---
title: "The 2018 Ford Mustang’s Start Button Pulses Like a Pony’s Heart"
description: "Early April Fool's joke...or genuine creepy design quirk?"
date: "2017-03-31"
modified: "2017-03-31"
authors:
  - name: "Chris Tsui"
    job_title: "Contributor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/chris-tsui"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/article/8834/the-2018-ford-mustangs-start-button-pulses-like-a-ponys-heart"
categories:
  - "Ford News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "April Fool's Day"
  - "Coupe"
  - "Ford"
  - "Muscle Cars"
  - "Mustang"
  - "sports car"
---

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

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/03/ford-mustang-hmm.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

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](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/6983/leaked-2018-ford-mustang-gt-video-reveals-one-squinty-muscle-car>) will pulse red at the exact same beat.

https://youtube.com/embed/r3xUihzguyQ

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 Nurburgring](<https://www.thedrive.com/video/5607/april-fools-circa-2011-its-a-bmw-m3-pickup-truck>)—[everybody](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/8840/lexus-pranks-impatient-drivers-with-fake-lane-valet>) 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](<https://jalopnik.com/creepy-tuner-mustang-includes-leather-and-hair-from-an-1793567312>) 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.

## Author
Chris Tsui is *The Drive*'s former Reviews Editor and current freelance automotive journalist. He's based in Toronto.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/cltsuii/>)