Someone Stole a Wienermobile's Catalytic Converter

The Wienermobiles, a fleet of six cars shaped like hot dogs meant to promote Oscar Mayer and a bona fide American treasure, are built from some combination of an Isuzu truck chassis and components from a surprising collection of great cars. They are largely trucks underneath, which means they have catalytic converters. That means even the Wienermobile is not safe from the ongoing rash of catalytic converter thefts.

One Wienermobile was in Las Vegas earlier this week when its catalytic converter was reportedly cut out from underneath it. Fox 5 Vegas says the theft happened on Friday, briefly delaying the hot-dog-shaped icon from completing its important duties touring the Las Vegas valley. A temporary emergency repair was made to seal where the converter had been cut out, allowing the Wienermobile to continue on its way.

Catalytic converter theft has been a hot topic in recent years. The rare metals in the devices are worth big money, and a recent spike in the values of palladium, rhodium, and platinum has led to an overwhelming increase in the thefts since 2019. One ring busted in November of last year was accused of handling tens of millions in rare metals from catalytic converters.

Some manufacturers offer countermeasures, like the $140 theft guard option available on the upcoming Prius, but Oscar Mayer seemingly did not equip the Wienermobile with that level of protection. That likely made it an easy target for a thief who wanted to quickly turn around the rare metals in the device, but it is technically possible that the thief just owns a hot-dog-shaped truck that needed a very specific part to get back on the road.

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