Swerve (Chevy): Difference between revisions
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: Less than two days later, the order page was taken down without explanation. By the end of the month, purchasers reported that their Swerves were indeed arriving. | : Less than two days later, the order page was taken down without explanation. By the end of the month, purchasers reported that their Swerves were indeed arriving. | ||
: Whether Swerve will be made available again in other | : Whether Swerve will be made available again in other venues—specifically, United States-based ones—is unknown. | ||
{{-}} | {{-}} | ||
== | ==Creation and release== | ||
Swerve has had an... interesting past. The Swerve toy surfaced on Asian auction websites in August 2007. Samples were packaged in polybags that had English text printed on them, and came with English instruction manuals. All "final" samples were the same red color; one specimen appeared to be yellow, but in fact had been hand-painted. The instructions lacked an "assortment number", leading to the conclusion it was an [[exclusive]]... but to what? | |||
Early reports throughout the fandom, tepidly verified by [[Hasbro]] sources, was that the [[mold]]'s creation had been commissioned by Chevrolet for that company's [[exclusive]] use; neither Hasbro or [[TakaraTomy]] can use it in their own lines. This amounts to the first time that a "mainstream" Transformer mold was created to be an exclusive (as opposed to things like Happy Meal toys which are obviously distinct from standard product and cost far less to design and produce). The truth, as revealed at [[BotCon 2008]], was that Hasbro produced the toy at cost as a gift of sorts to Chevy as thanks for their successful partnership. | |||
It was actually unknown for quite a while if the toy would even be released ''at all''. When the first samples turned up, rumors started circulating claiming that Swerve would be given away as a promotional item for the purchase of a real Chevrolet Aveo. Later, [[Ben Yee]]'s calls to Chevrolet centers in the United States seemingly verified those rumors; however, he was apparently told that the promotional campaign ''had already occurred''. Considering the lack not only of any sort of advertising for the campaign, but also of a single person who would confirm having acquired the toy in the aforementioned fashion in North America, this statement on behalf of Chevy appears more than dubious. | |||
Alternatively, some sources claimed the figure would only be made available upon test-driving a Chevy Aveo, while others even suggested that this campaign was ''exclusive to Chinese Chevrolet dealerships''. Those rumors would never be verified either. | |||
Several fans report being told by Chevy customer service representatives that Swerve is specifically a European/Middle-Eastern release, and that international licensing restrictions would prevent it being released in the United States. | |||
We knew Chevy/General Motors had gotten close with Hasbro, but, ''damn''. | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
* [[Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers]] | * [[Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers]] | ||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
* [http://www.chevrolet-store.com/chevrolet/default.asp?mscssid=ddgnxs23f7s59h0wtehelvbwt6bja5u0s2h0t6 Chevrolet website that was selling Swerve for about 36 hours] | * [http://www.chevrolet-store.com/chevrolet/default.asp?mscssid=ddgnxs23f7s59h0wtehelvbwt6bja5u0s2h0t6 Chevrolet website that was selling Swerve for about 36 hours] | ||
Revision as of 03:28, 28 April 2008
| The name or term "Swerve" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Swerve (disambiguation). |
- Swerve is an Autobot from the Universe continuity family
"A mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma, blindfolded" would be a charitable way to describe Swerve. He is the result of the most unusual toy release in the history of the franchise.
Toys
Universe
- Swerve (Deluxe, 2008)
- Swerve transforms into a licensed Chevy Aveo. Any relationship he may have to Aveo and Sphinx should be totally coincidental, since Swerve is not part of the live-action movie toyline and doesn't match the design of the Aveo robot from the "Transformers: Rise of the Chevy Autobots" game. He has no gimmicks whatsoever, not even a non-firing weapon.
- On March 25th 2008, the Chevrolet online store began to offer Swerve as a "special featured item"... but only from its branches in Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. Depending on the order location and currency conversion rates, he cost approximately $20~$30 before shipping. However, orders from customers in the United States were subject to a "processing" fee of over $50 and a "trans-Atlantic shipping fee" of almost $100(!).
- Less than two days later, the order page was taken down without explanation. By the end of the month, purchasers reported that their Swerves were indeed arriving.
- Whether Swerve will be made available again in other venues—specifically, United States-based ones—is unknown.
Creation and release
Swerve has had an... interesting past. The Swerve toy surfaced on Asian auction websites in August 2007. Samples were packaged in polybags that had English text printed on them, and came with English instruction manuals. All "final" samples were the same red color; one specimen appeared to be yellow, but in fact had been hand-painted. The instructions lacked an "assortment number", leading to the conclusion it was an exclusive... but to what?
Early reports throughout the fandom, tepidly verified by Hasbro sources, was that the mold's creation had been commissioned by Chevrolet for that company's exclusive use; neither Hasbro or TakaraTomy can use it in their own lines. This amounts to the first time that a "mainstream" Transformer mold was created to be an exclusive (as opposed to things like Happy Meal toys which are obviously distinct from standard product and cost far less to design and produce). The truth, as revealed at BotCon 2008, was that Hasbro produced the toy at cost as a gift of sorts to Chevy as thanks for their successful partnership.
It was actually unknown for quite a while if the toy would even be released at all. When the first samples turned up, rumors started circulating claiming that Swerve would be given away as a promotional item for the purchase of a real Chevrolet Aveo. Later, Ben Yee's calls to Chevrolet centers in the United States seemingly verified those rumors; however, he was apparently told that the promotional campaign had already occurred. Considering the lack not only of any sort of advertising for the campaign, but also of a single person who would confirm having acquired the toy in the aforementioned fashion in North America, this statement on behalf of Chevy appears more than dubious.
Alternatively, some sources claimed the figure would only be made available upon test-driving a Chevy Aveo, while others even suggested that this campaign was exclusive to Chinese Chevrolet dealerships. Those rumors would never be verified either.
Several fans report being told by Chevy customer service representatives that Swerve is specifically a European/Middle-Eastern release, and that international licensing restrictions would prevent it being released in the United States.
We knew Chevy/General Motors had gotten close with Hasbro, but, damn.
