Muffler Man

Dallas, Texas

At Reyes Mufflers and Towing, the signs and statue are very clear. It's a muffler shop, and there's a sharply painted fiberglass Muffler Man, holding a large auto muffler labeled, "MUFFLERS."

Elsewhere in Dallas more Muffler Men -- Happy Half Wits -- promote variations of the same services, for Ken's Muffler and Brakes. Reyes Mufflers was previously Bud and Ben Muffler and Front End Service, and Bud and Ken (but not Ben) were brothers-in-law. You can visit all of the statues, if traffic cooperates, in about an hour.

According to Ken (not Bud or Ben) this particular Muffler Man was erected in 1965, inspired by a Big Boy statue at a Kip's Big Boy across the street. The entire Kip family was killed in a private plane crash, the restaurant went out of business, and the Big Boy statue disappeared. But the Muffler Man lives on.