April Fools pranks are still a thing and it’s not just for kids. Automakers try to pull pranks on the enthusiasts at times, too. Some happen to be a hit and some a miss. There was one by Volkswagen this year where it said it's renaming itself as ‘Voltswagen’ in the States. It sure got a little more controversial than the automaker would’ve wanted. Heck, we pulled off some awesome, super-cool, fun, pranks this time for you guys which were definitely a hit. No doubt about that. (Modesty? What’s that?)

Anyway, there were a few more gags that automakers tried to pull on us this year, and here are some of the best ones.

Bentley Coffee Maker

At a time when touchscreens are invading cars, there’s no way automakers can skimp on this bit without receiving a lot of flak. But, in the ultra-premium cars where simple analog gauges on the dash would make you go weak in the knees, choosing between the two would be a big conflict. Bentley came up with a unique solution for this – why not offer both?

After spending three years developing it, the British automaker came up with a three-side Rotating Display with a 12.3-inch touchscreen system on one side, three analog gauges on one, and a plain veneer on the third side. Since the automaker already had this setup, it decided to add a coffee machine here as well!

The statement said, “Create espresso to macchiato, at the touch of a button in just a few seconds. Not available at any dealer near you”. The “not” in the statement was intentional to let people know it was just a prank, in case one couldn’t figure it out. Do you like the idea of a coffee machine in the car, though?

Porsche Rusty Paint

Porsche tried to manipulate us with Nostalgia here and that is why this was perhaps the most believable prank of the lot. The whole video, the interview, and the presentation made it seem authentic. Porsche said that it plans to introduce a Patina paint on cars, which is nothing but a rusty shade to takes personalization to a whole new level. It sounds ridiculous at the onset, but by the end of the video, it all starts to make sense. People try to get rid of the corrosion and here the company is trying to develop it using an oxidation process. I won’t be surprised if someone starts a petition to make this the 106th color in Porsche’s palette!

BMW Removes Turn Signal Lever That Never Gets Used Anyway

This was a dig at Apple by BMW. The company is known to drop the essential features and components from its products, like the 3.5 mm audio jack and most recently, a charger. While the reasoning behind was to save the environment, this decision wasn’t received warmly. BMW decided to follow the trend, too.

Taking sustainability to a whole new level, BMW announced that it will drop the turn indicator levers since people don’t use them anyway. Starting 2022, BMW cars won’t come with the levers. Will it be offered as an optional accessory though? Or, can we pull the levers from our old cars and use them here?

I sincerely hope this doesn’t give Tesla any ideas and the automaker decides to offer it as a subscription model.

Mercedes Library Scent

We couldn’t find much of a connection here and it seemed like a rather lousy attempt at pranking. However, automakers are not averse to launching products and accessories like clothing, shoes, watches, etc., so it still makes the cut here. There are some smells that almost everyone likes; wet mud or old books, for instance. Mercedes decided to come up with a new fragrance called ‘First Edition Novel’ that smells like the latter. Yes, people do enjoy such smells, but would they be okay smelling like it? I don’t think so.

Also, Mercedes is not the first to come up with such an idea. Remember Cosmo Kramer from Seinfeld? He came up with the ‘Beach Cologne’ idea and was ridiculed by everyone. However, the company he approached executed his idea. So, you never know. This library scent could actually become a thing. (for you curious folks, the Beach Cologne idea was pitched by Kramer in S3E14 and he found out that it’s actually a thing now in S4E13. You can thank me later.)

Caterham Suggests Lube For Easier Ingress and Egress

I apologize in advance if the sentences here come across as double entendres. We can’t help it. Caterham has come up with a lube called Seven that makes it easy for you to get in and out of the little sports car. While riding it sounds fun, ingress and egress are not the easiest here. The automaker understands this and has decided to come up with a lube that makes the whole process much easier and smoother. The Seven lube is an oil-based emollient, but won’t that make you all greasy? How would you wash it off? Wouldn’t a water-based lube be better? Oh Caterham, the devil lies in the details. Duh! Caterham tried too hard this time.

Which prank did you like the best, apart from the ones the TopSpeed writers published, of course, *wink*? Let us know in the comments section below.