Robots gone wild.

April 1, 2003 9:30 AM

Honda expands their Asimo line of robots with a stunning 44 ft. unit developed specifically for Carmax. From the press release:

Based on Honda's Asimo robot, Carmax and Honda have developed a new version specifically for use in Carmax showrooms. The new version is much larger however - standing at roughly 44 feet tall. Because of its size, it is far less mobile but much more imposing. According to Thomas Folliard, V.P. of store operations; "We're already seeing an effect from the new Asimo sales force -- many potential shoppers are almost, to borrow a phrase, shocked and awed into buying a car.

I hate to be the voice of doom and gloom, but this sounds kinda dangerous.
posted by mecran01 (15 comments total)

Nice April Fool spoof. Besides - Carmax doesn't carry Honda. (Check their website...)

JB
posted by JB71 at 9:38 AM on April 1, 2003

Giant robots will kill us all.

(Uh, click the link.)
posted by furious-d at 9:39 AM on April 1, 2003

I for one welcome our giant robot car salesman overloads.
posted by shagoth at 9:45 AM on April 1, 2003

I hate to be the voice of doom and gloom, but this sounds kinda dangerous.

*D'oh* I thought this was the first comment... joke's on me, it seems.
posted by furious-d at 9:45 AM on April 1, 2003

You wouldn't think they'd need such a big robot to sell lip balm.
posted by padraigin at 10:22 AM on April 1, 2003

> this sounds kinda dangerous.

Only to Tokyo.
posted by jfuller at 10:32 AM on April 1, 2003

Salesman: So... you want undercoating for your new car, sir?

Customer: No thanks.

Salesman: Oh, I think you do. What do you think Mega-Asimo?

Mega-Asimo: MEGA-ASIMO THINKS OUR RESPECTED CUSTOMER WANTS UNDERCOATING.

Customer: Um... I'll take the undercoating.

Mega-Asimo: OUR RESPECTED CUSTOMER HAS CHOSEN WISELY.
posted by picea at 10:32 AM on April 1, 2003 [1 favorite]

If you're going to do an April Fool's joke that relies heavily on an image, at least get someone to do a decent Photoshop job. Sheeeesh.

/Gets down off of high horse
posted by sharksandwich at 10:39 AM on April 1, 2003

I think the Military should actually build a couple of those, for Psy-Ops purposes (You see a couple dozen 50ft robots marching towards your town, now that would cause some shock and awe...).
posted by stifford at 11:47 AM on April 1, 2003

Urm, I bought MY Honda at Carmax - but that was years ago, in the pre-robot era. *grin*
posted by thunder at 1:56 PM on April 1, 2003

But does it know the Terrible Secret of Space?
posted by RylandDotNet at 2:18 PM on April 1, 2003

It's odd, but Asimo reminds me so much of Twiki - the robot from Buck Rogers.

Does Asimo every say "bidi-bidi-bidi"?
posted by borkus at 2:22 PM on April 1, 2003

I'm going to go stand by the stairs now.
posted by spazzm at 3:29 PM on April 1, 2003

Doesn't the appearance of a giant monster historically send Japanese citizens running wildly in the other direction?
posted by HTuttle at 4:00 AM on April 2, 2003

Does Asimo every say "bidi-bidi-bidi"?

I don't know about Asimo, but a typical sound-effect for Japanese robots would be "pi-pi-pi", which would roughly corrispond to "beep-beep-beep"...
posted by chl at 7:16 AM on April 2, 2003