It’s Now the The Frankmobile?

In 1936, Carl Mayer, the nephew of hot dog impresario Oscar Mayer, suggested that the company could promote its “German-style Wieners” by designing and developing a vehicle that was shaped like one of those now-iconic sausages. The more-famous Mayer agreed, and the first 13-foot Wienermobile debuted in Chicago later that year. The vehicle has gone through a number of changes, upgrades, and adaptations over the past 87 years (including a WienerCycle and WienerDrone), but one thing has remained constant. Ever since the giant drivable ‘dog had a name, it’s been referred to as “The Wienermobile”… until now. Oscar Mayer announced today that it is changing the vehicle’s name for the first time ever, re-christening it as “The Frankmobile” in honor of its new-recipe all-beef franks. The company is deploying a fleet of six renamed Frankmobiles this week, and they’re now being piloted by “Frankfurters” instead of Hotdoggers. Don’t worry, though: the motorized meat still looks almost the same, save for the name “Frankmobile” between its headlights and a decal on its, er, buns that reads “The All-Beef Frank Frankmobile” and “Please do not lick the All-Beef Beef Frankmobile.” (And the Frankmobile still wears the same customized license plates as its predecessor, including “IWSHIWR,” a reference to Oscar Mayer’s classic earworm of a jingle.) (FoodandWine)