Happy April Fool’s Day from BMW

WILL MISCHIEF- MAKER STRIKE AGAIN?

Who says ze Chermins have no sense of humour? If there’s one constant with BMW, it’s the manufacturer’s penchant for a good April Fool’s joke.

The company has embraced a number of “hilarious, ja?” misinformation marketing manoeuvres over the years, including the time it advised of a new wiper system for keeping the BMWroundel on the bonnet free of road grime, or the so- called Driver’s Weight Sensor ( DWS), which would compare the weight of the person in the driver’s seat with a pre- programmed value, to reduce car theft. If the BMW detected a difference in weight, it would shut down the ignition system. Interested buyers were encouraged to contact BMW representative Hugh Phelfrett.

The pranksters have also run advertisements for “BMWAntiTrack Control” which purportedly removed burnt rubber from tarmac in order to conceal hoonish M- Performance- themed behaviour, and a transferable steering wheel that would enable BMWowners ferrying between the UK and continental Europe to easily swap the steering column and pedal box over to the relevant side of the car ( actually a pretty cool idea when you think about it).

In our part of the world, a few years back BMWAustralia “announced” a cut- down ute version of the M3 sedan. The reveal caused Aussie motoring writers to spit Fosters all over their workstations in joyous anticipation . . . until about an hour later when the humorous truth behind the story was revealed.

Mind you, arch- rival MercedesBenz has sort of had the last laugh here: its very real X- Class utility is set to launch later this year. Without anything approaching a commercial division at its behest, a jokey Photoshopped pickup is as close to the actual article as BMW is likely to get for now.