Not even a 27-foot-long hot dog is safe from the spate of catalytic converter thefts plaguing many dealerships and city streets across the country.
The Oscar Mayer Weinermobile was victimized by thieves in Las Vegas this month. The giant frankfurter was parked outside a hotel just off the Strip when someone cut the catalytic converter out from under its bun, TV station KLAS reported.
After driver "Corn Dog Clara" and copilot "Chad'der Cheese" couldn't get the vehicle to start the next morning, they had it towed to a Penske Truck Rental. Mechanics found a replacement part that fit well enough to be used temporarily and got the wheeled weenie on its way.
"A hot dog truck, no way," said Joseph Rodriguez, parts administrator for the Penske shop. "Imagine like a huge hot dog in the middle of your bay. There's all these other trucks and you got to work on this."
Catalytic converters, which filter pollutants from a vehicle's emissions, are sought by thieves for the valuable metals they contain. Reports of such thefts to Las Vegas police soared 72 percent last year, KLAS said.
