Tire Wench gets Superheroine Upgrade

Tall landmark gets big makeover

By TODD ORODENKER
For the Courier-Post


GLOUCESTER TWP. After 42 years, Miss Uniroyal is getting a makeover.
The 18-foot-tall South Jersey landmark at 1337 Black Horse Pike in the township's Hilltop section is being remodeled to look like a cross between Supergirl and Wonder Woman.


She also will get a new name -- Nitro Girl.


Instead of her trademark green miniskirt and teal top, the Werbany Motors attraction will be decked out in flashy patriotic gear: A star-covered blue skirt, a white blouse with red sleeves, and even more stars in her hair, which will remain black.
Owner Ed Werbany Jr., whose father bought Miss Uniroyal for $300 in 1965, says that the change is just a sign of the times.
"The kids were complaining that her clothes looked so blase, so we decided to change it up," he said.


The idea to remake the image into a patriotic superhero had a straightforward reasoning behind it.
"Because of the war effort, to support the war, we (decided to) fly our American flag," Werbany said.
The new name is also a tie-in to the "Nitrogen Advantage," which removes the oxygen from the compressed gas used for inflating the tires Werbany sells at his shop. It helps tires perform better and last longer, he said.


Doing the makeover are Linda M. Shelley of Hi-Nella and Karen Baxter of Stratford, two painters who can be seen daily high atop the statue.
Like Werbany, Shelley and Baxter said they felt that it was time for a change for the landmark.
"If you saw a picture of her before, she looked pretty bad. Like a demon, I guess you could say," Shelley said.


The pair even brought up cutouts of two bikini-clad women to join them while they paint -- to have a good laugh and get motorists honking at them.
The cutouts are modeled after Shelley and Baxter.
"We did the cutouts ourselves," Shelley said. "It looks just like us, (but) very enhanced."