Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Audi Gives Silent Electric Car Synthetic Sound

Posted by timothy on from the millions-to-be-made-in-downloadable-cartones dept.

itwbennett writes "Audi's electric cars are quiet, maybe too quiet, which is why Audi spent 3 years creating replicated engine noise for its electric car models. We're so conditioned to the noise of an engine revving that a driver behind the wheel of a too-quiet car may not realize how fast he's driving, and a pedestrian relying on auditory clues may be unaware of an approaching vehicle, says Ralf Kunkel, Head of Audi Acoustics." Nissan's been on this for years (as has Honda); one day, you may only get to choose which noise your car makes, rather than whether it does.

75 of 402 comments (clear)

  1. any sound in the world.... by turtledawn · · Score: 4, Insightful

    and they chose car noise. How uninspiring.

    --
    Uh, "if it looks roughly mouse-shaped according to my infra-red sensitive pit, eat it"? --Chris Burke 09-08-10
    1. Re:any sound in the world.... by nschubach · · Score: 4, Insightful

      All I want to know is if I can I turn it off? (without breaking some law...)

      --
      Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.
    2. Re:any sound in the world.... by Nidi62 · · Score: 4, Funny

      and they chose car noise. How uninspiring.

      Personally, I love the sound of my V8 revving up. But I also hate how much it costs to do that :)

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    3. Re:any sound in the world.... by BagOBones · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Exactly why would it need to sound like a regular car.

      Spend any time down town Vancouver and you will start to appreciate them having a little sound of some kind... Something like over 50% of the cabs in Vancouver are Toyota Prius and they sneak up on you all day long as a pedestrian.

      --
      EA David Gardner -"... but the consumers have proven that actually what they want is fun."
    4. Re:any sound in the world.... by CanHasDIY · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yeah, exactly. And if there is a law, how can we either circumvent it (no, sorry, that speaker broke just some minutes ago Officer) or get rid of it.

      I doubt you would be prosecuted for having "too quiet" a vehicle... that is, until you hit someone with it because they couldn't hear you coming.

      That happens, be prepared for a criminal negligence charge.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    5. Re:any sound in the world.... by Surt · · Score: 2

      If it doesn't sound like a car, do you know to jump out of the way?

      --
      "Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
    6. Re:any sound in the world.... by Sechr+Nibw · · Score: 5, Funny

      They wanted something death people would perceive as a car.

      I think you meant to type "deaf people". And I think you meant to mean to type "blind people". Y'know, the ones that would get clues about their surroundings by listening to the new artificial sounds for silent-running cars?

    7. Re:any sound in the world.... by CanHasDIY · · Score: 2

      If you can't be bothered to look both ways before crossing the street, it's you who are negligent. The only exception is the blind, and we have audible crosswalks now, so this technology is pointless.

      So why fight all those texting/cellphone use-while-driving laws? I mean, the VAST majority of people blindly crossing the street are probably on their cellphones.

      Uh... not the same thing? I would say equally as dangerous, but no, when you're piloting several tons of metal, glass, and plastic in a state of ACIS*, you're a hell of a lot more dangerous than some meatbag doing the same.

      Perhaps we should ban all cellphone use while mobile. People can't drive and talk/text (if you think you can - you can't, and you're plainly obvious to everyone who's behind you by your erratic driving), and we know they certainly can't walk and talk/text. I think a lot of police departments are now tracking incidents like this.

      Personally, I don't understand where the idea we need all sorts of new laws to cover this stuff comes from; we already have laws against negligence, careless and imprudent driving, jaywalking, etc. etc.

      Essentially, if we (society) aren't willing to enforce existing laws across the board, what makes us (society) think new laws will be treated any differently?

      And nevermind the idiotic redlight runners - at least you can hear a revving engine half a block away and look to see if someone will run the red. Or green if someone intends to cut off the pedestrians just starting to cross the street by turning ahead of them.

