Last night, Volvo released a teaser video for a new vehicle it labeled as its “smallest coupe ever,” and I can’t help but feel that its marketing department dropped the ball on the timing.

The video introduces it as an ultra-modern, limited edition representative of a model specifically aimed at the next generation of consumers. Then, Volvo hinted that it might even be autonomous, and I assumed this was some wild concept vehicle never to enter production — but Volvo is already building it.

Of course, I felt like a moron when the big reveal finally came. 

April Fools’ Day has become a great marketing opportunity for companies. While we’re at home playing mean-spirited pranks on our friends and family, corporations are trying to work an angle to garner attention and praise. While the commercial aspect of the “holiday” is rarely funny, occasionally something comes through that doesn’t make you want to roll your eyes or go on something the newspapers will later dub a “horrific spree.”

And yet, this isn’t technically a prank on the part of Volvo; they are actually building the car. The rub is — assuming the lines about it being the “smallest coupe ever” for the “next generation” with “no license required” didn’t give it away — that this particular product isn’t aimed at adults.

It’s a pedal-driven single seater for small children called the Volvo Rider. It costs roughly $180 — €166 plus tax — and comes in silver or the unfortunately named “crash-test orange.” While I don’t know anyone who would buy this personally, or the rest of Volvo’s lifestyle products for that matter, the company should be commended for a genuinely clever bit of marketing. But, again, why wait to release this on April 6th when it was such primo April 1st material?

[Image: Volvo]