It is time to reaffirm the most important choice you made in life, which was to be a car lover. Regardless of how bored you must feel at non-car-related social gatherings, how stupidly wasteful all other expenses seem to be, and how everything else takes a backseat in life, you did make the right choice. And it would be unfair if we were to make that claim (because we’re also like you), but when it comes from a team of Ford researchers and neuroscientists says that, it has to be true.
Ford Motor Company is currently reading the patterns on how cars affect our lives. One of the findings, as stated by Dr Harry Witchel, Discipline Leader in Physiology, is that driving a performance car can be valuable to one’s daily wellbeing. With respect to Buzz moments — essentially a moment of thrill which equates to better wellness — the human behaviour was analysed during various activities.
Activities include a roller coaster ride, driving a performance-orientated car, going shopping, watching an episode of Game of Thrones, cheering for a favourite team at a football match, fine dining, salsa dancing, and even enjoying a passionate kiss with a loved one. Participants for the study recorded the most buzz moments while on a rollercoaster, averaging at 3 per ride. During shopping, the average dropped to 1.7, while Game of Thrones and football managed 1.5 each, and there were no buzz moments during salsa, fine dining, or kissing. Driving a Focus RS, Focus ST, or Mustang yielded an average of 2.1 buzz moments. Fittingly going forwards, a research is being conduct on how to make the in-car systems respond to human occupants’ emotions.
Ford also went ahead, and with help from Designworks and Sensum, made the Buzz Car. The slightly modified Focus RS detects whenever the driver experiences a buzz moment, analyses it in real time (with the help of a high-performance Zotac VR GO gaming PC), and eventually showcases that using animation on the car’s exterior. To do so, nearly 200,000 LEDs and 110 light strips have been commissioned. It took a total of 1,400 man hours to build the car, and the result can be seen in the video below.
So there you have it: if you want a good life, driving a performance car is the right way to do it. Unless of course you own a theme park with safe, reliable, and evocative roller coasters at your disposal. I’ll have mine painted in red with a V8 sitting under the bonnet, like the one here.