      Don't know about your locale, but where I live we always just assume at least 3-5 people are going to run the red light... because they do.

      Consistently.

      Anyhow, having a quiet car does nothing when the car next to you at the light has their bass thumping out playing today's crappy rap/hip-hop song.

      Touche, friend, although with the caveat that we both know that won't always be the case.


      *ACIS: Anal Cranial Inversion Syndrome. Thanks to a childhood friend for coining the term 20 years ago.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    8. Re:any sound in the world.... by danomac · · Score: 2

      You don't need to add an engine noise to the car. Use tires that generate a little more noise, most noise is made by the tires anyway, unless you got the pedal to the metal. When I'm walking around town I always hear the tire noise before the engine (if I hear the engine at all.) Unless it's a pimply-faced kid with a Honda and a fart-can muffler.

    9. Re:any sound in the world.... by camperdave · · Score: 2

      Audible crosswalks are being removed around here. They make too much noise. Besides, they're only installed on really busy intersections where there are stoplights. So, no help for blind pedestrians in suburban areas.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    10. Re:any sound in the world.... by lucifuge31337 · · Score: 2

      My father is blind. His mailbox is across the street from his house. He needs to cross the street to get his mail. He would never hear an electric car coming down the street if it didn't make a sound that could be identified as a car.

      Fortunately evs still have tires, which are what make most of the noise in most any car at residential street or parking lot speeds.

      --
      Do not fold, spindle or mutilate.
    11. Re:any sound in the world.... by LongearedBat · · Score: 2

      Great. Now I've got this mental imagery of cars hiding behind corners and lamp posts, then tiptoeing up to people from behind.

    12. Re:any sound in the world.... by hawkinspeter · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Don't you have cyclists in your part of the world?

      --
      You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
    13. Re:any sound in the world.... by Xarius · · Score: 2

      I discovered a while ago that most crossings in the UK have a little metal nubbin underneath the button...When it's safe to walk the metal thingy whirs around, and it stays still when it's not safe!

      Genius.

      --
      C17H21NO4
    14. Re:any sound in the world.... by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      Cars haven't had horizontal surfaces since the 1800s. Now they have curved surfaces (ALL of them, even the ones that look flat) which are harder to put a solar panel on. A curved ("crowned") area has rigidity while a flat area doesn't and it flexes, therefore it stretches, which leads to oilcanning.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  2. Noise needed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I was just thinking, of all the things we need more in modern society, what would it be? The answer: NOISE!! Oh yeah. Its just too quiet in our cities.

  3. To hell with noise pollution by doston · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I live in downtown Seattle and sometimes the noise is a bit much. The worst are the hogs that are designed to be incredibly noisy. People need to WATCH where they're going (look both ways, morons) and LOOK at the speedometer. And no, I'm not moving to some suburb or the country. It's not a living nightmare or anything, but I hardly see any good reason, other than just supporting stupidity, to actually put work into creating noise.

    1. Re:To hell with noise pollution by doston · · Score: 2

      I live in downtown Seattle and sometimes the noise is a bit much. The worst are the hogs that are designed to be incredibly noisy. People need to WATCH where they're going (look both ways, morons) and LOOK at the speedometer. And no, I'm not moving to some suburb or the country. It's not a living nightmare or anything, but I hardly see any good reason, other than just supporting stupidity, to actually put work into creating noise.

      The issue I've heard associated with this was the blind. You know, those folks who can't look both ways.

      I'm surprised they don't get hit by more bikes then. Maybe the driver should look. Come to think of it, this whole article is stupid anyway. They're already simulating sound...I mean, maybe not with a literal synthesizer, but my G35 would apparently be almost silent, but for the crap they've done with the exhaust. So, not sure this is entirely a new thing. I know, maybe they could implant things in blind people's ears that alert them of an oncoming silent car...like a super loud and startling BEEP?

