Quick Shifts: Get Paid To Pilot a Giant Hot Dog

Each week I bring you the top stories in the auto industry along with my commentary or sometimes amusing thoughts about the craziness that goes on in the world of cars.  

Stories you’ll find today:

• Tesla’s Holiday Gift: A Smart Car With Attitude
• Now Hiring: Humans Willing to Pilot a Giant Hot Dog for $35k
• Pink Limo for Sale: Because Someone Finally Asked “What If Barbie Ran a Shuttle Service?
• Robotaxi Chaos in San Francisco: Waymos Learn the Hard Way That Streets Have Dead Ends 

Tesla’s Holiday Gift: A Smart Car With Attitude.  Tesla’s annual holiday software update has arrived, and this year it brought Grok along for the ride, because apparently your car now wants to roast you while you sit in traffic. The AI chatbot, courtesy of Elon Musk’s other company, can answer questions, crack jokes, and generally act like the world’s most sarcastic passenger, all while you’re supposed to be paying attention to the road. Tesla owners are already discovering that Grok is less “helpful digital assistant” and more “that friend who never stops talking,” delivering snark, pop culture commentary, and the occasional unfiltered response that feels very on-brand for the company. This joins the usual Tesla holiday fare of light shows, playful sounds, and features no one asked for but everyone will demo exactly once. To be fair, it’s harmless fun, but it also underscores a familiar Tesla theme: while other automakers quietly refine build quality and reliability, Tesla keeps adding personality traits. If nothing else, it’s comforting to know that if your panel gaps still aren’t perfect, at least your car can now talk back.

Now Hiring: Humans Willing to Pilot a Giant Hot Dog for $35K.  Oscar Mayer is once again taking applications for “Hotdoggers,” the brave dozen who will spend a full year driving a 27-foot fiberglass frankfurter around America while convincing strangers that yes, this really is your job. The Wienermobile program targets recent college grads, which makes sense because nothing says “I’m ready for adulthood” like living out of hotels and explaining to your parents that your degree now qualifies you to operate a giant meat-shaped publicity stunt. More than 5,000 people apply every year, which is adorable considering the job pays about $35k and guarantees a lifetime supply of people shouting “Hey, nice wiener!” at you in gas stations. Requirements include a clean driving record, an outgoing personality, and the emotional resilience to smile through 300 photos a day with people who loudly debate whether this thing is technically a sandwich. Still, the perks are real: free travel, a nationwide tour, and an ironclad excuse to say “Sorry, can’t make your wedding—I’m on hotdog duty.” If this feels like your destiny, applications are open. For everyone else, rest easy knowing that not even autonomous vehicles will ever replace a 27-foot rolling sausage with feelings.

Pink Limo for Sale: Because Someone Finally Asked “What If Barbie Ran a Shuttle Service?  Someone out there decided that the classic stretch limo aesthetic needed a shot of neon estrogen and slapped a bright pink paint job on a Chrysler 300, then stuck it up for sale on Facebook Marketplace — complete with decals reading “Party Girls on the Go” and what appears to be a wildly optimistic business plan. The base car’s proportions apparently stretch quite nicely, but the interior, described as a bunker-like sea of pink with questionable graphics and a stock front cabin, suggests this thing is more “barbie dream bunker” than “luxury transport.” The article points out that regular black limos are boring and posits this could be your chance to launch the hot girl car service you never knew the world desperately needed, so long as you’re willing to fix peeling decals, change the wheels, stock a minibar and keep that partition up for sanity’s sake. The seller is asking around $20,000, a price that might sound reasonable if your business plan includes shuttle duty for bachelorette parties, salon drop-offs and prom night selfies, but might look a bit shaky once the first bridal party asks for actual champagne rather than filtered Instagram photos. This pink 300 limo is exactly the kind of oddball automotive oddity that gives the rest of the car world material to laugh with it — or at it, depending on how you feel about hot pink land yachts. 

Robotaxi Chaos in San Francisco: Waymos Learn the Hard Way That Streets Have Dead Ends.  In what may be the most *human-like traffic jam yet engineered by artificial intelligence, three Waymo robotaxis inexplicably decided to stage a standoff on a narrow, dead-end street in San Francisco, blocking traffic and frustrating residents until a Waymo employee showed up to untangle the mess. Two of the autonomous taxis made minor contact while trying to execute multi-point turns, wedging themselves sideways in the cul-de-sac and turning the whole situation into a viral TikTok phenomenon as a third robotaxi dutifully stopped behind them and waited, because nothing says self-driving confidence like dutifully obeying a frozen traffic jam created by your own kind. Bystanders captured the scene as locals wondered whether they’d stumble into this robotic gridlock walking their dog, a moment that underscores both the promise and the occasional comedy of the driverless future. Despite this hiccup — and other odd episodes involving Waymo vehicles doing things like wandering through police scenes — the company continues its broader expansion into new cities and highways, insisting these edge cases are part of refining the tech.