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Nissan Gives Electric Cars Blade Runner Audio Effect

Posted by timothy on from the downloadable-cartones-just-$10-each dept.

mateuscb writes "A campaign backed by automakers and some lawmakers to make electric or hybrid cars noisier in a bid to increase safety for pedestrians and cyclists has taken a strange, Blade Runner-type twist. Nissan sound engineers have announced that the Leaf electric car set for release next year will emit a 'beautiful and futuristic' noise similar to the sound of flying cars — or 'spinners' — that buzz around 2019 Los Angeles in Ridley Scott's dystopian thriller based on a Philip K. Dick science fiction novel."

42 of 553 comments (clear)

  1. But... by e4g4 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...one of the nice things about electric cars is that they're so quiet. Can you turn the sound off?

    --
    The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. - Albert Einstein
    1. Re:But... by mrmeval · · Score: 4, Funny

      I will change it to a ominous hum.

      --
      I'd go on a Vegan diet but the delivery time from Vega is too long. --brownkitty
    2. Re:But... by rvw · · Score: 5, Funny

      ...one of the nice things about electric cars is that they're so quiet. Can you turn the sound off?

      By then we will not download ringtones anymore, but cartones. Think of the possibilities! Make your Focus sound like a Ferrari, make it swing like Michael Jackson. Living next to the highway will be very entertaining.

    3. Re:But... by thermopile · · Score: 4, Funny
      If it sounds like what I think it's going to sound like, I sure hope you can turn the sound off. This youtube link appears to be what the Spinners sound like. Ick; it's cheesy electro-techno.

      I mean, seriously, a "whooshing" sound would be more credible. A soundtrack is too garish.

      --

      "Diplomacy is something you do until you find a rock." --Richard Pound

    4. Re:But... by prof187 · · Score: 4, Informative

      According to the article, the sound is supposed to turn off after the car reaches 12 mph because at that point they say the tire noise is enough to let you be able to hear it adequately.

      --

      My other sig is an import.
    5. Re:But... by Jurily · · Score: 4, Funny

      Living next to the highway will be very entertaining.

      Someone at RIAA just had a great idea.

    6. Re:But... by dotgain · · Score: 5, Insightful

      But at TFS says, it's a 'safety feature', I'd imagine you could 'turn it off' about as easily as the airbags or that thing that beeps when you're in reverse, and that's not without messing with wiring.

    7. Re:But... by nametaken · · Score: 5, Funny

      More like an erection.

    8. Re:But... by paeanblack · · Score: 5, Informative

      But at TFS says, it's a 'safety feature', I'd imagine you could 'turn it off' about as easily as the airbags or that thing that beeps when you're in reverse, and that's not without messing with wiring.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_flag_laws

      These proposals are just as idiotic.

      It's the drivers' responsibility to maintain control of their vehicles and be cognizant of sudden dangers in the street. Any attempts delegate this responsibility onto pedestrians, wildlife, and falling trees are completely retarded.

    9. Re:But... by vigilology · · Score: 5, Funny

      Speaking of whooshes...

    10. Re:But... by SteveFoerster · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's the drivers' responsibility to maintain control of their vehicles and be cognizant of sudden dangers in the street. Any attempts delegate this responsibility onto pedestrians, wildlife, and falling trees are completely retarded.

      I agree that this is the driver's responsibility, but considering we're talking about stopping people from getting smooshed by cars, is alerting pedestrians as a sort of back up system really that objectionable?

      --
      Space game using normal deck of cards: http://BattleCards.org
    11. Re:But... by Craevenwulfe · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Try being blind and then guessing when it's safe to cross the road...

    12. Re:But... by ZygnuX · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yes because we know a driver never speeds past a red light, ever.

    13. Re:But... by demonlapin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Wheels on asphalt are astonishingly quiet. Have a friend try it out on you if you don't believe me - run a car up a small incline, then put it in neutral and turn off the engine. Close your eyes, tell him to go, and open your eyes when you can hear it. Do this a block away from a busy street, for added realism. See how close he is.

    14. Re:But... by arb+phd+slp · · Score: 4, Informative

      I'm willing to bet the wheels on pavement are enough of a sound for someone who is constantly using hearing to find out what is going on around them.