    2. Re:To hell with noise pollution by pz · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Two words: blind people.

      Or more elaborately, everyone who can hear uses auditory cues to navigate in addition to other cues. Electric cars are highly unusual in that they make much less noise than their internal combustion engine counterparts. Until silent electric cars are commonplace enough that the public is aware that the normal sensitivity of audition may be insufficient to navigate as a pedestrian, adding sound would seem to be a good idea on the whole. Of course, the flip side is that people who are spending their time buried in their hand-held devices and don't look up when crossing the road are more likely to be weeded from the gene pool by silent cars, and some might consider that a plus. Getting to the point above, though, there are many people -- millions in the US alone -- with low vision or blindnes for whom automobile sounds are critical in warning of impending danger. Adding a modest sound to quiet electric cars definitely seems a good idea for them.

      But if you really want to cut down on urban noise pollution, as your post implies, address trucks, buses, and construction crews. Non-electric cars just aren't that loud and motorcycles aren't that frequent. Try to talk on a mobile phone as a truck or bus drives past, though: it's impossible.

      --

      Put my fist through my alarm clock with its ding-dong death inside my ear. - The Blackjacks.
    3. Re:To hell with noise pollution by doston · · Score: 2

      At least downtown Seattle only has to deal with engine noise; unlike NY where there's also all of the dimwits honking CONSTANTLY as if it will get them to their destination faster.

      --Jeremy

      It's true that there is very rarely honking here. It's actually illegal, but more importantly, socially unacceptable. Even if you're totally right, you'll be looked at by bystanders like you're Hitler for touching that horn.

    4. Re:To hell with noise pollution by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Two words: blind people.

      100% bullshit.

      You don't hear a car approaching because of the engine, you hear the tires on the road more than anything. Modern cars make VERY little noise from the engine, and what little they do produce is directed BEHIND it.

      This isn't an issue that blind people are worried about. This is an issue that politicians are trying to use to gain personal publicity by pretending THEY care about blind people...ironically more than blind people care about themselves.

      In reality, bicycles are a far greater danger to blind people because they make much less noise than even an electric car, while simultaneously having no interest in obeying any traffic laws.

    5. Re:To hell with noise pollution by Chelloveck · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Until silent electric cars are commonplace enough that the public is aware that the normal sensitivity of audition may be insufficient to navigate as a pedestrian, adding sound would seem to be a good idea on the whole.

      No, it wouldn't seem that way. Why? Because if you add artificial noise people will never become aware of it. It just perpetuates the problem.

      Adding noise is exactly the wrong answer. Quiet cars are a nice step forward for those of us who can hear. How about instead we come up with some protocol for a blind person to signal his intent to cross the street? Say, hold out your arm and point to the other side for 10 seconds before crossing. Then train drivers to actually stop for that signal? That would have other benefits as well. Sighted people could use the same signal, making it easier for them to cross busy streets too. And it would protect the blind from those oh-so-silent bicyclists whizzing down the street. (Or maybe bicyclists should adopt some sort of artificial vroom-vroom noise just like cars?)

      Simple, free, and peaceful. What more could you want?

      --
      Chelloveck
      I give up on debugging. From now on, SIGSEGV is a feature.
  4. Re:How cool. by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 5, Funny

    Nyan Cat.

    Nothing else says "get out of my way' like that would.

    --
    "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
    Never been known to fail..."
  5. Re:There is a benefit to the noise by rock56501 · · Score: 2

    Noisemakers in all new Hybrid's/EV are required under a law that was passed during the lame-duck congressional session in Dec 2010. Toyota's Prius started putting them in the 2012 models.

  6. This is wonderful by Jedi+Alec · · Score: 5, Funny

    Finally men can spend their entire lives going "Vroom! Vroom!" behind the wheel, instead of being forced to stop at the tender age of 11.

    --

    People replying to my sig annoy me. That's why I change it all the time.
  7. My suggestion: by newcastlejon · · Score: 5, Funny

    The Jetsons.

    If I ever get to choose my own sound, it will be this.

