While Tesla seems to get all the credit for it lately, automakers have been leaving easter egg features on cars for forever. Not to be left in the dust by the Jeep Wagoneer with its Detroit map in the glass roof or Tesla fart mode, the new Ford Mustang Mach-E gets a secret, too.
The easter egg appears to have first been reported by Teslarati.com last week, but Jalopnik reader James sent in his own photos of the feature he discovered privately while doing a pre-delivery inspection for work at a Wisconsin Ford dealership.
The photos show a line of text printed into the metal casing of the Mach-E electric motor reading “Electric Ponies Live Here,” as a nod to this street-cruising all-electric crossover’s tenuous branding connection with the iconic Mustang sports car.
I’d like to think Ford had to print the message on the outside of the motor housing to help its dealership service staff recognise that something about this car was different than what they’re used to and to be careful. But I doubt that’s true.
The new Mach-E is offered in three powertrain configurations. One large, 210-kilowatt electric motor is mounted to the back axle for rear-wheel drive. A large motor in the back can be paired with a smaller, 49 kW electric motor on the front axle to offer all-wheel drive. The high-performance option of two big motors offers all-wheel drive and a combined output totaling up to 357 kW.
James says this is the first and only easter egg he’s spotted on the Mach-E so far, and there doesn’t seem to be reporting on any others if they exist. Motor Trend highlights the Mach-E’s interior screen volume control knob as a bit of an easter egg, as it tricks the user into thinking it’s a functional dial when it’s not actually connected to anything.
But I’m not sure that counts. I like to hunt for my easter eggs and be surprised when I find them, you know, as the “hunt” is intended. Like what Ford sort of did here. I would have liked the Mach-E’s egg to have been a little more than text on the motor, though. Like maybe a really fat horse hidden under the trunk floor or something.