      I had the experience of being sneaked up on by a Prius on in a narrow street last year. The ground was very clean (none of the loose salt/sand that is often on the roads in the northeast) and its gas engine must have been off-- that vehicle was absolutely silent. I gained an appreciation for the issue of lack of vehicle noise that day. Perhaps at 60mph tires make a noise, but at the low speeds on streets they aren't always discernible.

      --
      There's a perfect xkcd for my sig but I'm too lazy to look it up. sudo someone go find it.
    15. Re:But... by demonlapin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      And if they're blind?

    16. Re:But... by CheeseTroll · · Score: 4, Insightful

      As someone who used to commute via bike, I say it's pretty freaky having a hybrid come whooshing by, even if it's in a different lane. Almost as bad as a city bus, which has it's engine in the back so you don't hear it until the bus is practically on top of you. A little audible warning would be nice. It doesn't need to sound like a Harley to be effective.

      --
      A post a day keeps productivity at bay.
    17. Re:But... by paeanblack · · Score: 4, Informative

      Do pedestrians really always have the right of way in the US?

      There are no national traffic enforcement laws in the US; each individual state sets their own. The national government only provides financial incentives for the states' laws to meet certain criteria.

      Pedestrian right-of-way laws vary considerably across the country and are a dissonant mix of historic inertia and regional practicality. In Boston or New Orleans, jaywalking is common and pedestrians routinely cross streets where and when they choose. The local courts will invariably find the driver at fault. In Washington DC or New York, jaywalking laws are actually enforced. In Salt Lake City or San Diego, jaywalking is extremely rare and drivers are given more leniency in the courts.

      A few things are fairly universal:
      -For the most part, pedestrians have the absolute right-of-way, anytime and anywhere.
      -If you hit somebody near a school, a playground, or a school bus, you will always be at fault, under the assumption that you were driving too fast to stop for a child.
      -If the pedestrian is actually trying to be hit (i.e. suicide attempt/insurance fraud...not just crossing recklessly), the driver is generally not liable.
      -Striking a pedestrian on a limited access highway where they are not allowed will usually result in both parties being held responsible.

      As a foreigner driving in the US, don't make any assumptions about pedestrian rights-of-way until you are familiar with the local laws.

    18. Re:But... by Idiomatick · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "hit the anchors and come to a dead stop in twenty feet just because some asshole saunterd out into the road because "the law" says he's allowed is absolutely ridiculous."

      Uhhh if he's not jaywalking and reached the corner first and you are at a distance where it is safe for you to stop then yeah.... You really should stop...
      If you are driving at a speed through an intersection where you are unable to stop if something comes out then you are a danger and will hopefully have your license taken before you kill anyone.

      People crossing at the crosswalk aren't idiots. The right of way is NOT determined by who dies or everyone would be driving tanks and walking anywhere would be completely impossible. Main st in my town is a 60zone with lots of cars, the way you are talking you sound like you'd be happy splitting the city into essentially little islands.

    19. Re:But... by dylan_- · · Score: 5, Funny

      And if they're blind?

      Then they really shouldn't be driving at all...

      --
      Igor Presnyakov stole my hat
  2. Siren Noise by Karganeth · · Score: 5, Funny

    They should make some kind of noise that sounds significantly different when its coming towards you compared with going away from you, just like how an ambulance or police siren is.

    1. Re:Siren Noise by Boiling_point_ · · Score: 5, Funny

      Wheeeee-Oshhhhhhhhh!

      --
      "If you create user accounts, by default, they will have an account type of Administrator with no password." KB Q293834
  3. Put a card in the spokes by StormyWeather · · Score: 4, Funny

    Just put a card in the spokes. Yea, it's nerdy, but so is the car.

    http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20090918/NISSAN_EV6.jpg

  4. Re:Do electric sheep by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 5, Funny

    Only in your dreams.

    But are they really your dreams?

    --
    When information is power, privacy is freedom.
  5. Ffffffsssss by thewils · · Score: 4, Funny

    I would want that sound that the USS Enterprise makes as it whizzes through space...

