Funniest road test review ever (Oscar Mayer Wienermobile)

[DGthe3]

http://www.motortrend.com/classic/ro...est/index.html

Originally Posted by Motor Trend, circa 1987

In this era of play-it-safe look-alike cars, an era in which the automobile manufacturers have grown so conservative that every vehicle resembles nothing so much as a half-used bar of soap, it's refreshing to see one company break away from the herd with a distinctive design. That the design is from a newcomer to the automotive field comes as less of a surprise. Niche marketing has always been the best course for a new entry in the field, so when the 104-year-old Oscar Mayer Company decided to diversify into automobile manufacturing, it quite rightly chose a segment wide open for exploitation.


What we have here is not a maxi- or a mini-van, but a wienie-van -- a completely new vehicle type that, our guess is, the consuming public will find most palatable. We had the chance to flog the aptly named Wienermobile during the course of a two-day test session at the Chrysler Proving Grounds at Chelsea, Michigan, and found the prototype vehicle all it claimed to be -- and more. We can truly attest to the fact that, when you say Wienermobile, you've said a mouthful.

First and foremost, of course, is the Wienermobile's styling, which clearly sets it apart from the run-of-the-mill me-too cars of today. Over 22 ft long and standing more than 12 ft high, the Wienermobile is clearly a car with presence. Oscar Mayer was wise in drawing upon its bologna and braunschweiger heritage to fashion a one-of-a-kind cylindrical body poised on fiberglass fenders suggestive of a bun. With its sprightly upward tilt at the rear, one needn't be a Freudian psychologist to detect the raw potency and animal magnetism of the unique shape.

Equally fine are the details. The Oscar Mayer logo is well integrated in the cylindrical shape on each flank, and, while some might claim the logo is too large, there's no escaping its pure statement: This car's a wiener. The taillights, ingeniously pulled from a mid-'60s Ford product, and the stunning three-tone paint treatment with the yellow suggesting mustard are masterfully done. It's obvious Lincoln will never run a television ad about a Wienermobile owner having difficulty differentiating his car in a crowded parking lot.

Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/classic/ro...#ixzz0srpLWe00

[ArkySS]

If they would have put spicy mustard instead of that plain crap in it they would have gotten much better 60 and 1/4 times!

[2010 SSRS]

[DGthe3]

Here is some performance testing from the article:

Just because we had nothing to do that morning, we strapped our fifth-wheel equipment onto the prototype Wienermobile to get some empirical idea of the car's actual performance. We were literally amazed at what we found. The car staggered from 0-60 mph in a lofty 24.81 sec. That's remarkable enough by itself, but it's even drearier when one considers that the quarter mile arrived O.36-sec sooner at 24.45. The official speed through the standing (drooping?) quarter was 59.6 mph. Again, it seems safety was paramount in the engineers' priorities. No sudden acceleration here. In fact, there's almost no acceleration at all. Unless you're having a go against the Washington Monument, drag racing is better left to other, more ambulatory vehicles like skateboards, little red wagons, and pogo sticks.

Stopping distances? Surely, you jest. It was difficult for the Wienermobile to achieve 60 mph, much less find room to come to a halt from that speed. The distance from 30 mph was 55 ft, long enough that each stop should be planned a day in advance, another innovative safety feature.

http://www.motortrend.com/classic/ro...#ixzz0svjSbbja

I think I might be able to beat its 1/4 mile time on a bicycle

[helmincamaro]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

Here is some performance testing from the article:
http://www.motortrend.com/classic/ro...#ixzz0svjSbbja

I think I might be able to beat its 1/4 mile time on a bicycle

now there's an idea! I wonder if the local drag strip would let me bring my schwinn.... Maybe if I tell them I got a '66 stingray... maybe they will think its a vette instead of a bike