The Oscar Mayer WienermobileGreg MiglioreOn a bright sky blue Saturday morning, I'm reading a book and sipping an iced coffee in Detroit's West Village. To my surprise, the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile appears out of nowhere and slowly creeps down Kercheval Avenue.Curious onlookers snap pictures and people float out of local businesses to gawk at the larger-than-life hotdog on wheels. It parks on the street and its drivers – known as hotdoggers – melt into the neighborhood. It actually fits pretty well at the curb, though it's more than two times taller than a normal vehicle. A Honda Fit parks in front and a sporty red Mazda Miata settles behind it.What was the Wienermobile doing in this quiet corner of Detroit nestled between downtown and the river?AdvertisementAdvertisementIt was a couple of hotdoggers enjoying some time off, Kraft Heinz spokesperson Kate Mitchell told me. They were in town for an event at a Kroger and the Detroit Kite Festival, and believe it or not, hotdoggers get to use the Wienermobile as their personal ride during downtime.On July 27, the Wienermobile celebrated its 90th birthday, complete with a wiener cake of Oscar Mayer hot dogs arranged around a Milk Bar rainbow cake. It was a landmark moment for one of the oldest and best-known promotional vehicles, which has crossed over into pop culture and created memories for generations. Like the Goodyear Blimp, Planters Nutmobile and Budweiser Clydesdales, the Wienermobile has turned a marketing ploy into a memory maker on wheels.A Wienermobile Road TestThe Oscar Mayer WienermobileA few days after the milestone birthday, I find myself riding shotgun—shotbun actually—in the Wienermobile. As an automotive journalist, I've taken Jeeps off-roading on the Rubicon Trail and tested Lamborghinis at Willow Springs Raceway. I've been in Mercedes-AMG speedboats, helicopters and once I flew in a seaplane that landed on water. I even drove an off-duty police car on Woodward Avenue. A ride in the Wienermobile? This is a first.The 27-foot long hot dog on wheels pulls up to my house on a steamy summer day. "Lunchmeat" Luke and "Ketchup" Kampbell are my chauffeurs for the ride, and the hot dog references are everywhere. The Wienermobile has a bunroof, meatbelts, ketchup and mustard-style seats and a hot dog-shaped glove box. Under the hood is a General Motors-sourced 6.0-liter Vortex V8 engine teamed with a six-speed automatic transmission ("We're packing some pretty serious mustard under the hood," Luke quips), and the motor sits between the driver and front passenger. The Wienermobile also has navigation, Apple CarPlay and a TV.AdvertisementAdvertisementYou get in and out through a gullwing door that swings open and releases retractable steps. Inside, the layout and size is similar to a small party bus you might rent. The ride is a little bouncy but generally comfortable. Luke is at the wheel, and he ably navigates suburban Detroit's bumpy roads and construction zones during our short test ride. My son sat in the second row soaking it all in."Hands down, the hardest part is the parking."— Molle Twing, a former hotdogger who now oversees the programThe Wienermobile is surprisingly nimble, as evidenced by the street parking I witnessed during my first encounter, and the hotdoggers don't even need a commercial driver's license to operate it. Still, it takes skill to maneuver."Hands down, the hardest part is the parking," says Molle Twing, a former hotdogger who now oversees the program.Hot Dog High: Boot Camp for HotdoggersHotdoggers "Lunchmeat" Luke and "Ketchup" Kampbell.Lunchmeat Luke, a.k.a. Luke Kirchner, and Ketchup Kampbell, or Kampbell Hemeyer, are recent college graduates who were selected to drive the Wienermobile for a year. Twelve hotdoggers are chosen each year, and fewer than 500 people have gone through the training program since it launched in 1988. Statistically, it's harder to get into the program than an Ivy League school. The hotdoggers go through a rigorous camp in Madison, Wisconsin, to learn how to drive the Wienermobile, with retired police officers serving as instructors.AdvertisementAdvertisementIt can also be a springboard to a career, and serving as a paid spokesperson for Oscar Mayer can lead to promising jobs in advertising, marketing and public relations. Former U.S. House speaker Paul Ryan is one of the more notable hotdoggers. Mostly though, it is a lot of fun, the hotdoggers say, as they get to see the country and meet new people every day."I am a people person," says Kirchner, a recent Tulane University graduate. "Why have an office when you can drive a 27-foot hot dog on wheels."Hemeyer, who attended the University of Missouri, says "The energy of the Wienermobile radiates. Your whole job is to spread joy."After my ride they headed to the Yale (Michigan) Bologna Festival, a local fair and then to Cleveland.The Wienermobile's Long HistoryThe 1936 Oscar Mayer WienermobileThere are six Wienermobiles on the road in the United States at any given time. The first one in 1936 was the idea of Carl Mayer, a nephew of Oscar Mayer, who came up with the idea to promote the brand. They're on the road every day of the year, swinging by everything from football games to Times Square to prom. Anyone can request a Wienermobile appearance.AdvertisementAdvertisementFor a brief spell in 2023, the Wienermobile was renamed the Frankmobile to promote Oscar Mayer's all-beef franks, though it was changed back after four months.The vehicle has evolved with automotive technology over the last 90 years, at various points using Dodge and Willys Jeep chassis and Ford Thunderbird taillights. In the 1970s it was based on a Chevy motor home before the program was discontinued in 1977.The Wienermobile's return in 1988 featured six fiberglass hot dogs on wheels that measured 23 feet in length, followed by 1990s to early 2000s models that brought the vehicle to its present size of 27 feet. The modern Wienermobiles have been on the road since 2004 and receive nearly annual updates for technology and safety.The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile celebrating 90 years.Over the years, there have also been Mini Cooper-based and off-road tuned- Wienermobiles. It has served as a wedding chapel and an Airbnb, and last year the hotdoggers raced each other in the Wienie 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.AdvertisementAdvertisementNaturally, the Wienermobile I sampled had plenty of the famous Wiener Whistles, which the hotdoggers pass out to spectators and fans. The whistles first appeared in 1951 in some packs of Oscar Mayer wieners and have become synonymous with the Wienermobile. They've even grown in popularity themselves, appearing in the 1994 movie "The Santa Clause."Whether you get a whistle from a hotdogger or a honk with the official Oscar Mayer jingle, the Wienermobile has endured as a memory machine for decades, allowing it to endure when other marketing stunts have faded. As Twing put it, Wienermobile stories usually start with, "I remember when. It's such an engrained moment."This article was originally published on Forbes.com