CAR and Driver - March 2017

68. COMPARO. CAR AND DRIVER. MAR/2017

HOT BOX, HOT BAG, HOT CAR

C/D borrowed a T640 thermal imaging camera from Flir Systems to record the

temperatures of three fresh-from-the-oven medium pepperoni pizzas. Pizza A

was placed in a Domino’s corrugated cardboard box plus the “Heatwave” insu-

lated bag normally used to deliver all Domino’s pizzas. Pizza B was similarly

bundled but also placed in the Warming Oven of the Domino’s DXP for delivery.

And finally, Pizza C was only put in the box. After an eight-minute trip to franchi-

see Mark Talarico’s house a mile and a half away, we photographed them again.

So, which one best retained its cheesy, bubbly, toasty deliciousness? Without

either the bag or oven around it, Pizza C lost heat rapidly, dropping from a center

average temperature of 215 degrees out of the oven down to 161 degrees at

delivery. The remaining heat was well distributed around the pie, with the coldest

spots at its center where the air gaps from being sliced facilitated cooling.

The bagged Pizza A dropped from 218 degrees at the oven down to 170

degrees at delivery. However, across the pie face the temperature was higher and

more consistent, with a cold spot at the center where, we speculate, the pizza

came in contact with the top of the box, dissipating some heat.

But it was Pizza B, the one that took its trip in the DXP, that lost the least heat.

At 213 degrees, it came out of the oven with the coolest center average tempera-

ture, but at a sizzling 167 degrees at delivery, it saw the smallest temperature

drop. We suspect that the heating pad in the DXP’s Warming Oven’s bottom isn’t

that effective. But the plastic box itself helps retain heat better than just the

thermal bag. So if you want your pizza piping hot, ask for delivery in a DXP. —JPH

short supply. Or, at least, their
owners have yet to discover
Craigslist. With a deadline fast
approaching and no suitable
car to use as our control, des-
peration drove me into Buell-
ton, a nearby one-horse town
(and that horse has pinkeye). Along Buell-
ton’s Avenue of the Flags, which is barely
an avenue and where there are no flags, are
tow shops that retrieve derelicts off the
highway. And in front of one was an
impounded 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse on
pockmarked wheels shedding its custom
flame paint job. Faded glory, bitter auto-
motive betrayal, and a sketchy employ-
ment history, all embodied in one black
heap. It was perfect, and, according to the
tail badge, it was a GT-R. I offered $1300 to
the shop that had impounded it, and the
offer was immediately accepted, meaning
that I overpaid.
Domino’s isn’t trying to hide the DXP’s
origins. It’s a Korean-built Chevrolet Spark
that’s been transmogrified by Roush Indus-

tries in Livonia, Michigan, into

an oh-so-adorable mishmash of

Good Humor ice-cream truck

and Oscar Mayer Wienermo-

bile, all wrapped in self-aware

Noid-inspired vinyl graphics.

At least it’s better than the

mopeds given to pizza-delivery dudes in

Korea, and its “Warming Oven” almost

nearly works.

First shown at a 2014 franchisee con-

vention in Las Vegas, the DXP arrives at an

inflection point in the history of pizza

delivery. According to the 2017 Pizza Power

Report issued by PMQ Pizza Magazine,

pizza sales in the United States through

September 2016 reached just over $44 bil-

lion. Large chains, such as delivery-

obsessed Domino’s, outsell independent

pizzerias, even as mom-and-pop shops out-

number the corporate stores. Presumably

internet ordering systems that store credit-

card and delivery-address data will only

increase the chains’ advantage, as PMQ

says online ordering will soon overtake

Left: The broken glass

came courtesy of the

world’s dumbest

stereo-system thief.

Right: Passenger seat

for the world’s most

oddly shaped buttocks.

phone ordering. Customers are hardly even

aware they’re spending real money on pizza

as it magically shows up a few minutes after

they tap an app. Delivery—by car, Skynet-

loyal drone, or express zombie-gram—is

America’s pizza present and future.

Alas, Domino’s had plenty of legalese to

keep C/D from actually delivering its

pizzas. We could drive the DXP, but not

make actual deliveries. So we drove it, but

we also followed as Joe Hayes, a trained

pizza professional, delivered pies around

the student ghetto of Isla Vista near the

University of California, Santa Barbara.

There’s only one seat in the DXP anyhow.

It sort of worked out.

Incidentally, again according to PMQ

Pizza Magazine, 54 percent of millennials

have posted photos of their pizza to social

media. Go figure.

2. MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE GT-R
   W hen we bought this unwanted car, the
   flat-spotted tires rode like rocks. The
   booming aftermarket stereo would turn on

A) START • 218 DEGREES

B) START • 213 DEGREES

C) START • 215 DEGREES

A) FINISH • 170 DEGREES

B) FINISH • 167 DEGREES

C) FINISH • 161 DEGREES