    --
    Once I was a four stone apology. Now I am two separate gorillas.
  6. The Jetsons! by ZackSchil · · Score: 4, Funny

    I want my car to sound like the flying cars from The Jetsons. Then I can at least pretend that I got the future I was promised as a child.

  7. Mazda announces their EV warning sound... by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 4, Funny

    In response, Mazda has announced that their cars will play an endless loop of a 6 year old saying "zoom-zoom!"

    --
    When information is power, privacy is freedom.
  8. Car Ring Tones!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    From the article ~ "Some reports suggest that in the future, car owners will download a sound for their car the way many consumers buy ring tones for their cellphones."

    Oh crap, now we have to listen to cars playing crappy tunes on bad speakers all the time. Can't their be a law against this proposed. I think a few dead pedestrians is worth the loss of the noise pollution.

  9. Re:Do electric sheep by ciaohound · · Score: 4, Funny

    Get your ass to Mars.

    --
    Oh, yeah, it's not easy to pad these out to 120 characters.
  10. Example of the sound by sebaseba · · Score: 4, Informative

    An example of the sound is apparently this one. Not sure tho', found on an another site.

  11. Re:Interesting job title by Zak3056 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    What exactly would these people do on a daily basis?

    I would imagine they're normally responsible for minimizing road noise, engine noise heard inside the cabin, making the stereo sound good in the aurally hostile environment that is an automobile, etc.

    --
    What part of "shall not be infringed" is so hard to understand?
  12. Ringtone cars by nnnneedles · · Score: 5, Funny

    Please not ringtone cars. Please please please. It's ten years into the future and I can't stand it already.

    --
    Will code a sig generator for food
  13. Re:Deaf people cope by Imrik · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Blind people don't have the option of looking.

  14. Re:It's Not About Safety, It's About Macho by Joce640k · · Score: 5, Funny

    I want mine to make the sound of a Bell HU-1 ...with optional Wagner overlay.

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    No sig today...
  15. Re:Interesting job title by miggyb · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now I want the Windows 95 TADA noise when my airbags are deployed. I love for my cars to have a sense of sarcasm.

    --
    This signature serves no purpose other than to help you see which posts were made by me.
  16. Re:Strange world by Macrat · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I don't like cars sneaking up on me when I'm on foot. Do you?

    Then stop walking in the middle of the road.

  17. go drive through a walmart parking lot by Savior_on_a_Stick · · Score: 4, Insightful

    At least 75% of the pedestrians don't look *either* way.

    The mouth breathers are of the belief that 8 oz of striping paint will stop 3 tons of Detroit steel.

  18. Re:It's Not About Safety, It's About Macho by srhill · · Score: 5, Funny

    My friend owns a Prius, and if it's moving at a fairly low speed you won't hear it at all.

    All you hear are the horrifying screams of the pedestrians being mowed down at 3 mph.

  19. Re:It's Not About Safety, It's About Macho by Thing+1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Mine will chant "kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit"

    --
    I feel fantastic, and I'm still alive.
  20. Re:Just what we need - more noise. by iris-n · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Probably it'll be illegal to turn it off. The same way it's illegal to drive at night with the lights out.

    --
    entropy happens
  21. ASCAP by tepples · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'll just have it emit whatever's playing on my stereo.

    ASCAP or another major performance rights organization would bust a CAP in your AS for that. The music on your stereo probably isn't licensed for an intentional public performance.

  22. Re:But...What about Hit, Backups, and Runs? by herojig · · Score: 4, Funny

    As someone who lives in Nepal, and drives a motorbike in India, the things drivers shed to pedestrians is not wanted. Like the habit of backing up and running you over again if hit, to avoid paying the family of the squashed pedestrian any compensation. Please tell drivers in the Bihar that this is not acceptable, and the practice should be stopped immediately.

    As far as ringtones for my next electric vehicle (my first was a Chinese motorbike), I will install the Tata Truck ringtone , which sounds like any other on the road. It's the one noise that instills fear in all creatures near the highway. Sounding like a cylon raider will do nothing to keep peds safe here.

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    I think therefore I can't be ~TTNH