Late yesterday, news dropped that Volkswagen planned to change its name to Voltswagen. A lot of automotive journalists noted the date and called out the announcement as a premature April’s Fool prank, but further reporting seemed to confirm that the name change was indeed real.
Turns out that it really is an April Fool’s prank gone awry.
According to Mike Wayland at CNBC, here’s how it all went down: The unfinished press release leaked yesterday, and when reporters at several outlets, including CNBC, contacted VW, they were told the plans were real and not a prank.
Wayland says that sources within the company seemingly lied to the reporters who were making inquiries. He further reports that VW will release a statement tomorrow clarifying it was all a joke.
Now, there are old journalism maxims that cover this sort of scenario — “trust but verify” and “if your mother says she loves you, check it out” — but they don’t really apply so easily if you can’t source documentation or other means to prove/disprove a source’s claims. In other words, the reporters who queried VW were at the mercy of their sources, and when those sources lied, the press had no way to tell.
We, too, got played — Matt wrote a wonderful screed about the supposed change, and I asked you folks just this morning if VW was hurting EV adoption with this idea.
No one likes being fooled — and may I note we’re still 48 hours away from the actual April Fool’s Day — so I went back and re-read the press release. Typically, OEMs insert some sort of language as a tell when they write up a fake release, unless the gag is so absurd as to be obvious. The telling language is usually a subtle way of saying “we’re just joking” to any journalist who hasn’t yet had enough caffeine to process a prank. Oft times, it’s a reference to check the date.
This release, however, scans as straightforward. The quotes sound real. The date is March 30, 2021. Nothing about it signals a joke.
Intentionally or not, Volkswagen fooled a lot of people. I am not mad, but I am also not impressed — either VW really did want to change the name and is using April Fool’s as an excuse to back down from a truly dumb idea, or it was a prank all along and handled in the most ham-handed manner. Neither is a good look.
For now, though, it appears the company isn’t changing the name to Voltswagen. We’ll see what fresh twist the saga brings tomorrow.
[Image: Volkswagen]
F*** ’em that’s what they will be called now.
28 has spoken.
I wonder if this stunt came from corporate HQ?
youtu.be/HVRw4lVEhrI
“We Germans”
≡8^O
This is one of the worst corporate April Fool’s jokes of all time.
Google “Taco Liberty Bell” and “Burger King Left-Handed Whopper” for two more of the worst. Yes, both actually happened.
I think you’re being a pretty good sport about things, Tim. I suspect others won’t be so forgiving. VW might claim victory since they did indeed draw a lot of attention to the brand and their EV plans, but ultimately I think they’ll regret the way things transpired.
The public has been “Mach-E’d” by VW, except that Ford was serious about it.
Attention, indeed.
SEC is investigating stock price manipulation.
There’s no reason to be too mad, though I am annoyed. And a bit annoyed with myself — should’ve reached out to VW directly, even though we’d have got the same answer.
Voltswagen was a joke? That’s shocking!
Hahaha.
OTOH, I knew it was leg pulling regardless of us being in the 4/1 neighborhood. Obviously they wouldn’t mess with many decades of branding. But it was a cute ploy.
I SAID…That’s shocking!
Ha!
Volkswagen marketing department:
youtu.be/2BT7_owW2sU
As of 6:30 pm Central, vw.com still shows Voltswagen.
I tried sounding a warning. I had the hard info that it was fake yesterday. I even checked with a journalist friend at a major publication and he had the same information from the same source. I tried.
I believe the headline is referring to the royal “us”
Sadly, I missed your comment.
Maybe we should all show up at VW dealers on April 1st and act like we are actually willing to buy one!
VW has only hurt themselves. Someone is getting fired, or at least a demotion, as a result of this ill-conceived ides. Maybe they will even be forced to drive a VW.
Haha. I just saw this. What was Audi going to be called? Ampi?
Farfromtruthin
“Farfromtruthin”
Like! Both for the play on the original VW ad, and for TTAC’s coverage of this.
LOL – Nice one!
Yeah, fake news. What else would you expects from todays “professional” journalism.
Yeah, fake news again. I am disappointed. What else do you expects from todays “professional” journalism?
But it was an excellent idea to distance VW from its racist past and rush into the new green future where climate change is eliminated as a class. But no, Hitler Wagen remains Hitler Wagen.
What on earth is everyone so angry about? This is hilarious. Not so much the original prank as everyone going berserk over it.
I don’t think anyone is “going berserk”
We *are* mocking VW and that is almost as fun as mocking Subaru.
Germans have no sense of humor so it must be true! LOL
The company that lied about the emissions from their diesel engines? Maybe they lied to the journalists in this case to try to build their credibility.
A corporate culture with no respect for its customers, and no concerns about it.
I didn’t really believe this, being so close to April 1, and so tightly in step with VW’s green messaging. It was a publicity stunt, and it did the job. Some people will associate VW with electric vehicles, at least for a little while.
Even if VW really did change their name, it would sound about the same either way. It could be years before some consumers even noticed.
VW is associated with dishonesty due to falsification of emissions.
Fake press releases do not repair their damaged reputation.
Bad publicity is bad publicity.
I don’t really expect marketing or PR releases to hold up to the same level of factual scrutiny as test results and regulatory filings. Maybe I am just too jaded from decades on this Earth, and in need of Easter renewal.
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/they-said-it-couldnt-be-done-nomad-art-and-design.html
[Note that 55 years ago, VW knew how to build a frunk into a vehicle. In 2021, this is impossible.]
Umbrage is our new national passtime.
We have jumped the shark.
The only way to feel better about this is to take a big bite out of a delicious burger from IHOB.
The corpse of Mr. Peanut must be rolling over in his grave.
Even Volkswagon’s April Fools jokes are unreliable.
lol. You’re much funnier than VW’s marketing flacks.
Meanwhile, at VW headquarters…
youtube.com/watch?v=oavMtUWDBTM
There are two ways GM could go. One is to differentiate the three brands by price. Cadillac expensive and luxurious. Chevy low priced and plain but adequate. Buick in between. The other is to give each brand a specific mission even if there is overlap in price. Cadillac would be the luxury brand. Chevy the basic transportation brand. Buick (should have been Pontiac or Oldsmobile) the performance brand. Either way, make GMC the truck and full size SUV brand.
VW is still apparently the worlds number two car maker. They can get away with anything. It kind of reminds me of the arrogance of GM 50 years ago.