cars news 10: April Fool’s Day 2017 Automotive Roundup

It’s April Fool’s Day, and in spite of all the recent concerns over fake news, a few companies chose to have a little fun and put out some phony press releases and videos. Here are a few of the best hoaxes making the rounds in the automotive sphere.

Lexus Lane Valet

Lexus raised the hopes of drivers who are tired of cars clogging up the left lane, issuing a release on its fictitious Lane Valet system. The vehicle-to-vehicle technology automatically orders a slower car in front of you to change lanes and let you by. In a few years, such a feature might actually be possible, though perhaps a bit morally questionable.

Honda Horn Emojis

The car horn can convey many different messages despite offering just a single tone. On April Fool’s Day, Honda proposes expanding the range of expressions in its cars with Honda Horn Emojis. The extra buttons on the steering wheel have faces corresponding to the emotion they convey. The horn itself can produce multiple tones to better express happiness, frustration, and more.

Fate of the Furious/Xfinity Drive-out Cinema

Telecommunications company Xfinity partnered with the eighth movie in the Fast and the Furious franchise, Fate of the Furious, to prank some people who think they’re getting a sneak peek at the film. The victims are skeptical from the beginning. After all, being asked to sit in an actual car from the movie and strap into a racing harness is pretty suspicious when you’re just supposed to be watching some movie clips. The participants in the driver’s seats are in on the prank, and are in fact stunt coordinator Oakley Lehman and pro drifter Ken Gushi. Eventually, the prankees get a wild ride through a movie set complete with explosions and other special effects.

Lyft Mono

Because the tech industry keeps telling us wearables are the future, this ridiculous fantasy gadget from Lyft is almost believable. Looking like a Power Glove for hitchhikers, the Lyft Mono features an illuminated thumb that lets you summon a ride by simply raising your opposable digit. Lyft writes in the YouTube video description: “Lyft has always strived to be the most intuitive app out there. But even a few taps can be reduced to one, or none, right?” The fake future sure looks lazy.

McLaren 570GT Feather Wrap

McLaren takes its biomimicry design philosophy to the next logical step with this package for the 570GT. The automaker’s quest for maximum aerodynamic performance has driven it to look at nature for ideas, and what creature in the animal kingdom is more aerodynamic than a bird? The feather wrap package uses 10,000 carbon-fiber-veined artificial feathers to “create the most aerodynamic edition of the 570GT yet.” Wondering when you can get yours? This fine-feathered upgrade is available only on April 1.

Google Maps Ms. Pac-Man

So the automotive connection is a bit loose with this one, but Google Maps’ prank may be the best one this year. If you’ve logged on to www.google.com/maps/ or turned on the app in the past 24 hours, you’ve probably already noticed the Ms. Pac-Man icon. Click it and you’ll get to play the 1981 arcade classic at your location and on the surrounding streets. We have yet to verify if the Easter egg works on Android Auto.