Ford Developing Heat-Sensitive Graphics for Future Mustangs?
Things Could Be Heating up for Your Mustang’s Hood Graphics
One thing is for sure, when you’re driving a Mustang, it’s the only thing like it on the road. Nobody would ever mistake a Mustang for something boring like a Camry. Even the lower-spec models have an air of aggression and excitement about them. For some, however, there aren’t enough running ponies on the car to broadcast to the world that you’re driving one of Ford’s best. That might be about to change if this Ford-originating patent has any indication of the future.
There is a subheading called “heat-transmission graphics” in this document. What could that mean? One of the illustrations in the patent filing shows a Mustang covered with a thin film of snow. The car equipped with heat-transmission graphics apparently has sensors that tell it when snow is falling and covering the car. These sensors then kick on a set of heaters, shown in the image above on the hood. They create the shape of the Mustang emblem by melting the snow specifically in that section. When you go out to your car in the morning, if you’ve parked it outside in the snow, on a snowy day, you’ll see it. But why would you do that?
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This might be the single-most convoluted and unnecessary accessory Ford has ever dreamed up. The circumstances in which this would actually operate seem to be minimal, as it would have to be winter, in a part of the country that regularly receives snow. And you’d have to be silly enough to park your Mustang outside in the weather.
It is well known that Mustangs are rarely driven in the snow, because everyone is afraid of rear-wheel drive. And a small percentage of Mustang buyers might not see snow at all, meaning this heat-transfer would be operational just a handful of times. Does it seem worth it to you?
Via [Motor Authority, AutoGuide]
