The 2018 Ford Mustang’s Start Button Pulses Like a Pony’s Heart

Early April Fool's joke...or genuine creepy design quirk?
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As a lover of all things automotive, I understand playful personification of our cars. Giving them nicknames and referring to them using pronouns reserved for human females are harmless—if a little corny—ways of emotionally bringing us closer to our four-wheeled friends. Ford, however, wants to bring this to a new level by giving the new Mustang a literal heartbeat. Specifically, the heartbeat of a real, hay-munching, Mustang horse. 

According to Ford, mustangs—the horse, not the muscle car—have a resting heartbeat 30 beats per minute. To mimic this, the engine start button in the newly-squinty 2018 Mustang will pulse red at the exact same beat. 

A quick check of the calendar raises suspicions of this being an early April Fool’s stunt. For car companies, April Fool’s gaffes have seemingly become akin to testing on the Nurburgringeverybody participates. Even if this probably is a joke, we can’t help but predict some subset of the pony car’s most fanatical owners modifying their cars to do this. Especially considering last week’s reports of a tuner reupholstering a Mustang car with genuine mustang horse leather…hair intact. 

What do you think? Cool or creepy? If this was a genuine no-cost option on Ford’s new pony car, would you tick the box? Let us know in the comments below—and happy April Fool’s Day.