    --
    If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
  8. Re:How cool. by PessimysticRaven · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I see a huge modding community on the horizon...
    It's all fun and game until

    --
    Consistency is only a virtue if you're not a screw-up.
  9. Re:How cool. by PessimysticRaven · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...Rickrolling while revving at a redlight occurs.

    --
    Consistency is only a virtue if you're not a screw-up.
  10. Onomatopoeia by Cazekiel · · Score: 2

    If I got one of these, I'd just it in the driver's seat with the windows open, screeching "NYYYYYAAA! NE-YEEHHH! REEEEEEEEEEEE-OOOH! RRRRR! RRRR-CK!".

    --
    You want to know how to help your kids? LEAVE THEM THE F*&K ALONE. --George Carlin
  11. Re:How cool. by CanHasDIY · · Score: 4, Funny

    Jetson's car.

    FTW.

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  12. 3 years? seriously? by million_monkeys · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Am I the only one who thinks it shouldn't take 3 years to figure out how to make a car produce engine noises? There are plenty of video games out there that manage to pull it off and I doubt any of them spent even 3 months on designing engine noises. Granted they didn't have to work out all the hardware involved, but even that doesn't seem like it should take years.

    1. Re:3 years? seriously? by tlhIngan · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Am I the only one who thinks it shouldn't take 3 years to figure out how to make a car produce engine noises?

      No, no you are not. When I read that, I thought, really? 3 years? Uh, lemme see... loudspeaker + audio source + the tachometer = programmable sound that varies with engine speed. Took me all of 10 seconds.
       

      So what sounds do you play (a normal engine whirr or a deep-throated big-block?)? How do you scale that sound with RPMs? How do you ensure the sound you're playing won't be irritating to everyone after a period of time?

      Even more important - how do you handle interior vs. exterior sounds? Car makers do NOT make the whole cabin soundproof - they actually do funnel some engine sound into the cabin. Do you play an "idling" sound? Do you consider the inside and outside to be separate sounds? Do you simulate gears (and if so, at what points? and do you base it on speed or RPMs or how the driver is pressing down?). And how does it sound in the rain/snow/sand/dirt?

      It's the whole UI thing - that takes far longer to do than the technical steps. Little things like where you put the speaker can have a huge effect - it tane turn a great sound into a muffled annoying rumble. Or the mixing of existing car noise (motor/controller whine, wind noise) may turn the noise into something horrible.

      Hell, there are apps for your phone that play back engine noiess, but the whole acoustic package has to be considered.

      Sometimes I think letting engineers have all the fun when it comes to design is part of the problem; they tend to forget Occam's Razor. Then again, with all the drive-by-wire stuff they're mucking about with these days, maybe I shouldn't be surprised the auto engineers forgot that, at it's base, a car is a mechanical device.

      Drive by wire has several advantages, including reliability, economy (cars are "twist'n'go" these days - the computer does all the necessary adjustments to ensure it can start in the harshest conditions with a simple twist of the key - no accellerator flooring/choke adjusting/etc), emissions, etc. Plus information sharing - the navigation system can do dead reckoning based on wheel motion, speed, the steering wheel position, etc when it loses GPS signal. Nevermind all the safety features that people love, and cruise control.

    2. Re:3 years? seriously? by roman_mir · · Score: 2

      Yeah, this guy figured it out, and he was probably high while doing it.

      --
      You can't handle the truth.
  13. Isn't this a micro managing issue? by Grayhand · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Look at it this way, some one was just killed by a bicycle and the blind deal with those everyday and they are just as quiet. 99% of the people benefiting from the sound will in fact be people that can't be bothered to look first. I've had gasoline running cars that were silent enough I didn't hear them approach. There does seem to be a touch of insanity making regulations that require noise pollution. Whether it's hydrogen or battery electric motor driven vehicles are likely the future so are we now setting a standard that we are committing to a future of gasoline engine sounding cars from here on out? To me it seems a little like demanding cars make the sound of horse hooves a 100 years ago so people were more comfortable with the transition.

