Mini adds caravan and Skoda partners Harbour Bridge

BMW launches a driverless running trainer, Subaru reveals a self-cleaning car. Sunday was the biggest day so far this year for announcements of ground-breaking car developments. And it was April 1 of course.

Leading off the Australian April Fool's Day spoofs was Skoda announcing a 'ground-breaking sponsorship deal with Sydney Harbour bridge - lauded by NSW Roads & Maritime Services as the 'future of road management solutions' - that will see the Aussie flags at the peak replaced by Skoda ones, put the Czech brand's winged-arrow logo in neon lights on the side.

The deal also saves bridge-climbers the effort of climbing to the top by driving them there in Skoda Yeti 4WDs, and offers toll-free status for any Skodas that cross the bridge... Mini announced that April 1 will see the addition of a compact luxury caravan and roof-top tent to its product range. 

"A sumptuously appointed caravan with two sleeping bays and a roof-top tent (also designed for two) in the classic John Cooper Works colour scheme will whet the appetite for do-it-yourself summer holidays peppered with spur-of-the-moment detours along the way," Mini said. 

The Cowley caravan boasts two sleeping berths, a twin-burner gas-stove, a water tank with pump and dish-washing facility, a solar module to charge the on-board battery and a 230-volt power connection to supply the refrigerator, TV/DVD and hi-fi stereo system. 

For cars like the John Cooper Works top sports models where a trailer coupling is not an option, the Swindon roof-top tent can be fitted easily to the roof of a MINI, MINI Clubman or MINI Countryman, and likewise offers sleeping space for two people. All of which makes those stressful last-minute searches for accommodation "so last holiday".

As an official sponsor of London 2012, BMW has been inspired to develop a new technology helping customers to boost their fitness in the run up to the Games. The new driverless Running Coach feature uses a combination of ConnectedDrive technologies and surround view cameras to enable the car to follow the runner, at a safe distance, while pounding the pavement. 

To help with motivation, integrated exterior speakers play encouraging words while the Lock Out Logistics feature makes sure that any distance set is completed without cheating. Alvin Alaff, Head of Futile Innovations at BMW's renowned Forschungs und Innovationszentrum, said "It's a car gym but not as we know it."

Subaru is set to hose down water restrictions with the launch of the world's first self-cleaning car, with patented AF Technology demonstrated on the launch video. 

To clean the car in an instant, the driver simply has to press a button on the key fob while outside the vehicle, without any danger of getting wet. 

Subaru's Professor Ai Lai, who led the team, reveals: 

"Nanogenerators convert mechanical energy available in the environment into electrical energy, activating safe low-voltage electrical currents on the car's outer body surface. These currents flow in precise, overlapping patterns to disturb and dissolve micro-attachments on the car's metalwork, such as dirt and dust."