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We often like to call our daily drivers our grocery getters, but that’s a bit of a misnomer. It’s like saying a Honda CR-V is an off-roader; we should reserve these terms for the vehicles optimized for such tasks. And there’s no better example of a true grocery getter than the giant Publix shopping cart recently spotted rolling around Florida.
This monstrous trolley first surfaced online via TikTok in January, in a video where the cart crawled through a neighborhood blasting music. As it passes, we can see it’s made from a custom tube chassis with two seats and its drivetrain out back. The dual carburetors and two-cylinder valve cover pointed to an air-cooled Volkswagen Beetle as the supersized cart’s basis. Indeed, Florida-based Total Precision Fabworx, who created the build, says the entire thing was built atop a VW Sand Rail buggy.
The rear of the faithfully recreated cart body shows what’s clearly an ad for a new Publix location—an employee-owned grocery store chain common in the southeastern United States. When contacted, Publix didn’t offer any additional technical information on the cart itself, but it suggested this appearance won’t be a one-off.
“The giant cart was a hit and is just one of the many tactics we use to bring awareness to new stores opening,” a Publix spokesperson told me. “While it’s only used on a limited basis for now, you never know where it might roll up!”
Naturally, the first place we’d all like to see it roll up is at a drag strip. Place your bets on whether this jumbo shopping cart could beat the world’s fastest outhouse in a race—or for that matter, the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile. Maybe they should race for pinks while they’re at it?
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