Each of you may have a favorite all-time vehicle that you consider a "sweet ride." However, in Hershey, PA, "America’s sweetest ride" is the 26-foot long, 12-foot tall Hershey’s Kissmobile. This "sweet ride" is made up of three giant Hershey’s Kisses chocolates – a classic Hershey’s Kisses milk chocolate, a Hershey’s Kisses filled with carmel chocolate, and a Hershey’s Kisses filled with dulce de leche.
Created in 1997, the Kissmobile was a fun way to celebrate Hershey Kisses’ 90th Year Anniversary. Now, the Kissmobiles (there is a fleet of two) travel around the country visiting children in hospitals, participating in parades and festivals, making retail visits and appearing at conventions. To date, the original Kissmobile has traveled more than 250,000 miles and has visited more than 200 cities across America.
The middle Hershey’s Kisses section of the vehicle comes equipped with a 42-inch, plasma flat screen TV, a DVD and sound system complete with karaoke.
The Kissmobile was designed and built by Prototype Source Inc., a Santa Barbara, CA, company specializing in building custom-designed prototypes and specialty vehicles for businesses around the world. The company worked for six months designing and building the Kissmobile.
The original Kissmobile was built atop a 1997 GMC W-4 series truck chassis and the second Kissmobile was built on a 1998 Chevrolet W-4 series truck chassis. Both Kissmobiles are equipped with a 4-speed automatic transmission, a 38-gallon gas tank, and are powered by GM Vortec 5.7L V-8 engines.
For more information on the Kissmobile and to see when it will be in your area, visit www.kissmobile.com.
Kellogg’s Tonymobile
Tony the Tiger and his friends have been bringing breakfast fun to families for years. Now, the famous Kellogg’s characters travel across the United States in their custom-made Tonymobile – a 23-foot long, 13-foot high traveling "character-vehicle."
Like the Kissmobile, the Tonymobile was designed by Prototype Source and took more than 3,000 hours to build. It features a fiberglass body showcasing larger-than-life, three-dimensional representations of the famous characters that represent Kellogg’s cereals. The Tonymobile weighs 9,500 pounds (or 4.75 tons) and is decorated with more than 20 different colors. It runs at 285 horsepower and features a Chevrolet 350 Vortec 5700 V-8 engine.
While visiting the Tonymobile, families have an opportunity to take photos with Tony and his friends and learn about their favorite characters and cereals. Trivia contests, fun giveaways and samples of Kellogg’s news products are also available.
To see when the Tonymobile is scheduled to be in your area, visit www.tonymobile.com.
The Wienermobile
One of American’s favorite foods is the hot dog (between Memorial Day and Labor Day, Americans eat more than seven billion hot dogs!), so it isn’t surprising that one of the most recognizable character vehicles on the road today is the Wienermobile.
The Wienermobile has a long and storied history, as the first one cruised the streets of Chicago in 1936! The first Wienermobile measured 13-feet in length and promoted Oscar Meyer "German Style Wieners." The first Wienermobile cost $5,000 to build.
The 2004 version of the Wienermobile was built by Prototype Source and the converted Chevrolet boasts a 4-speed/W4 series chassis that has a 6.0L, 350 Vortec 5700 V-8 engine. It also is equipped with anti-lock brakes and has a 32.1-gallon fuel tank for each fill up of high-octane mustard.
Like many other vehicles on the road today, the Wienermobile comes with a multitude of bells and whistles. Some of the features include: gull wing door with automatic retractable step; hotdogger voice activated GPS navigational system; mustard splattered walkway; an audio center complete with wireless microphone; blue sky ceiling art; six mustard and ketchup colored seats; and official wiener jingle horn.
The Wienermobile cruises on average 500 miles per week and has storage space for 11,000 of the famous wienerwhistle toys.
If you want to learn more about the Wienermobile, visit www.kraftfoods.com.
