In what I assume is an attempt to mitigate a surge of doll and pet injuries this holiday season, the new pint-sized Power Wheels Ford Mustang features traction control. No, really! Go ahead and get your kid one, your yard might not turn into a Cars & Coffee-esque bloodbath after all.
Hard to say how necessary this safety precaution really is. How much hell can you really raise below 5 mph anyway? But I’m not about to pass up a perfectly good opportunity to make a joke at the expense of the Mustang here! The internet loves to hate it, after all.
I wasn’t joking about the traction control though. Ford says says this new toy has a computer that “can monitor for wheel slip and adjust motor speeds to help keep the car going over wet grass or bumpy terrain” and “a tilt sensor can detect when the car is reaching dangerous angles, turning off the motors to prevent rollovers.”
Great news for drunk uncles who have tried climbing onto one of these for laughs only to have one rear wheel spin hopelessly against their mass and a gravel driveway.
On the back of the mini Mustang there’s a little button for parents to set the car’s speed, between a benign 5 mph and a completely harmless 1 mph.
Set your children free this holiday, but not too free, in one of these Power Wheels Mustangs for a little less than $400. Just don’t let them find that traction control button.