One of the US’s most easily recognizable vehicles is back on the road after it fell victim to a crime that has grown more common in recent years: catalytic converter theft. While parked in Las Vegas ahead of a Super Bowl weekend appearance, the Wienermobile, a 27ft-long bright yellow-and-red hotdog on wheels, was disabled after someone took the vehicle’s hardware.
The Wienermobile is actually a fleet of six vehicles used as a promotional tool for the celebrated Wisconsin-based hotdog brand Oscar Mayer. The Wienermobiles are driven across the nation by “hotdoggers” who claim the job for a one-year assignment. The morning after the converter was taken, the Wienermobile was towed to a nearby auto repair shop where mechanics installed a temporary converter that would allow the Wienermobile’s crew to drive it.