Mayer’s nephew, Carl, designed the original version, and over the years the vehicles have evolved and developed.

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"In 1995, a Wienermobile was created

that measured 27 feet in length and stood 11 feet tall; meanwhile, a 2004 version featured a voice-activated GPS system. Touring fleet crewmembers are known as “hotdoggers,” and in 2013 the company even developed an app to keep them all connected. Eight of the vehicles are currently operational, and they remain seriously popular. A 2004 competition offering the winner the use of a Wienermobile for one day reportedly prompted more than 15,000 entries in a month." - - Oscar Mayer

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UPDATE: The Wiener Crash

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That Wienermobile crash photo on Facebook? It's from 2008 - TwinCities.com

Does this hot dog look familiar? It should. It's the same hot dog, and the same snowstorm, and the same ditch.

A photograph of an Oscar Mayer Wienermobile in a ditch popped up Monday and Tuesday -- following a brief Wisconsin snowstorm -- on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. It trailed an infinite supply of puns.

The photo, however, is not current.

Posted by gerardvanderleun at January 17, 2014 6:04 AM
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"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.

Oh. I thought those were re-design concepts for the Presidential limousine fleet.

Posted by: Don Rodrigo at January 17, 2014 8:10 AM

Had to scrub "German" from the original! Couldn't have any good Germans around after WW2!

Posted by: Alex at January 17, 2014 8:41 AM

Maybe someone pointed out that 'wieners' are Austrian, not German: a capital-W Wiener is someone from Wien, and Wien is what real Wieners call the city the rest of us call Vienna.

Posted by: Dr Weevil at January 17, 2014 12:15 PM

There is a 'Wienermobile' in the Henry Ford Museum - I have a little plastic replica in my office. But more important - I saw one on the road. In the spring of 2013 I saw one heading north on Cedar Street in south Lansing, Michigan, as I was heading south. As God is my witness, I saw that a hot dog could roll.** And I said to myself 'My life is now complete.'*

*I had seen an Oscar Meyer 'Wienerboat' at the Detroit Boat Show and have that picture on my ancient flip-phone. I wish I knew how to get that picture out of the phone.

**And could float!

Posted by: Mikey NTH at January 17, 2014 8:21 PM

I got to skip school in the 1950s to see Little Oscar and the Weinermobile at the Big Ace supermarket in our town. I thought Little Oscar was one of the luckiest kids in the world to get to drive at such a young age! The first seeds of cynicism were planted when Little Oscar turned out to be no child, but a middle-aged midget in a chef's hat. And yes, at the time, I still believed in Santa Claus.

Posted by: golden west at January 18, 2014 8:20 AM

I saw a Wienermobile in the ditch near Madison over Thanksgiving.

Couldn't think of a joke, but I know there are some there.

Posted by: notquiteunBuckley at January 18, 2014 5:52 PM

That Wienermobile crash photo on Facebook? It's from 2008 - TwinCities.com

Does this hot dog look familiar? It should. It's the same hot dog, and the same snowstorm, and the same ditch.

A photograph of an Oscar Mayer Wienermobile in a ditch popped up Monday and Tuesday -- following a brief Wisconsin snowstorm -- on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. It trailed an infinite supply of puns.

The photo, however, is not current.

Posted by: vanderleun at January 18, 2014 6:34 PM

I ate plenty of wienerschnitzels when I lived in Germany. What is called a (breaded) tenderloin here in the US. But I preferred the jaegerschnitzel, roasted, with thick, dark 'shroom laden gravy all over it and all the customary appointments. wow!

Posted by: ghostsniper at January 19, 2014 6:32 AM

As a recruiter for almost every hightech company in the Puget Sound area, I've interviewed high-achieving people from all over but the most interesting stories I ever heard were from a young woman who was a Weinermobile driver for a year. I was never so envious of another person's "job."

We saw a Weinermobile on the highway up in Canada (eastern BC) one summer. So fun.

Posted by: AbigailAdams at January 19, 2014 10:57 AM

I drive the weinermobile up the stairs between the basement, where I sleep, to the bedroom above, where we find the every-so-lovely Estoy Lista-- the lovely wife.

Posted by: Estoy Listo at January 19, 2014 7:57 PM

Anyone have an idea of what the base vehicle is for the larger wienermobile? Just curious.

Posted by: waltj at January 19, 2014 8:29 PM