Are you ready to get nuts? Let's take a look at eight of the strangest promotional cars to ever hit the streets. These vehicles are sure to embed themselves in your memory long after you pass them on the highway. From the Suzuki X-90 to the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, these cars are the ultimate rolling billboards.
The Suzuki X-90, for example, was an unsuccessful early crossover, but its rowdy Sidekick roots and unnerving proportions made it a perfect vehicle for promoting candy-flavored caffeinated soda in the Nineties. The Red Bull X-90 featured a five-foot can and a full tank of attitude, reaching speeds of up to 60 mph.
Another notable example is the Vernors gnome mascot, which has come and gone throughout the ginger ale's history. In the Seventies, ad-agency man Ronald Bialecki donned a gnome costume and drove a decked-out AMC Pacer known as the Gnome Mobile to public appearances in the Detroit area.
View Price on AmazonClarence Birdseye pioneered frozen foods during the Roaring Twenties. A 2005 TV commercial from his eponymous brand featured a Pea Car that shed its body panels as it traveled down a road, a metaphor for the nutrients lost during a fresh vegetable's journey to market. One actual Pea Car was built, with a Honda engine and a top speed of roughly 60 mph.
The NUTmobile represents the purest form of promotion, with its 26-foot legume shape making it an immediately recognizable vehicle. The first peanut-shaped promo car dates to 1935, and Planters revived the concept in 1999, revamping the NUTmobile last year with a neon-lit selfie station and peanut-shaped door handles.
Other notable examples include L.L.Bean's Bootmobile, a 13-foot-tall flagship truck that debuted in 2012 for the Freeport-based outfitter's centenary, and the Bic spaceship-like vehicle that led the publicity caravan along the 1953 Tour de France route.
Lincoln's Toe Truck of Seattle debuted in 1980 and quickly became a Pacific Northwest icon, thanks in part to the disturbingly slimy sheen of its towering toes. The original left-foot truck was built from an old VW Bus chassis, and in 1996, a matching right-foot truck was made from a 1968 Chevrolet van.
The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile has been the preeminent promo vehicle since 1936, when Oscar's nephew Carl G. Mayer fabricated the original for $5,000. The rolling frankfurters have since been built on chassis from Dodge, Jeep, and Chevrolet, and a miniature version was based on a Mini Cooper.
Source: roadandtrack.com
