April Fools Day brings out the most creative energies in some people. And the best part is, we get to laugh about it all in hindsight. Whether it’s the spaghetti tree joke, or the left-handed Whopper, or even The Taco Liberty Bell, it’s all in good fun.
To add a little fun to the Blog, here are some of the best car-related April Fools hoaxes we’ve found. Hope you enjoy it.
BMW has always enjoyed the spirit of April Fools Day with some great jokes, usually rolled out
The Insect Deflector Screen – a new kind of windshield announced in 1996, with a special clear rubber coating that caused insects to literally bounce off the glass when the car was driven at high speeds.
Cooking From Your Car – In 2004, BMW ran newspaper ads proudly announcing new technology that would allow drivers to cook dinner at home while still in their car. All the dials for the home oven were built into the dashboard of the car and communicated wirelessly with the actual oven at home. Drivers could monitor the progress of their meals via a built-in oven cam. The ad directed readers to a website that offered recipes such as "chicken a la M42."
But BMW aren’t the only people who like to do a good April Fools gag.
“Freewheelz” – Esquire Magazine got into the act in 2000 with talk of a new company called Freewheelz. People would get free cars in exchange for advertising placed on the outside of the car and streaming advertising on the radio inside. Requirements for the free car were you had to drive over 300 miles a week, and complete a 600-question survey on everything from politics to your views on hair loss. You then submitted your tax returns, video rental receipts, and a stool sample. Esquire Magazine’s offices were flooded with calls from people wanting to know how they could sign up.
One-way Highways – the M25 is the circular highway surrounding London and gets tons of traffic. So Britain’s Department of Transport came up with the idea in 1991 to double the traffic capacity of the ring road by making both sides travel in the same direction. Traffic would go clockwise one day and counterclockwise the next, with a break on weekends. Protestors complained that a 2-mile journey on one day would turn into a 117-mile journey the next. The writers at The Times of London newspaper apparently got a big kick out of the reaction to their big joke.