During the 1930's, the Wienermobile worked in the Chicago area promoting "German Style Wieners." The first little Oscar was Meinhart Raabe, who stood just 4’6 tall. In 1951, George Molchan (June 5, 1922 - April 12, 2005) portrayed the next Little Oscar who appeared in plays, musicals, and other fundraising events to support the Oscar Mayer programs.
1936 - the First Wienermobile
In the 1940's, a glass enclosure was added to the Wienermobile to provide additional protection for the driver. The team of Little Oscar’s and the Wienermobile earned fame throughout the Midwest. However, with the world conflict in Europe, the German style claim changed its name to "Yellow Band Wieners”.
The Wienermobile retired from the road when gas rationing limited transportation. After World War II, the Weinermobile program started up again. Expansion of the program included each of Oscar Mayer's operating plants at the time. Five Wienermobiles were designed and built by Gerstenlager of Wooster, Ohio. They were designed on a chassis that were 22 feet long and included a sound system and sunroof. In 1952, the Wienermobile was permanently installed at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile at the Henry Ford Museum
In 1969, two Wienermobiles were built by the Oscar Mayer mechanics in the garage at the company's headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin. These vehicles served the program well for many years. Today, one of the vehicles belongs to the people of Puerto Rico and the other travels occasionally for trade shows and special events in the United States.
During the 1970's, a Styrofoam and fiberglass unit was manufactured by Plastics Products of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, using the same mold as previous units. This time the unique hot dog shaped car changed its mount to a 1973 Chevy motor home chassis. Today, this Weinermobile resides in Spain along with two other vehicles from the 1988 fleet.
On February 1, 1995 Oscar Mayer unveiled their new 1995 state of the art Weinermobile designs at a news conference in Fresno, California. This was the first of six models to roll off the assembly line that year. One of the companies that were responsible for this model was Carlin Manufacturing Company. The new 1995 Wienermobiles vehicles was built on a General Motors chassis, had a powerful V-8 engine, and could comfortably fit up to six passengers.
Harry Bentley Bradley, a California automotive designer by trade, created and designed the Wienermobile models for 1995. He gave them a sleek look starting with aerodynamically designed windows, flush head lights and tail lights. Bradley focused on designing a Wienermobile that would perform like a high powered touring sedan. One other design feature was the hot dog shaped dashboard along with external front and rear cameras.
The Oscar Mayer Weinermobile continues a great legacy since it first appeared on the streets in 1936. Today, it still represents the well known food brand as a rolling appetite enhancer and a symbol of Americana.
A special thanks to Robert Tate, Automotive Historian and Researcher, for donating his story to the MotorCities Story of the Week program. Photographs courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection. Please do not use any photographs without the permission of MotorCities/Robert Tate. For further information contact Robert Tate at btate@motorcities.org
If you have a story that you would like to donate to be featured as a MotorCities Story of the Week, email Lisa Ambriez at: lambriez@motorcities.org