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Joor Man offers exhaust system salvation.
Joor Man offers exhaust system salvation.

Muffler Man - Joor Man

Field review by the editors.

Escondido, California

Arm Position: Standard

Holiday cheer in Escondido.
Holiday cheer in Escondido.

Accessories: Oversized muffler, seasonal attire

Note: Featured on business card and local ads.

His Story

The Joor Muffler Man is courage personified. Other M-Men cower on building roofs or are secreted away after hours and off-season. But in the seasonless climes of southern California, the Joor man stands around the clock at the busy corner of Juniper and Valley Parkway in Escondido.

Joor Muffler Service has been replacing decrepit exhaust systems since first opening in 1931. Their muffler man, purchased at a trade show in the 1960s, has been wooing customers from his concrete slab for 50 years.

He sports a pencil-thin moustache, blue eyes and a piercing gaze. And he owns and extensive seasonal wardrobe. The muffler man can be seen in December dressed as Santa, and on Halloween wearing a large orange pumpkin.

During his decades of service, the big guy has survived a string of assaults. He's been riddled with arrows and splattered with paint balls. Pranksters once attached a mud-filled sheet around his waist as a gargantuan diaper. The worst was when vandals set his Santa pants on fire....

At the crossroads.
At the crossroads.

But most of the community respects the Joor Man, and would be unhappy if he left town (a less community-oriented giant, such as the crowned Midas Muffler man in Whittier, CA, can disappear with nary a whine).

They know he's important. We happened to notice, thoughtfully taped to a window in the Joor office, the Smithsonian magazine article "Big Men," (2000) where we blathered about the Muffler Men phenomenon. John DiPiero, the shop's manager, handed us a business card, which features the muffler man as business icon.

Muffler Man - Joor Man

Address:
302 East Valley Parkway, Escondido, CA
Directions:
Take Valley Parkway east from I-15 to Grand Avenue and continue east to Juniper, then turn north (left) two blocks to intersection of Juniper and Valley Parkway. Grand Avenue is the eastbound one-way complement to Valley Parkway.
RA Rates:
Worth a Detour
Save to My Sights

Nearby Offbeat Places

Grape Slide, Climbing TwigsGrape Slide, Climbing Twigs, Escondido, CA - < 1 mi.
Mexican Food in a Big BarrelMexican Food in a Big Barrel, Escondido, CA - < 1 mi.
Queen Califia's Magical Circle GardenQueen Califia's Magical Circle Garden, Escondido, CA - 3 mi.
In the region:
Louie Mattar's Fabulous $75,000 Cadillac, San Diego, CA - 28 mi.

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