Swerve (Chevy)

Swerve is anAutobotfrom theRobots in Disguise continuity family(via the2003 Universe toyline).

International Bot of Mystery

"A mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an Enigma, blindfolded and dunked in delicious milk chocolate" would be a charitable way to describeSwerve.He is the result of the most unusual toy release in the history of thebrand.

Fiction

Shell Game continuity

InViron 704.31 Epsilon,Swerve was one ofOptimus Prime's loyal Autobot soldiers, but on the eve of a vital confrontation withMegazarak,Swerve and several of his comrades disappeared, having been abducted byUnicronto fight in theUniverse War.Ask Vector Prime, 2015/07/30He succumbed to Unicron's mental influence and arguably became aMinion of Unicron.Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/13

Toys

Universe(2003)

• Swerve(Deluxe, 2008)

• Known designers:Alex Kubalsky(TakaraTomy)

The very last toy released under the 2003Universebanner (kinda? we'll explain in a moment), Swerve transforms into alicensedChevy Aveo LT. He has alight-pipedhead modeled after the Autobot factioninsignia.His transformation is fairly intricate, with the car shell being formed mostly from folding panels, and his aesthetic is similar to that of the original characters created for thethe 2007 live-action movie toyline.In terms of articulation, the toy notably has ankle tilts, but like many toys of the time he lacks bicep swivels, meaning his lower arms can only move forwards and backwards. Unmentioned in the instructions, Swerve's neck is double-jointed, allowing it to raise up a bit so his head isn't as buried into his chest hood... but just bythat much.

Also unusually for toys of the time, Swerve lacks any kind ofgimmickor accessory, and he is not compatible with5 mm posts.By chance, weapons with 3.5 mm posts fit relatively well in his hands.

Despite hisalternate modeand the timing of his release, he has no relationship toAveo,Sphinx,or the rest of theChevy Autobots.Furthermore, his instructions (to all appearances standard for toys at the time) feature the logo ofthe original 2003Universeline,but otherwise mostly use design elements from instructions ofthe 2006Classicsline,with a couple from those ofthe then-upcoming 2008Universeline,plus theGeneral Motorslogo typical of movie toys. Filing the toy away as part of any one line is a misguided endeavour, but for organizational purposes we've stuck to the logo.

The toy comes in a two-piece plastic tray, molded to its shape and taped shut, sealed inside a polybag (written in English, with a Hasbro copyright), stickered with a barcode labelled "PROOF OF PURCHASE". On the inside of Swerve's chestpiece, behind the bumper, is a small white sticker with a seemingly-unique ID number.

• More information on Swerve at TFU.info

Creation and release

Polybagged samples of Swerve originally surfaced on Asian websites in August 2007. 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 that it was a standalone release, presumably anexclusive,though the venue was unknown; for that matter, whether it would even be releasedat allseemed uncertain for a long time.

When the first samples turned up in China, some of the dealers claimed the toy was supposed to be available as a freebie for buying a Chevy Aveo, which would have made it far and away the single most expensive official Transformers toy. However, contradictory rumors claimed the toy would be available as a freebie for test-driving a Chevy Aveo, or that it was a promotional Chevy exclusive to be only available in China. None of those reports were ever verified, and it is unclear whether the toy was ever officially available in China or whether all the samples from Asia were of the usualstolen"leaked" variety.

Early reports throughout the fandom, tepidly verified byHasbrosources, suggested that themold's creation had been commissioned by Chevrolet for that company'sexclusiveuse; neither Hasbro norTakaraTomycould use it in their own lines. This amounted 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 distinct from standard product and cost far less to design and produce).

OnMarch 25th2008, the Chevrolet online store began to offer Swerve as a "special featured item"... but only from its branches inSwitzerlandand the United Arab Emirates. Swerve officially sold for €12.80, which, depending on the order location and currency conversion rates, translated into to approximately $20~$30 before shipping. However, orders from customers in the United States were subject to a "processing" fee of over $50anda "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—but the toys had sold out so quickly that some customers who had placed acknowledged orders never got them.

A month later atBotCon 2008,Hasbro explained that the toy had been produced for Chevy at cost as thanks for their successful partnership. It was designed for a promotional campaign in European markets, with the toys given away to people who took a test-drive of a Chevy Aveo (but it's unclear if, when, and where this promotional campaign actually happened). The toys were never meant to be sold; a handful were left after the promotion had ended (assuming it happened), and they were shunted onto Chevy's website.

Over a year later, Chevrolet/GM made Swerve available again through a contest promotion at several mall displays in Ontario,Canada,running fromJune 18thtoAugust 2nd,2009. Swerve figures were one of several incentive prizes used to entice customers to fill in an entry form for a contest (the ultimate prize being a 2010 Chevy Camaro).^[1]As before, numbers were extremely limited—contest managers reported that they had fewer than twenty Swerves to distribute each day, with a limit of one per customer—but this time they were given out forfree.

After about another year, the toy surfaced officially for a third time, when Hasbro supplied some to the popular online dealerBigBadToyStorein May 2010. The initial price there was $75, though this dropped before the full stock sold out.

In 2020, over a decade later, a few dozen Swerves surfaced in a dollar store in Ontario—perhaps scavenged from the mall promotions—still in their original bags. With no knowledge of how many Swerve figures were actually produced, there could be any number out in the wild, waiting to resurface one day...

Notes

• Alex Kubalskydesigned Swerve's robot mode and transformation under a four-week deadline.
• Chevrolet themselves seem to think that the idea of a transforming Aveo isn't exactly the best marketing strategy, based on a 2008 commercial for the Aveo.^[2]Although the truth probably is that they were just jealous that Citroën had beaten them to the idea by several years, before GM even got involved in theTransformersmovie.^[3](The commercial was also the work of Chevrolet's European division and produced in the Netherlands.^[4][5])

References

1. ↑Message board announcement of the 2009 Canadian release
2. ↑Chevrolet Aveo commercial,featuring a transforming and dancing Ford Focus and anon-transforming Aveo.
3. ↑Citroën C4 commercialfeaturing a transforming and dancing C4, the commercial spoofed by the Aveo one.
4. ↑Background of the Aveo commercial
5. ↑Production details about the Aveo commercial