Since 1936, there have been 11 generations of a very unique automobile. It’s an 11 foot high, 27 foot long vehicle. But it’s not a truck, or a van. It’s a giant sausage.

More specifically, it’s an Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

It’s a giant hot dog in a bun, on wheels, being propelled down the nation’s highways and byways on a MINI Cooper chassis by a 1.6 liter turbocharged four cylinder engine.

Six of them roam the country today, driven by recent college graduates known as “hotdoggers,” who get to play the Wiener Jingle in 21 different music genres from the horn. There are five other versions, including a food truck, WienerMini, WienerRover, WienerCycle, and a WienerDrone.

The original wienermobile was created in 1936 by company founder Oscar Mayer’s nephew, Carl Mayer, on a custom built chassis to visit communities and advertise for the brand. Due to World War II and fuel rationing, however, the program ended. After the war was over, 1952 saw the beginning of the new era of Wienermobiles, built with the engines, chassis, and lights of the Big Three automakers, but with the iconic giant sausage body.

The 1952 Wienermobile now lives in the Henry Ford Museum, and in the hearts of people who love giant cars shaped like sausages. Not to mention all the children (and adults) who have WienerWhistles, which are little plastic whistles shaped like the Weinermobile, or WeinieBeanies, which are Weinermobile stuffed toys.

The Weinermobile is an amazing display of the power of marketing. Just ask anyone who has a “Wienermobile Parking” sign. And if you want to get on the Wienermobile bandwagon (erm, sausage wagon) you can download the Wienermobile app from Google Play or App Store, which lets you track the Wienermobile, virtually drive it, and add Wienermobiles to your pictures. Visit the Oscar Mayer website for more information.