Oscar Mayer’s promotional hot dog, the Vienna Mobile, is driven on wheels
I spoke with some Wienermobile drivers who stopped in Detroit.
- Oscar Mayer Wienmobile celebrates its 90th anniversary this year.
- Six Viennamobiles carrying Hot Doggers travel to different parts of the country.
As he steered his Oscar Mayer Wienermobile onto Interstate 96 eastbound in Detroit on a recent Monday afternoon, “Bunlength Ben” explained how other drivers typically react when they see a giant fiberglass hot dog on wheels rolling nearby.
“People are usually surprised by Wienermobiles, and if we need to change lanes at the last minute, we usually have a force field around us,” Ben said, noting how other drivers tend to give them a little space.
Still, he said it’s good to be high up if someone decides it’s the right time to take a photo or suddenly changes lanes to get a better view.
“Bunlength Ben” (real name Ben Cupp) is a “Hot Dogger” and one half of a team of brand ambassadors who will travel to metro Detroit in the iconic machine in early February. Kapp and “Bologna Bridget” (Bridget Doyle) graciously agreed to give a reporter and photographer from the Detroit Free Press, a member of the USA TODAY Network, a ride around the city in one of the six Wienermobiles that operate in various parts of the country as the company celebrates its 90th anniversary this year.
You don’t need a special license to drive the Viennamobile, but getting behind the wheel means piloting a machine that’s 27 feet long, 11 feet tall, and 8 feet wide. It is powered by a Chevrolet Vortec V8 engine and has a chassis that Doyle describes as resembling a box truck. There are noticeable potholes and bumps in the road surface, and the ride cannot be called smooth.
“We treat it like a big hot dog on wheels,” Doyle said. “I was definitely nervous the first time I drove it, but the turning radius is pretty wide and I’m pretty comfortable driving this dog now.”
By the way, “Vanderful” is not a typo. These hot doggers talk in puns. Lots of puns.
“There are a lot of puns,” Kapp said. “When you’re in the Wienermobile for a long time, you feel like your body is being taken over. We have to speak for the Wienermobile and personify it, because the Wienermobile has a very…big dog-like personality.”
Doyle said the puns don’t come from the intensity of the training, but from what you learn along the way.
“Languages are best learned through immersion, and we are immersed in the Wienmobile every day,” she said. “Of course, but we enjoy all the puns we have to offer.”
You can also enjoy the reaction from many people who smile when they see the Vienna Mobile and want to take a closer look.
That’s what happened when I stopped by a shopping center on Detroit’s west side. A few people asked about the free hot dogs, which weren’t on the menu, but others were excited to take a look inside. Doyle and Kapp said they are handing out plenty of Wiener whistles — essentially whistles shaped like small Wienermobiles — although they leave the cooking to experts elsewhere.
The theme is appropriate. The mustard yellow and ketchup red seats are emblazoned with a small Wienermobile logo, and there’s even a wavy line of mustard on the floor.
Tonya Hood, 63, of Detroit saw the Vienna Mobile and had to stop by.
“I think this is so cool. I wish it was in the summer, because when the kids are out of school, they’re going to have so much fun. Not that we adults don’t, but just to think they’re watching this…” Hood said, trailing off for a moment. “But it’s amazing that you took the time to come this far.”
It is interactions like this across the country that have helped make this year special for Cupp.
“You really get a community feel because everyone is so willing to talk to you, which is great,” he said.
Eric D. Lawrence is senior auto culture reporter for the Detroit Free Press. Send your cool auto tips and suggestions to elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.
