The internet is full of fabulous facts about everything from current events to the history basket weaving. Because of this, as we research for our daily content on food trucks, food carts and street food, we stumble upon some items of knowledge that we just did not know. We have decided when these fun facts pop up, that we would share them with our readers in our section titled “Did You Know?”

For today’s Did You Know fun food facts we will look at The Wienermobile.

wienermobile fun factsThe Facts: “Wienermobile” is the name for a series of automobiles shaped like a hot dog on a bun which are used to promote and advertise Oscar Mayer products in the United States.

  • The first version was created July 18th, 1936 by Oscar Mayer’s nephew, Carl G. Mayer, and variants are still used by the Oscar Mayer company today.
  • Drivers of the Wienermobiles are known as Hotdoggers and often hand out toy whistles shaped as replicas of the Wienermobile, known as Wienerwhistles.
  • The 2004 version of the Wienermobile includes a voice-activated GPS navigation device, an audio center with a wireless microphone, a horn that plays the Wiener Jingle in 21 different genres from Cajun to Rap to Bossa Nova.
  •  The 1969 vehicle was the first Wienermobile to travel to foreign countries.
  • 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.
Year Manufacturer/Builder Chassis Engine
1936 General Body Company – Chicago, Illinois Purpose-built chassis N/A
1952 Gerstenslager – Wooster, Ohio Dodge chassis N/A
1958 Brooks Stevens Willys Jeep chassis N/A
1969 Oscar Mayer – Madison, Wisconsin Chevrolet chassis with Ford Thunderbird taillights V6 engine
1975 Plastics Products – Milwaukee, Wisconsin fibreglass/styrofoam replica of 1969 V6 engine
1988 Stevens Automotive Corporation – Milwaukee, Wisconsin Chevrolet van chassis with Ford Thunderbird taillights V6 engine
1995 Harry Bentley Bradley for Carlin Manufacturing – Fresno, California Purpose-built chassis with Pontiac Grand Am headlights, Pontiac Trans Am taillights N/A
2000 Craftsmen Industries – St. Charles, Missouri GMC W-series chassis 5700 Vortec V8
2004 Prototype Source – Santa Barbara, California GMC W-series chassis with Pontiac Firebird taillights 6.0L 300–5700 Vortec V8
2008 Prototype Source – Santa Barbara, California Mini Hatch Cooper S 1.6L Supercharged I-4

The following are vanity license plates that have been used for the Wienermobile

  • YUMMY
  • OURDOG
  • BIG BUN
  • LIL LINK
  • OH I WISH
  • WEENR
  • WNR MBLE
  • BOLOGNA
  • RELSHME
  • OSCRMYR

Wienermobile Facts We Missed

If so, please feel free to let us know in the comment section below. We always love to add to these lists. If we can verify that the facts is just that, a fact, we will give the reader credit in the article.

Reference: Wikipedia: Fun Facts about the Wienermobile.