Muffler Man

Dallas, Texas

At Bud and Ben Muffler and Front End Service, 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 three more Muffler Men -- Happy Half Wits -- promote variations of the same services, for Ken's Muffler and Brakes (Bud and Ken are brothers-in-law). You can visit all the four 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 Kip's Big Boy across the street. The entire Kip family was killed in a private plane crash, the restaurant went out of business, the Big Boy statue disappeared, but its Muffler Man legacy lives on.