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Here are this year's top 5 automaker April Fools’ jokes

April 1 is the wonderful day when PR departments really push themselves to top the zany jokes they came up with the previous year. And it's not just fast-food chains competing with each other, or breweries announcing they have released stuff like a fermented herring flavored beer: carmakers' media teams rarely miss out on the opportunity to play a little joke on their audience. Here are a few of our favorites from this year:1) Porsche Porsche announced that it's launching a Mission E tractor, styled to resemble its 1950s tractor models. "With a power output in excess of 700hp, the Mission E Tractor will be the fastest accelerating agricultural vehicle in the world, enabling farmers to harvest crops in record time with the added environmental benefits of zero emissions at source and significantly reduced operating noise."2) Lexus Lexus actually jumped the gun, telling us on March 28 that it's combining cars and drivers using DNA matching. The kicker was that with DNA-matched cars, owners would be able to start their Lexuses by licking the steering wheel.3) McLaren Automotive McLaren said it's boosting efficiency by quite eccentric measures, such as measuring the technology center's lake and floor tiles daily, and by synchronizing the staff's tea breaks.4) BMW Motorrad BMW's motorcycle arm is solving parts availability issues in remote locations by offering a 3D printer mounted permanently on the bike's rack: If you need to replace a broken-off gear lever, you can just print one. "The new system will mean that even very rarely required parts not generally stocked by BMW Motorrad sales partners can be supplied on a just-in-time basis." BMW even went to the lengths of announcing that the "BMW Motorrad iPart 3D Mobile Printer" was tested on the Antarctic, by erecting a tent whose poles were produced onsite.5) Honda Last but not least, Honda UK purportedly cut the roof off a new CR-V, calling it the CR-V Roadster. Tellingly, no convertible top was even offered for the concept, "making it a no-top rather than a drop-top. This innovative design makes it a vehicle purely for sunnier climates and therefore completely useless for the two-day British summer which traditionally occurs in May."Related Video: Featured Gallery Top 5 April Fools 2018 Image Credit: Porsche Green Humor Weird Car News BMW Honda Lexus McLaren Porsche bmw motorrad mclaren automotive

Forget LCD displays, the Lexus UX concept has hologram orbs

Two weeks ago, Lexus revealed the UX concept for the Paris Motor Show. The company only showed one photo of the exterior, but did give a generic description of the interior, saying it would have "imaginative technologies for an immersive driver experience." Now we know what that means: holograms! Yes, Lexus has done about the only thing that can impress in this world of high-resolution automotive displays – it brought instruments and infotainment into the third dimension. In the process it has somewhat reimagined the way occupants interact with the car as well. We're guessing the name UX, which stands for user experience in the tech world, was intentional. The large crystal-shaped box in the center console stands out immediately. The company says the box will display climate control and infotainment options in full 3D for the driver and passenger. The instrument cluster gets the hologram treatment as well with an orb floating in the middle and the ability to display both analog and digital information. No word on whether a small, blue Princess Leia will appear in the console asking for help. The UX's interior has a few other nifty surprises. The windows are electrochromic, so they can be darkened as needed (similar tech is already in use on some car roofs). The passenger side of the dashboard has a large, finned sound bar that can be removed. We're not entirely sure the thinking behind that feature, but we suppose it would be nice as a stereo for a picnic or a day at the beach. To cap things off, Lexus included the concept car staples of touch-sensitive buttons and side-view mirror cameras. As for when you'll see hologram displays in future Lexus models, we have no idea but wouldn't count on them coming anytime soon. We have a more optimistic view of the Lexus UX concept itself. With crossovers as popular as ever, we expect to see an attractive production model with these bulging fenders and a steeply raked windshield in a year or so. Related Video: Image Credit: Lexus Design/Style Paris Motor Show Lexus Technology Emerging Technologies Infotainment Crossover 2016 paris motor show interior design lexus ux concept

Optimistic Lexus bumps US sales target higher

Last year Lexus sold 244,166 cars in the US, slotting into third place in the luxury segment behind BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Earlier this year Lexus said its target was 260,000 units in the US (which would still put it behind BMW's and Mercedes' numbers from last year), but Automotive News reports that it has raised its upper outlook to 270,000 cars.
The half-year pace hasn't been enough to make either number, but Lexus is gunning for a 15-percent gain in IS sales behind the arrival of the 2014 model, and this is also the first full year of sales of the new ES and LS. Lexus will most likely end the year in third place in the luxury segment behind BMW and Mercedes again, even if it does sell 270,000 units, but has said its prime directive is "good, steady growth."