What pairs better with Fourth of July than wieners! Celebrate our nation’s birthday with this mid-90s vintage Oscar Mayer Wienermobile pedal car, presented in a no-reserve auction here on eBay. Current bidding sits at $1 – that’s right, one buck. Pick it up from Lutz, Florida – it’s about 46″ long so it’ll fit in most vehicles. Wienermobile pedal cars were produced by Bird Corporation, based in Elkhorn, Nebraska, as a promotion for Oscar Mayer. (Anyone know of another promotional pedal car made by Bird?) Made of plastic situated on a metal frame with wiener-colored wheels, the body mimics a hot dog sitting on a bun. A faux grille and headlamps, faux windows, and decals finish out the cosmetics. Speaking of decals, check your pedal car’s maintenance history – a recall was issued in June of 1998 to replace the decals which were found to contain lead.
These pedal cars were miniature copies of the original Wienermobile truck, first produced in 1936. The Wienermobile was the brainchild of Oscar Mayer’s nephew, Carl, who wanted his uncle’s company to stand out in the sea of delivery vehicles clotting city roads; it was custom made by General Body Company. Later Wienermobiles were larger, based on a Dodge truck chassis and powered by a 350 cu. in. V8. About six full-sized Wienermobiles are running about these days; meanwhile, 16,000 pedal cars were made. This one is pictured with an engine estimated at about three years old, good for around a quarter horsepower; dyno results were not available at the time of publication. Note that engine is not included in the sale.
The underside of our subject Wiener is clean, showing off its simple but sturdy construction. Those wheels look like they haven’t seen many miles. The seller notes that it was found languishing in a “private collection” – I guess that qualifies it as a barn find.
Aside from obvious exterior wear, this example is missing its steering wheel and steering shaft. Rustling up these missing parts might be a trick – these pedal cars have become quite collectable. Notwithstanding the lackluster bidding here, concours Bird Company Wienermobiles can sell for thousands of dollars, and that’s no bologna. Check out this superb frankfurter – it sold for a cool $7905 last year. An unassembled Wienermobile brought $2500. Despite its flaws, the current bid is a bargain for this bit of Americana.
That is a very cute write up Michelle. Very nice solid Barn Find here. And there’s even an engine photo.
Ha, this is great, Michelle, nice find!
Believe it or not, I have one of these pedal cars in 99% mint condition. Mine has “© 1996 Oscar Mayer Foods” stamped on the bottom.
I wrote about what was likely a fake craigslist ad (big shocker) a few years ago:
https://barnfinds.com/prank-frank-1977-oscar-mayer-wienermobile/
Happy Independence Day, everyone!
No surprise there, pal,, :)
Oh, ( sing along),,,I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener, that is what I truly want to beeeee,,,’cause if I was an Oscar Mayer Wiener, everyone would be in love with me,,( and the anti verse,,”Oh I’m glad I’m not an Oscar Mayer wiener, that is what I never want to beeee,,cause if I was an Oscar Mayer wiener,, there would soon be nothing,, left,,, of,,me,,),Not mentioned, the Wienermobile came from my home state, and Oscar Mayer was a proud fixture of Madison Wis. for over 100 years. The drivers are called “Hotdoggers'( and a waiting list, I’m sure, college students only need apply) for the 6 wienermobiles around the country. When I was a kid, the wienermobile at parades used to emit hot dog smells, and the driver threw out hot dog whistles, that surely annoyed our folks, but was all in good fun. I don’t recall any pedal cars, and now they are called “Frankmobiles”,,,good heavens, another swipe at what we hold dear,,,
Hot dogs have gotten a bad rap for a long time, picked on by all the comics, but I actually like hot dogs, and OM( now in PA., I think) made some of the best. I read Americans consume an astonishing 20 BILLION hot dogs a year! Mmm, hot dogs, and they are actually nutritious and low in fat( high in salt), and I’m sorry, but it’s always been “Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet”,( pizza just doesn’t fit) should be our new national anthem,,got a hot dog story? Oh, 1 more thing, get this, PETA is protesting a Nathans hot dog eating contest, that I think is disgusting, but I don’t think “Tommy Tofu” has a prayer..
Which is disgusting, PETA or the hot dog eating contest? Personally I think it’s a toss-up. On one hand you have a bunch of very vocal nutcases who know nothing of what they’re talking about, and on the other we have a group of non-athletes (I wonder why) trying to stuff as many wieners in their mouths as they can, of the 4th of July no less.
I find neither disgusting. I am likely not alone in my opinion.
Well, not a big fan of PETA, and I like hot dogs, but the contest is pure gluttony, one of the 7 deadly sins, I’m told.
Joey Chestnut won again with 17 dogs w/bun.
PETA, People Eating Tasty Animals.
PETA: Personal expressions, totally asinine.
17 dogs? You might want to Google that.
Joey had 70.5 hot dogs to win. And he said he was glad to be back in the contest after missing out last year.
Hi Jim, I tell people, I love animals, they’re delicious! Not too many vegetarian farmers, huh? :)
Howard A: I love your circa 1970 jokes…
Just caught it as the the news went by, thought they said 17 which would kill me! I could eat 70 but it would 2 years!
The sausage race 🏁 at the Brewers ⚾️ ball games are always a riot. 🌭
Many years ago out here in Arizona the Weinermobile made a appearance at a local grocery store,took the boys over to see it.
t took a niece on a ride of the Chiquita banana car a couple years ago. Those specialty cars are a hoot and occupy talented crazy people’s minds.
t took a niece on a ride of the Chiquita banana car a couple years ago. Those specialty cars are a hoot and occupy talented crazy people’s minds.
Is this for kids only? Asking for a friend.
I remember one on the sts before hienz kraft etc, etc conglomeration & that wuz in the ‘60s https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/oscar-mayer-is-changing-the-name-of-the-wienermobile/452332
https://www.instagram.com/p/DKzgi0fOkZF/
been around since the 40s I think. Seems they were on the streets B 4 the TV.
This is cool. I’ve never seen one myself. As a kid I had a ride on ’66 Corvette but no pedal car. Although not perfect it would be a great collectable.
I wouldn’t even consider this without a Marti report.