The joke is on you, news cycle. We beat you to it!
We’re big fans of an April Fool story here at Drive, with the annual ‘prank’ day one of the best at getting the team’s creative and comedic juices flowing. Sometimes we hit, sometimes we miss… but occasionally our satire is a little close to home.
Here are five times our April Fool jokes have come true…
2016 – Ford Ranger PHEV
Back in 2016 we shoved an extension cord into the front fender of a PXII Ranger and ‘faked’ a spy photo, but in 2024 we can do it for real!
The new-generation Ford Ranger is expected to arrive with a plug-in variant next year, allowing the ute to minimise fuel consumption around the city but still manage long distance towing and touring without compromises to range.
Read the original April Fool here
Read about the forthcoming Ford Ranger PHEV
2017 – The Landwind Labrador Sport
The new Landwind SUV, which was inspired by the design of the Land Rover Discovery Sport, seemed to have a ridiculous name back in 2017. After all, who would name a car after a dog or any pet for that matter?
Bring on 2020 when the Haval Big Dog hit the market in China. If that wasn’t enough, GWM’s electric brand Ora now offers the Good Cat, Ballet Cat, Funky Cat, Lightning Cat and Punk Cat in various markets.
Read the original April Fool here
2021 – TikTok from your Tesla
This was almost too crazy an idea for someone not to turn into a reality. Back in 2021, given how much social media popularity was building around cars and car owners, we suggested your Tesla would be able to upload videos direct to your TikTok account. In February this year, Mercedes-Benz announced this feature would be included on the new E-Class in some markets.
We’d like to say we couldn’t make this up… but we did.
Read the original April Fool here
Check out the news story here.
2022 – Big McCharge drive-thru
While drive-thru charging is still a bit silly, Evie Networks and Red Rooster offered driver’s in the Northern Territory a complimentary small chips for using the EV charger at Red Rooster Marrara, just outside of Darwin.
While the chips-with-charge offer was only offered between February 27 and March 1 this year, we felt it similar enough to our 2022 April Fools joke to make this list.
Read the original April Fool here
2022 – Toyota Camry Cross
Only a couple of months passed between the unveiling of our fictional Toyota Camry Cross and the real Toyota Crown, a sedan with a high-riding stance and black cladding around the wheel arches. It is even available as a hybrid!
Read the original April Fool here
2023 Toyota Crown range revealed here.
As a bonus, this one hasn’t come true… yet.
2017 – Fuel excise to offset EV charging
It may not be ‘specifically’ true, even though the fuel excise rate has risen from $0.40 per litre in 2017 to now just under $0.48 per litre (0.477 cents), an increase of 20 per cent in just six years, as this matches the national CPI inflation rate (yes, it is that high).
The thing is, fuel excise revenue is actually falling because cars are becoming more efficient rather than due to drivers switching to EVs. So we can assume there are spreadsheets and whiteboards in Canberra trying to find a way to manage this hot potato moving forward.
Read the original April Fool here
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