Muffler Men
Roadside America: A tribe of highway fiberglass titans from the 1960s, 14 to 25 feet tall, were scattered and mostly forgotten until our 1980s-90s field trips connected the dots. Exaggerated caricatures of lumberjacks, cowboys, Indians and mechanics share a common ancestry. The earliest finds by Roadside America authors held big car mufflers. We nicknamed them "Muffler Men!"
Latest Sightings | Tracking Map | Identify | Origins | Rant | Variants | List
Muffler Men Activity
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Two New Muffler Men were erected in Granite City, Illinois, joining Route 66's pre-centennial frenzy. Mark Cline created "Earl," a 14-ft. custom character for O'Brien Tire and Auto Care, and a 20-ft. giant cast from original molds, as "a sentinel of the working class." [June 23, 2025]
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Roadside America Video: Giants Among Us - Know the Signs. Monoliths of Myth, commercial colossi, worthy of their own musical saga. Turn on closed captions and attempt to sing along! [Direct You Tube Link] [August 8, 2024]
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American Pickers visit Mark Cline and his new breed of Muffler Men, in Natural Bridge, VA. [July 25, 2024]
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Joel Baker's fun video on where the term "Muffler Men" for the giants originated (us!). We might quibble over a few details and deductions (Polaroid slides, Dashew's daughter, Dallas) but it's a good chronicle of the path we traveled in the no-info network '80s and '90s. Why Are They Called Muffler Men [July 14, 2024]
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CBS News reports on the grand opening of a museum exclusively devoted to roadside giants, in Atlanta, IL. [May 25, 2024]
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Muffler Man of Metal (And Neon). The permanent Route 66 Experience exhibit at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield features a stylized sculptural tribute to the Muffler Men of the Mother Road. [May 10, 2024]
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Wilmington, IL saves the Gemini Giant in buy-or-die auction frenzy. Purchased by the Joliet Area Historical Museum for a record-breaking $275,000, then whisked away to be reinstalled in town at another Rt. 66 location. [March 21, 2024]
Identify!
Muffler Men spotters! Learn the characteristics of classics, hybrids, mutants -- their postures, accessories, and a new generation of giants derived from molds of originals.
Track!
Our constantly updated Muffler Men Map reveals a happy continent of fiberglass giants. The original tracking chart lingers, full of our research and travelers' reports since we created the Muffler Men Home Page in 1996.
Origins
Where do these fiberglass giants come from? The molds fell from our eyes after we first interviewed Steve Dashew for the "Origin of the Species" (1999, updated 2023)
Right Hand Man: Historic details from sculptor Richard Ellis.
Rants: Secret Plot of the Muffler Men
Friend or foe? Biding their time for over 60 years, their true intent and machinations are still hazy to the non-fiberglass populace.
Variants, Related Roadside Giants, Competing Species
- Auto Parts Sculptures: Some call these "muffler men," too. Bah!
- Big Friend Extermination: The shame of the advertising industry.
Uniroyal Gals: Perky Jackie Kennedy lookalikes.- Frankenmuffler: Hard to explain.
- Big in Pictures: Bit parts for Muffler Man in movies and TV.
- Strange Sentries: Excursions across the border.
- True Tales: Accounts and revelations from the field.
