Albert Ferreras
Once upon a time, back in the early twentieth century, Mr. Carl G. Mayer, nephew of the founder of a sausage chain, came up with the idea of commissioning the General Body Company of Chicago to build a special vehicle to which to raise Óscar, at that time the smallest chef in the world. It was the year 1936. Little Oscar, Or rather, Meinhart Raabe, only 1,17 centimeters tall, entertained the public with small shows, magic tricks and, of course, with samples of the brand's products.
In principle, the popular exhibition of the so-called Wienermobile it was limited to the metropolitan area of the city of Chicago; but, with the passage of time, its scope of action grew, at the same time that the strange vehicle evolved. A glass protection for the driver was incorporated, and the message that appeared on its sides was also modified: from the original "German Style Wieners" -German-style sausages, we would say-, on the eve of World War II, it was switched to a less German-loving one for reasons that need not be explained. The new message read "Yellow Band Wieners", Yellow Band Sausages.
Something came to disturb the upward development of these gastronomic cars: During the war, and due to the fuel restriction law, the Wienermobile stopped driving. It was not until the late 40s that the project was resumed, building five bodied units by the Gerstenlager of Wooster, Ohio, which operated in the places where Oscar Mayer had his factories.
Model from 1940 with glass cockpit and no longer the legend "German Style Wieners" Photo: OM
These new vehicles built on Dodge chassis were increased in length, had a sunroof and included an integrated public address system. One of them was incorporated, in 1952, into the permanent exhibition of the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, where it can still be admired today.
And between one design and another, a prototype that did not pass precisely that: In 1958 a curious car with lines as gastronomic as futuristic saw the light, whose body was mounted on nothing more and nothing less than the frame of a Jeep Wyllis!
With the man recently landed on the moon, that is, in 1969, two more sausage cars were manufactured by the Wiener company itself in its workshops in Madison, Wisconsin, using the same molds of the previous five units. Years later, only one of these vehicles would change its chassis for the one corresponding to a 1973 Chevrolet motorhome. At present, although the whereabouts are unknown, this Wienermobile is located in Spain, along with two others from the 1988 fleet that will be discussed more extensively at the end of this article.
1- Wienermobile from 1952, exhibited at the North American International Auto Show. It is usually housed in the H. Ford Museum
2- Prototype of a wienermobile mounted on the chassis of a 1958 Jeep Wyllis. Photo: OM
The project hotdogger
But on the other side of the Atlantic the story continued. At a conference organized by the company on February 1, 1985, the first of six models built by the Carlin Manufacturing Company, designed to comfortably transport six people on a chassis manufactured by General Motors and powered by, was unveiled in Fresno, California. by a powerful V8 engine.
It was about the project Hotdog, executed by Harry Bentley Bradley, creator of many of Mattel's curious Hot Wheels scale cars and author of the final design of the mythical and particular Chevrolet El Camino.
Anecdotally, and in case anyone thought the Wienermobile were slow and lazy, one of the 1988 models was tested by driver Al Unser Jr. who managed to launch it at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at… 177 kilometers per hour!
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1- Sausage car from 1988, using a General Motors frame and a powerful V8 engine
2- Aerodynamic Wienermobile from 2004, with GMC W-series chassis
Seeing that the design was as important as the manufacturer, a decade later, in 1995, the new Hotdoggers rolled off the drawing board of Bentley Bradley himself. This time it gave them a much more aerodynamic look and extended their futuristic appearance to the dashboard and the rest of the interiors, incorporating front and rear video cameras for the first time. Not surprisingly, the vehicle measured eight meters and weighed around 6.300 kilos.
The latest projects correspond to the year 2009 and are mounted using a GMC W-Series chassis; in reality, the difference with vehicles developed since 2000 is practically negligible. Just highlighting a curious Wienermobile prototype that appeared in 2008 in Santa Barbara, California, based on a Mini Cooper S. Until today, it is the world representative of the most recent sausage-cars, its appearance is as particular as it is striking and brings together numerous fans in each of his public appearances in the United States.
And red bunting, this wienercount ... It's over?
1- The most recent example is this atypical Californian Mini Cooper, lower than its predecessors
2- One of the vehicles manufactured in 1988 that arrived in Spain and is currently circulating with a new chassis
Sausage cars with Spanish flavor
As previously mentioned, three of these particular cars arrived in Spain. One manufactured in 1973 that has not been located at the time of finalizing this report, and two more of those produced in 1988. Both traveled the Spanish roads for several years, especially in summer; and today one of them remains active, having made several public appearances. Although it maintains the originality of the cabin, the lower part of the bodywork and the chassis have been modified.
The second was circulating until 2006, and for just over two years it has been exposed to the elements in the Madrid Amusement Park, irretrievably deteriorating. It has a broken sunroof and its interior partially vandalized, although it arrived complete and in original condition.
Wienermobile in need of assistance that remains parked as a claim in the Madrid Amusement Park. Photo: Alberto Ferreras
This second vehicle is documented in the DGT as, verbatim, «Chevrolet box truck Model CG21305 SAUSAGE», owned by a Valencian food company - curiously, all these cars have license plates from that autonomous community. The Chevy was registered in the city of Turia in July 1990. For those who want to find out more about the basis of this Spanish Wienermobile, add that it is a G-20 Van, a twin to the well-known GMC Vandura van that became famous. thanks to the popular television series «The Team-A» -; and that mounts a 5.0-liter three-speed automatic engine and rear transmission.
This particular and unique four-wheeled sausage is one more example of a car that has not been properly valued. If someone doesn't remedy it, they will end up losing it, while in other countries it would undoubtedly be a coveted museum piece.
