Ford has built a special Focus RS that puts your emotions on the outside. It's to show that driving a fast car is a better way to get you a buzz than a passionate kiss or binge-watching your favourite show. It can even boost your wellbeing.
The Focus RS Buzz Car comes as the result of a study looking at buzz moments. The peak thrills that are important to how we feel and our overall wellness. The feeling of cheering on your favourite team, watching a gripping episode of your favourite TV show, riding a rollercoaster, or a kiss with a loved one.
The study measured emotions as subjects participated in those activities, and then measured peak excitement - the buzz moments - to see which generated the most buzz.
Driving a Focus RS or Ford Mustang GT gave participants an average of 2.1 buzz moments in a typical commute. That's more than shopping (1.7), watching Game of Thrones or a soccer match (1.5), and fine dining or sharing a passionate kiss. Which scored a surprising zero buzz moments. That last one was probably awkward for a few participants.
Now for the cool part. The Focus RS Buzz Car. It has 200,000 LED lights, 82 display panels, 110 500 lumen daylight-bright light strips, and a high-end gaming PC to control it all.
Drivers wore the emotion sensors and the Buzz Car came to life. It lit up like a disco as driver emotions reached a buzz point. It's a cool way to show just how enjoyable driving a quick car can be. If you're behind the wheel of the RS you probably already know that, but this broadcasts it to the world.
Buzz moments are important to your wellbeing but can be difficult to achieve. “A roller coaster may be good for a quick thrill, but it’s not great for getting you to work every day,” said Dr Harry Witchel, Discipline Leader in Physiology. “This study shows how driving a performance car does much more than get you from A to B – it could be a valuable part of your daily wellbeing routine.”
There is a non-performance benefit to the research too. Ford researchers are looking at how vehicles can understand our emotions as a way to measure stress, distraction, and fatigue. Things that can help make driving safer.
Next step: convince my doctor to write a prescription for an RS to help chase away the winter blues.
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