If you see this 1970 Plymouth ’Cuda, scan it and get free hamburgers for a year.
The news coming out of McDonald’s hasn’t been great as of late. Dropped menu items, the loss of all-day breakfast (my favorite!), labor unrest, and many meals now topping $18 have tended to have the effect of pushing customers away from the brand. However, a new promotion that caught our eye may change that: McDonald’s has let the Hamburglar out on parole (no word on his cellmate, Hardee’s Gilbert Giddyup), and he’s tearing up the countryside in a 1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda called the BurgerCuda. McDonald’s unleashed this beast on January 29, and from now until February 25, you can win free McDonald’s hamburgers for a year just by spotting the car and scanning the code to get an Arch Card and other McDonald’s swag items.
Moreover, the BurgerCuda isn’t the grand prize, but we think it should be. No word on what the running gear is in the BurgerCuda, but it does have a thoroughly pimped-out interior in the Hamburglar’s trademark black-and-white jailhouse garb, with some red and yellow McDonald’s accents thrown in for good measure. A burger dispenser sits behind a four-speed pistol-grip shifter, and the console clamshell is equipped with a special heat lamp to keep those burgers hot. We can also make out a Tuff steering wheel with a McDonald’s logo. Checking out the stance, we see that it’s pretty low, and we spot some slick-looking 20-inch billet wheels masquerading as painted steelies, and it was all styled by one of our favorite designers, Sean Smith.
Baby boomers will no doubt remember the Hamburglar’s original appearance in 1971, when a far scarier Hamburglar character named the Lone Jogger was so terrifying to kids that McDonald’s had to soften his look to avoid scaring them away from the franchise. Back then, the Hamburglar didn’t have cool wheels like a Plymouth ‘Cuda, but Ronald McDonald did have a slightly less scary flying hamburger that seems to have mysteriously disappeared from public record.
Consequently, look for the BurgerCuda to be making hamburger heists from coast to coast in February as he sprints cross-country in an epic burger swindle. McDonald’s says to look for the Hamburglar’s iconic black-and-white stripes on the interior and exterior, bun-like hubcaps, a spare tire disguised as a giant cheeseburger, and the Hamburglar’s trademark catchphrase “RBL RBL” on the license plate.
Images courtesy of McDonald’s
Johnny Hunkins
Johnny Hunkins, born 1963, grew up mainly in Greensboro, NC. Attended Southeast Guilford High School (Greensboro) and graduated in 1981. Received a BFA degree in Art with a concentration in Design from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNC-G) in 1985. The son of a music teacher and a music composer, he began playing guitar at age 6, meanwhile harbored companion interests in muscle cars, model car building, NASCAR racing, and drag racing. During and after attending UNC-G, he worked as an auto service writer at Montgomery Ward Auto Express. He bought a Ford Mustang LX 5.0L in 1987 which he began modifying immediately, then started contributing freelance stories to Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords (MM&FF) in 1991. Moved to New Jersey from North Carolina and became fulltime MM&FF tech editor in the fall of 1992. Helped create, then became editor of GM High-Tech Performance (originally High-Tech Performance) magazine in 1995. While at MM&FF, he invented the popular “True Street” drag racing class used by many sanctioning organizations. Moved to California in 2003 to become editor of Popular Hot Rodding magazine. In July of 2014, he became editor of Mopar Muscle magazine for the rebranded TEN network. Previous and current magazine projects cars include: 1987 Ford Mustang LX 5.0 (Project Excalibur), 1989 Ford Mustang LX 5.0, 1987 Buick Regal Turbo-T (2 of them), 1993 Pontiac Firebird Formula (Project Thunderchicken), 1989 Pontiac Firebird Formula 350 (Project Magnum TPI), 1994 Chevy Camaro Z 28 (The Grape Of Wrath), 1976 Chevy Camaro (Project g/28), 1968 Chevy Chevelle (Street Sweeper), 1975 Chevy Laguna S-3 NASCAR clone, 1968 Chevy Nova, and 1968 Plymouth Valiant. Other interests include fine cigars, writing and recording rock music (Hunkins is an artist on the indy label Grooveyard Records), and mid-century modern architecture and design. Hunkins lives in Desert Hot Springs, CA.