  14. Make it an extra... by Githaron · · Score: 2

    ... so the rest of us do not have to pay for the system if we decide to buy the car.

  15. Bubba Rub? by imag0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Bubba Rub was a visionary

    www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnzw_i4YmKk

    Reporter: Can you tell me about the whistles?
    Bubb Rubb: The whistles go WOO-- You wanna WOO WOO--
    Reporter: Some neighbors are saying it’s “way too loud.”
    Bubb Rubb: That’s only in the mowrning. He’s supposed to be up cooking breakfast or something, so it’s like an alarm clock!

  16. Yeah by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 2

    Either a TARDIS arriving sound or warp engine.

    BTW, there's a gauge on most cars that tell you how fast it's going. Just tossin that out there FYI.

  17. Download ringtones for your car!!!* by Picass0 · · Score: 2

    *Be sure to get your parent's permission first. $4.00 licensing fee per month.

  18. Sounds like Tron Lightcycles to me by Wheels17 · · Score: 2

    All I could think of when I heard it is the Tron Lightcycle sound. A little high frequency filter and it's the same thing.

  19. Playing cards on the wheels... by jrmcc · · Score: 2

    Problem solved!!

  20. Re:How cool. by Moryath · · Score: 4, Informative

    More stupid laws brought to you by the buggy whip manufacturer's cartel.

    Really, this is just stupid shit all over again.

  21. Re:How cool. by Sperbels · · Score: 2

    You mean a blaring voice that says: Danger! Danger! Vehicle Approaching! Stand Aside Citizen!

  22. Five blind peds are killed by automobiles a year by stomv · · Score: 5, Informative

    NHTSA FARS data, 2002-2006: 27 legally blind pedestrians were killed by automobiles. 27/5 == 5.4 per year. Blind people being run over by automobiles simply isn't a rampant problem. Blind people often rely on audio cues to cross the street, but not the sound of engines. Instead, the chirp or verbal commands from crosswalk signal heads is the audio cue for blind pedestrians, combined with the trust that motorists will look for peds when turning right at intersections.

    It's noise pollution, and it's oh so unnecessary.

    --
    Support a few technologists in Washington.
  23. Two Different Issues by sunderland56 · · Score: 4, Informative
    There are two different issues being merged into one here:
    • Vehicle noise outside the car - to warn pedestrians/other motorists/etc. of the car's presence;
    • Vehicle noise inside the car - so the driver has a perception of how fast they are driving.

    A speaker making 'vroom vroom' noises outside the car does nothing for the driver - most modern Audi-class cars are so quiet inside you can barely hear an internal combustion engine. Some cars (even loud high-performance ones) already artifically add engine noise to the stereo system so the driver can gauge their speed.

    1. Re:Two Different Issues by geekoid · · Score: 2

      I'll take quite with a speedometer, thank you.
      And the wind noise will also be an indicators.
      Another indicator will be when everything in front of you starts to turn blue~

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  24. Re:How cool. by Medievalist · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yeah, George Jetson's car would be the best, but second best would be the buzz-saw noise that the old Flash Gordon spaceships made.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUbGkSfaKrs

    Hardly anyone would recognize it, but it that might make it even better!

  25. I hate this idea by Karmashock · · Score: 2

    I want my car silent.

    As to blind people crossing the road. That's just going to be a new challenge. I don't see why everyone in society has to have engine noise in otherwise silent cars just so blind people can tell cars are coming.

    --
    I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
  26. Of all the idiotic ideas.... by mark-t · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Oh noes... the car is too quiet! It could sneak up on somebody before they hear it!!!!

    Give me a break.

    Seriously... this is just such a colossally stupid idea that it had to be dreamed up by lawyers.

    In some newer conventional engine cars, you have to strain to listen for the engine, when its on a low speed. Are they going to now require that mufflers not cut out more than certain amount of sound?

