The Domino's DXP Delivers Delicious Dinners to Your Door

dominos-dxp-front-three-quarter-2
When I saw the first commercial for the Domino’s DXP, I thought it was a joke. A purpose built vehicle, built by a pizza company? Surely you jest? I mean, I’ve certainly had a lot of good ideas about building the perfect pizza delivery vehicle before, but apparently Domino’s has been thinking about this for some time now. Check it out.

The DXP starts life as a Chevy Spark, which doesn’t sound promising at first. It’s powered by the stock 1.4 4-cylinder, which will never be confused for a powerful engine, but should be fuel efficient. Drivers should at least appreciate that they won’t be using all their tips to keep it fueled. Inside, there’s just one seat for the driver; the back seat is gone, and in its place is a flat floor and the warming oven, good for a whopping 80 pies. Hosting a party later? DXP has got you covered.
dominos-dxp
One of the interesting parts of this project, which you can see in more detail below, is the collaboration between Domino’s, GM, and Roush, who did the actual work of transforming the lowly Spark into the outrageous DXP. I like that they thought of everything a delivery driver needs in a car.
Chevrolet-Spark-Dominos-DXP-rear-cargo
The only downside I can see is that the DXP is a bit of a uni-tasker, so I wonder how long Domino’s plans to maintain their fleet. What else they could be used for? Parts runner, courier, mobile office? The bottom line: I need to start filing a patent for all my good ideas: I could have been rich.

[Source: Motor Trend]

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  1. Tanshanomi Avatar

    Wait, the oven cavity isn’t sealed, but is open to the vehicle interior even when the delivery door is closed? That seems really dumb, and uncomfortable for the driver in warm weather. And why isn’t the warming overn large enough to keep all the pizzas warm?
    Overall, it feels more like gimmick than legitimate tool.

    1. Citric Avatar
      Citric

      The fact that the warmer looks like a laundry basket with a heat lamp in it gives me pause.

      1. Tiller188 Avatar
        Tiller188

        I was going to say the same thing — the “warming oven” looks an awful lot like a slightly-misshapen Rubbermaid storage container on its side.

  2. Douche_McGee Avatar
    Douche_McGee

    Is Domino’s delivering food from good restaurants? Because that’s the only way they’re going to deliver any good food.

    1. dead_elvis Avatar
      dead_elvis

      Yep, the title & entire premise of the article is a filthy lie.

  3. BigRedCaveTroll Avatar
    BigRedCaveTroll

    They could almost use these as like a mobile pizza-selling platform. Drive to a fair in one of these puppies with 80 pizzas aboard, keep a couple in the oven, and then sell out whole pizzas or individual slices.

    1. Alcology Avatar
      Alcology

      99 extra large pizzas on-board, 99 extra-large pies. At 2 bucks a slice, the profit is nice!

  4. pj134 Avatar
    pj134

    I wonder if they’re using anything cool for logistics and routing. That would be neat.
    A running joke from with some of my friends is that if we ever have fuck you money we’ll buy a bunch of lambos and turn the passenger seat into a gyroscopic pizza warmer while trying to have the fleet average for fastest pizza delivery.
    We are usually a bit intoxicated when we start talking about that.

  5. Fred Talmadge Avatar
    Fred Talmadge

    Dominoes wouldn’t deliver to my house in Oakland. Instead I found a local joint just a few blocks away that made an awesome pizza for about the same money. Fancy deliver truck wouldn’t have helped.

    1. dukeisduke Avatar
      dukeisduke

      Maybe they needed a Peacecrapper, er Peacekeeper:
      http://www.usafpolice.org/uploads/3/8/2/1/38210033/7998481_orig.jpg

    2. dead_elvis Avatar
      dead_elvis

      So, win-win – not only are you no longer subject to Domino’s terrible pizza, you’ve found a great neighborhood place to support.

    3. BigRedCaveTroll Avatar
      BigRedCaveTroll

      At 29 Palms they’ll supposedly deliver to a GPS grid. I never tested that, but I have seen them deliver pizzas to random military ranges and training areas.

  6. dukeisduke Avatar
    dukeisduke

    So they’re supposed to deliver 80 pizzas in 30 minutes? In what universe? If they’re catering a large event, this might make sense. Otherwise, it’s just a conversation piece.
    Also, how many franchise holders are gonna spring for one of these? After all the mods, I’ll bet they’re not cheap.

  7. sporty88 Avatar
    sporty88

    Here’s what they use over here, at least in the inner suburbs – makes a lot more sense for them to be constantly moving than to be stuck in traffic.
    http://www.racecoursemotors.com.au/Articles/9556/Large-2220618f-e15d-4c28-ae26-a71236f8c2d3.jpg

    1. kogashiwa Avatar
      kogashiwa

      I like the three wheeled variant.

