It was only a matter of waiting today. Mother Nature got her joke in early with an April Fool's Day snowstorm. Auto industry pranks followed quickly.

The folks at Planet Subaru in Hanover issued a "press alert" saying that the company has bought enough parts to produce 41 new Subaru Bajas. The Baja, a sedan with a pickup-type box in back, had a brief run from 2003 to 2006 (and I own a black one).

According to the company, representatives of entertainer Justin Timberlake were searching for Bajas to appear in a video for a remake of "Bringing Sexy Back."

"I thought it was one of my buddies playing a prank but the request was real," said Dale Lathrop, the dealership's general sales manager, in the mock press release. "At least one of the Bajas had to be new because of the need for close-ups. I asked our parts manager, Steve Crosby, to see what he could scrounge up. Turns out he tracked down enough parts around North American warehouses to build 41 complete units."

The cars would be built at Planet Subaru's Hanover facility, with all being yellow. Hoods, however, would be black. Sales manager Corey Warren explained that's because "we thought we could enhance the cars' collectable factor if they had a two-tone finish. We're having badges made up to say they're the 'Bumblebee Baja.' "

Clicking on a link to order one of the cars gave Baja aficionados the bad news that it was an April Fool's Day joke.