It became clear this would not be an everyday cruise of New York City somewhere between the invitation to ride “shot-bun,” and the cheery reminder to fasten my “meat-belt.”  The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile has been with us, in a variety of forms, since 1936. Over the decades, it has changed slightly in shape and size, though it’s going stronger than ever thanks to a social media-driven competition between six Weinermobile teams.  And let’s be honest, this also happens to be the most pun-intensive vehicle you can ever imagine. Did I forget to mention the view out of the “bun-roof?” Or that the team of “hotdoggers” who came to pick me up at my home in lower-Manhattan currently find themselves in last place, but hope to “ketchup” to the competition.  Okay, that last one was all mine – I’ll admit it.  PHOTOS: A DRIVE DOWN WIENERMOBILE MEMORY LANE  Sam Blum and Cokie Reed are the pilots of the Driftdog team, one of six entered in the first-ever ‘Wienermobile Run,’ which began on July 8. Each team consists of two drivers, who share the responsibility of driving, handing out highly-coveted red plastic “Wienermobile whistles,” and occasionally pressing a button that sparks the outdoor intercom into singing the Oscar Mayer jingle.  “[The Wienermobile] is very aero-dognamic,” said Sam, a recent graduate of the University of Maryland who goes by the handle “Sam and Cheese” in his official capacity as a hotdogger. Out of approximately 1,200 applicants, only 12 are picked to drive the Wienermobiles for a year-long tour of the U.S.  “A lot of people ask if we sleep in here, but it’s not a Weenie-bago,” Sam explained, with another perfectly timed and eye roll-inducing pun.  The cabin is actually pretty swanky, especially for a moving hotdog. There are six mustard and ketchup-colored bucket seats (each with an Oscar Mayer logo on them), a hotdog-shaped dashboard, large windows for a panoramic view ahead, a navigation system that can even pinpoint the location of the other Wienermobiles, and a spacious rear compartment for luggage and boxes of free goodies.  RELATED: THE ZIPPO CAR PUT THE ICONIC LIGHTER ON WHEELS  They don’t cook hotdogs onboard, however. The Wienermobile has many features, but a grill isn’t one of them. As Sam pointed out some vehicle highlights, his teammate “Cold-cut Cokie” deftly wheeled the Wienermobile from lower-Manhattan up to Union Square.  “New York is definitely different,” she said, while making a sharp left onto Houston Street, past a throng of construction workers, all of whom had stopped work to wave and take photos.  Each Wienermobile is built custom-built by Prototype Source in Santa Barbara, California. Beneath the wacky exterior beats the heart of a Chevrolet-sourced 6.0-liter V-8 coupled to a 4-speed automatic transmission. The chassis is the same as what you’d find beneath bread-van or UPS delivery truck.  Every hotdogger receives about 40 hours of training before they’re allowed to drive the Wienermobile. Large side mirrors and a rear-view camera are a big help in a vehicle measuring 27 feet long and 8 feet wide. Each Wienermobile weighs in at about 14,500 lbs. – the equivalent of 140,500 hotdogs, according to Oscar Mayer’s calculations.  PHOTOS: THE ZIPPO CAR TURNS 65  A stop in Union Square proves that, no matter your age or where you’re from in the world, the Wienermobile is probably he most smile-inducing vehicle on the planet. “I love this thing. It’s amazing,” said Jordan Moskowitz, who works in New York and had just emerged from the subway.  The Wienermobile’s appeal crosses continents as well. “We just saw [a report about the Wienermobile Run] on the news,” said Karin Hedberg, who was visiting from Sweden with her family. “It’s a lot of fun! And one of our friends here loves sausages,” she said, with a chuckle.  About the only moment of disappointment came when Kayla Costello and Ariana Colella, both students visiting from Pittston, Pennsylvania, thought there were no more wiener whistles being handed out. “Oh no,” they said, nearly in unison. “You only have one left?”  “No, no, I have lots left. Don’t worry,” hotdogger Cokie assured them, before opening the Wienermobile’s gull-wing side door to find more whistles.  After about one hour, it was time to head back downtown, though not before sending a few tweets with “#Driftdog” in each one, to help earn the team valuable points in the competition. Oscar Mayer is inviting fans to connect to each team via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  Posted photos of the vehicles, or the completion of humorous challenges (like taking a bride and groom to their wedding!), helps each team win points.  The Wienermobile Run goes through September, though each team of hotdoggers will be with their Wienermobile for an entire year. While presently mired in last place, the Driftdog team obviously relishes the chance to prove they can cut the mustard with the other teams.
We take a tour of the Big Apple in a 27-foot-long hotdog, the world famous Oscar Mayer Weinermobile.