      1. smokyburnout Avatar
        smokyburnout

        they need to be smaller

    2. Vairship Avatar
      Vairship

      This is supposedly why Pizza Hut delivery failed in the Netherlands. They tried to copy their US delivery system (cars, which immediately got stuck in traffic and found there was no parking in the inner cities), while the mom-and-pop pizza shops delivered on mopeds that could zoom right up to your door.

  8. Sjalabais Avatar
    Sjalabais

    Basically, it’s just a decontented Spark with a little cutout? I wonder how quickly the side door will develop rust around the edges, because that’s the way it usually goes. Neat construction anyway – but would the delivery person have to pay for gas? That sounds odd. I’m sorry, but I only managed 19s of the marketing video before my BS-sensors exploded.

  9. smalleyxb122 Avatar
    smalleyxb122

    The last time Domino’s tried to make a proprietary delivery vehicle, it wasn’t very successful.
    http://slice.seriouseats.com/images/20100313-dominos-future-delivery-car.jpg

    1. Batshitbox Avatar
      Batshitbox

      Pic from Murdo, South Dakota? I think I saw that there in 1999.
      Wait! I think I can see it written there on the placard… yep, ‘Murdo, So. Dak.’

      1. smalleyxb122 Avatar
        smalleyxb122

        I’ve never seen one in person, even though I know a guy who owns one.

      2. mdharrell Avatar

        I don’t recall seeing it there in 2010, but then again there is so much to see in that place that I suppose I might have overlooked it.

    2. Vairship Avatar
      Vairship

      It looks like it would be thwarted by the first speed bump or pothole…

  10. William Robinson Avatar
    William Robinson

    I have a use for them after they hit the used but in need of rust repair car market. Rolling powder coating oven. What could possibly go wrong?

    1. smalleyxb122 Avatar
      smalleyxb122

      It, sadly, wouldn’t work. They mention in the video that the oven only heats up to “approximately 140 degrees”, and while they don’t specify, that is in Fahrenheit. That’s not nearly hot enough for powder coating, which typically needs about 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

      1. dead_elvis Avatar
        dead_elvis

        Oh, like no one’s ever dropped a V8 into a Fiesta. Let’s celebrate the idea of a turning a shitty-pizza dissemination device into a mobile powdercoater!

      2. neight428 Avatar
        neight428

        You can hotrod anything! Just add one of those alternator rigs from one of those bass (noise/music not fish) competition rigs.

  11. Tiller188 Avatar
    Tiller188

    I dunno, guys…Carbon Motors tried something similar, and it didn’t turn out so well. Granted, theirs was a rather more ambitious, “from-the-ground-up”-type undertaking, and they had a lot more bureaucracy to deal with, but they were also addressing what I’d consider to be a more niche, more specialized market that actually could have benefited in quite a few ways from a bespoke product.
    Biggest question: don’t most delivery guys just use their own cars and put a lighted sign on the roof or something to mark themselves? And doesn’t the vehicle owner retain sole responsibility for maintaining their car (though they maybe get some monetary reimbursement for mileage/gas costs, or a tax writeoff, or something)? Maybe I have that wrong, but if I’m right, why would Domino’s want to pay to buy and maintain a fleet of their own vehicles when their existing model means they don’t have to pay for or worry about any of that?

    1. KMNTR Avatar
      KMNTR

      Yes, you are right about the how delivery drivers are compensated. Well, I guess Domino’s hopes that the hype around these cars will be good for business. From what I have read, Domino’s is testing the waters with only about a hundred of these vehicles for now. By the way, a franchise has to shell out $20,000 for one of these cars!

    2. dead_elvis Avatar
      dead_elvis

      There are a couple places in Seattle that own a few delivery vehicles. I worked for a Chinese restaurant that had a handful of Mazda 323s & Toyota pickups. Place was busy as hell, and a part time delivery gig there paid better [edit: in tips; wage & owner were both shit] than full-time jobs I’d had prior (and a few since).
      The Toyotas held up far better than the 323s, needless to say. But those were some of the fastest non-rally 323s ever, even faster than your bottom of the barrel rental car!

  12. Krautwursten Avatar
    Krautwursten

    So instead of just taking the car and putting the pizzas in there (there are even universal heated boxes for such purposes nowadays) they’ve decided to ruin the little resale value of that bucket with a completely useless gimmick pizza hatch cut into the outside. Ideas like these are how you know a company makes more revenue than they deserve.

    1. KMNTR Avatar
      KMNTR

      To add insult to injury, the delivery driver has to put up with loud road noise because of the un-insulated hatch. Seriously, a journalist reported on this!

  13. Mark Dougherty Avatar
    Mark Dougherty

    Can you imagine if they actually had good food?