    And at higher speeds, you're going to hear the sound of the tires on the road LONG before you hear the sound of engine, unless, again, the engine is an older one or the muffler isn't doing it's job correctly.

    Are they going to also require that bicycles have such noisemakers installed? What about motorized wheelchairs? Both can cause extremely serious injury to people when moving at high velocities.

    This idea is just so incredibly stupid that it gives me a headache just trying to imagine the mentality of people who thought it was a good notion.

    --
    File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
  27. Re:Stealth by mark-t · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You can just as easily be caught by surprise by a conventional engine car with a newer engine too. Should they also outlaw very good mufflers?

    --
    File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
  28. Re:How cool. by Moryath · · Score: 5, Insightful

    At one time there were laws insisting that anyone driving a "new-fangled horseless carriage" must:

    - have someone walk ahead of them waving a red flag or lantern.
    - shouting to warn others of the approaching vehicle
    - honking a horn or otherwise making noise to "warn" oncoming traffic at any intersection.

    The horse and buggy whip cartels also insisted that the automobile would "spook horses" and cause all sorts of problems. As it turned out, of course, the horses didn't give a rat's ass about the cars, they were more likely to spook because some idiot hitched up a mare in heat and some other idiot had an un-gelded stallion on the rein, or because some asshole shot off a gun near them.

    The nonsense about electric cars is no different. It's just attempts by the lobbying department of interested automobile makers (the ones who aren't adapting to the 21st century) using bribed republicans and regulatory capture to try to create artificial barriers to adoption against their competition.

  29. The time is not spent on development by iONiUM · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Rest assured, from the technical side they could do it very quickly, as you outlined.

    The problem is more than likely in market research. Bringing people in, asking them to listen to 50 varieties of car noises and judging them, to find just the "right" one that is pleasant, audible, but not overpowering, and most importantly better than any competitors.

    Just like software development for consumers, often it's the UX/UI that is very time consuming and nit-picky, not the actual software itself.

    1. Re:The time is not spent on development by dgatwood · · Score: 3, Funny

      The overpriced luxury manufacturer brings people in and asks them to listen to 50 varieties of car noise to find the best one.

      The smart carmaker uses the sound of a moped by default and then sells hundreds of expansion packs with samples of different car engines so that the customers can choose their own favorites.

      The really smart carmaker rents the expansion packs with a monthly fee like ringtones.

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    2. Re:The time is not spent on development by stevenfuzz · · Score: 2

      The really really really smart car-maker spends 10 seconds to figure out that faking engine noise is a total waste of time and car electricity.

  30. I Despise The Whole Idea by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Noise pollution is one of the biggest banes of living in urban areas, and to say that automobiles contribute significantly to noise pollution is a major understatement.

    Sure, keep them quiet, and a few more people will die every year. Mostly stupid people.

    I say it's worth it, for reducing the noise and proven stress levels they cause, which everybody else has to deal with.

  31. Mini-Horn? by Sperbels · · Score: 2

    As a bicyclist, I sometimes get the shit scared out of me when I'm riding on the road and a really quiet car passes. I can get so startled that I swerve. Maybe cars could have two horns. The regular one that busts people's ear drums, and a small beeper type horn that you could use to alert pedestrians and cyclists to your presence.

  32. Re:How cool. by CanHasDIY · · Score: 2
    How about just the theme song from Flash Gordon? That should turn a few heads...

    FLASH!!! AAaaaaAAA!!!!

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  33. Re:How cool. by durrr · · Score: 2

    I see your nyan cat and raise you a screaming car.
    Flavours to chose from: terrified female, suffering male, 'little girl on christmas', tarzan and 'last minute of a burning passenger plane'. Although that last one will probably be relabled 'rollercoaster'

  34. Re:Five blind peds are killed by automobiles a yea by Lothsahn · · Score: 3, Insightful

    NHTSA FARS data, 2002-2006: 27 legally blind pedestrians were killed by automobiles. 27/5 == 5.4 per year.

