History of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile

In 1936, Carl Mayer, the nephew of Oscar Mayer, invented the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. Its thirteen-foot long hot dog body was all metal; and there was an open driver cockpit at the front and the rear of the "hot dog." It was built by the General Body Company of Chicago at a cost of $5,000.

According to the Kraft Foods web site, the Wienermobile weighed as much as "150,000 hot dogs", and cruised around the streets of Chicago.

The Oscar Mayer wiener itself had become a brand name only a few years before in 1929.

The Fifties

By the fifties, the Wienermobile had become a major marketing tool as it traveled across country. In 1950, the Wienermobile was customized with a high fidelity sound system and sun roof, and it was mounted on a Dodge chassis.

In 1958, thanks to master industrial designer Brooks Stevens, the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile was given a major redesign, establishing its signature look with a 27-foot long full-color hot-dog-in-bun body and bubble-nose driver cockpit.

In 1977, the Wienermobile cross country tour was discontinued as an advertising campaign.

The Hotdoggers

In 1986, the Wienermobile went back on the road to celebrate its 50th Anniversary. The public response was so strong that the Wienermobile once again became a mobile roadside attraction that's still popular.

In 1988, the Oscar Mayer Company created the Hotdogger Program, where new college graduates would drive the Wienermobiles across country. It's a highly competitive program where twelve grads are chosen out of about 1,000 yearly applicants. The lucky twelve were then sent to Hot Dog High where they'd get driver lessons and learn about Oscar Mayer Company history.

Also in 1988, Harry Bradley Bentley, designer of Mattel's Hot Wheels toys, redesigned the Wienermobile with a fiberglass body on top of a GMC truck chassis. Auto racing legend Al Unser Jr even took it around the Indy 500 race track at 100 mph.

The Wienermobile Today

In 2007, the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile was pulled over by a Tucson, Arizona police officer on suspicion of having a stolen vehicle's license plate. The Wienermobile driver was arrested and detained until the Tucson police department determined that it wasn't a stolen vehicle. The next day, a newspaper headline read "Cops Ketchup With Wienermobile."

The newest Oscar Mayer Wienermobile was crafted by Prototype Source, a Santa Barbara, California concept vehicle builder best known for creating the Hershey Kissmobile. They integrated state-of-the-art audio and video as well as a hot dog-shaped dashboard and glove box into the updated design.