Filed under: Convertibles, SUVs, Euro, Volkswagen
Practical Joke of the Day: VW Touareg Cabrio
by Alex Nunez on Dec 28th 2007 at 8:13AM 
Click image for photo gallery
December 28 is the "día de los Inocentes" in Spain, which is basically equivalent to our April Fool's Day. Bogus media stories are part of the fun, and it looks like businesses get in on the action, too. Case in point: Volkswagen.
If you visit VW Spain's website today, you're greeted with the normal landing page, which spotlights the "new Touareg Cabrio" at the top. Clicking on the image brings you to touaregcabrio.com, a microsite registered to VW's Spanish division according to a quick WHOIS lookup.
There, you're given three links: Acabados (trim levels), Motores (engines), and Galería (gallery). Clicking on any of them lets you know it's all a joke, and allows you to forward the gag to a friend. If you do that, your buddy will receive this email message, which "introduces" the reader the ragtop Touareg and directs him or her to the website. Tomorrow, it'll probably all be gone. Go through the motions yourselves starting here. If you miss it on 12/28, no worries. We've screen-captured all the elements in the attached gallery.
Feliz día de los Inocentes, everyone!
[Source: VW España via German Car Blog]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Hamud 8:16AM (12/28/2007)
Thx GOD it's a joke, who in its right mind would want a cabrio SUV??
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Alex Nunez 8:20AM (12/28/2007)
Ahem....Jeep Wrangler
dave 8:29AM (12/28/2007)
Ahem....VW Thing.
http://www.hubcapcafe.com/i/2000/vw_jac/vw_7401.JPG
Andy 10:55AM (12/28/2007)
Ahem.... Land Rover Defender
mike 4:44PM (12/28/2007)
What is this "Eyes Hurt Day" at AutoBlog.com?
LloydChiro 8:39PM (12/28/2007)
Ford Bronco
Chevy Blazer
international
Toyota 4-runner
mikomi 8:18AM (12/28/2007)
This might not be so much of a joke when an automaker decides that the next new thing are Convertible SUVs and Convertible CUVs. I can see it now, high centre of gravity coupled with virtually nil protection in case of a rollover, this is a sure hit! VW has in their hands a potential landmi- goldmine!
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pato 3:29PM (12/28/2007)
do not worry; as usual, if this is turns out to be the next trend, VW surely will be late to the party. the minivan they are working with chrysler, anyone?? does anybody care still abou minivans?
Mercury Fan Forever 8:19AM (12/28/2007)
I wouldn't want to own one but it actually looks pretty good.
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Michael Ishigaki 3:23PM (12/28/2007)
lol I agree.
Only problem is the rollover safety. There are no pillars! haha
Richard 8:36AM (12/28/2007)
Funny,
When I saw the picture my first thought was: this is like the old BMW April Fool's Day Ads.
Viola'!
Actually, they should build this - albeit with the old Rabbit Cabrio-style roll bar. Why? High-COG SUV/ CUV/SAVs are all pretty idiotic anyway, so why not take the last step?
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Schmeltz 9:03AM (12/28/2007)
Honestly....I have seen a heck of a lot worse than this idea. If they put a roll-over bar in the middle of the vehicle, it could work. Stranger things have happened, (take the Pontiac Aztek for instance).
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Mike 9:19AM (12/28/2007)
roll bars are hot :P
I just wish that VW's convertible roofs resembled anything like Audi's....
gforce 10:03AM (12/28/2007)
Hmmm. I thought the Toyota A-BAT was the practical joke of the day.
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Mal Fuller 10:06AM (12/28/2007)
This post made me realize that every day is April Fools Day at Volkswagen.
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John Johnson 12:41PM (12/28/2007)
HAHA APRIL FOOLS.
Someone needs to really give VW a sense of humor. Worst practical joke, ever.
If they had made it something exciting, people might bite. Show a Boxster with GTI headlights and announce a new 2-seater mid engined sports car, or something.
I bet they sure got a laugh though. I'm trying to think of more sarcastic things to say but I just can't :(.
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500 3:10PM (12/28/2007)
Haha anyone remember the Dodge Dakota convertible pickup from '89? That made about as much sense as this thing.
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Dave 1:29AM (12/29/2007)
I always liked that idea. It made sense for a personal (not professional) use truck.
Unfortunately, it was a Dodge POS.
I remember driving an extended cab Dakota of that vintage and thinking it was going to bend in the middle.
ERICH W ARJE 7:40PM (1/01/2008)
LOOKING FOR COLOR LINE RE PONTIAC O8 AND VIBE 09
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