    Who cares about facts, won't someone please think about the blind children?

    --
    -=Lothsahn=-
  35. Re:What about the people next to the road by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 2

    Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if it's one of those, "In order to avoid lawsuits."

    We have electric cars and hybrid cars and cars with really quiet internal combustion engines. And yet, somehow, the number of people getting run over hasn't appreciably increased. But it could happen. And if it did, it would be, "Oh, if only the car had made noise, that person would be alive today! It's the automaker's fault! Let's sue them for billions of dollars!"

  36. I take it by publiclurker · · Score: 4, Interesting

    You've never been in a parking lot with any of these electric cars. Without any engine noise, it's hard enough for a sighted person to tell if a car is going to back up or not. I'd hate to be my blind co-worker.

    1. Re:I take it by fredklein · · Score: 3, Funny

      There are these things called back-up lights....

    2. Re:I take it by Kongming · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You've never been in a parking lot with any of these electric cars. Without any engine noise, it's hard enough for a sighted person to tell if a car is going to back up or not. I'd hate to be my blind co-worker.

      For many modern cars with internal combustion engines, I hear their wheel noise at low speeds before I hear the engine. Certainly, some of them are quiet enough that I am not confident that I could tell if one was about to back up. Personally, I would prefer less background noise, as it makes it easier for me to pick out sounds that are actually close to me.

      --
      (no sig)
    3. Re:I take it by neurophil12 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      We choose to be a courteous society; something you might appreciate when a disease or accident takes your sight or hearing. Blind people don't have a choice about whether to not to be on the road, unless you want to pay for every blind person to have a servant who does everything for them. I'm quite certain most blind people would prefer their autonomy over being forced from streets due to a preventable danger though. If you want to argue about whether a particular practice or technology is sensible, fine, but you're just being a troll.

  37. Re:How cool. by Dahamma · · Score: 2

    If it's going to have a sci-fi sound, though, why not go all the way. I'm currently torn between Landspeeder and Tie Fighter.

    I mean, VW/Audi already has the licensing rights for its commercials, why not take the next logical step: "Audi e-tron Star Wars Edition". Available in Darth Vader black, Yoda Green, or Orange-and-White Rebellion Sport.

  38. Liars by The+Raven · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The article is a lie. Audi didn't do this for safety... they did it because engine noises produce an emotional response. We are conditioned to tie the power of the vehicle to the sound it makes. Audi has a reputation for fast cars, and a silent car does not provide the same emotional feedback, thus reducing the perceived value of the vehicle to the consumer. This is particularly true of the all-important test drive... even if you can disable the sound later, by default they want you to feel the horsepower in your gut when you hit that pedal for the first time.

    --
    "I will trust Google to 'do no evil' until the founders no longer run it." Hello Alphabet.
  39. Deja vu all over again by spaceyhackerlady · · Score: 5, Informative

    The nonsense about electric cars is no different. It's just attempts by the lobbying department of interested automobile makers (the ones who aren't adapting to the 21st century) using bribed republicans and regulatory capture to try to create artificial barriers to adoption against their competition.

    A very long time ago steam was the proven technology, electric cars were considered quiet and civilized, and gas engine cars were the noisy, dangerous, smelly upstarts. The gas engine car manufacturers engaged in a major FUD campaign against electric cars. They were dangerous! They were so quiet you couldn't hear them coming...

    We have an active electric vehicle club here in Vancouver. The loudest noise their best conversions make is the whirr of the tires, sometimes with a slight groan from their power controllers. They have a 1912 Detroit electric car, and it's almost completely silent.

    Our bus system has one of the larger fleets of electric trolley buses in the western world. They too are very quiet, but people get used to looking for them before crossing the street.

    ...laura

    1. Re:Deja vu all over again by DarwinSurvivor · · Score: 2

      So there ARE other veva people on here! BTW, not only is there an original 1912 detroit, but it still runs great (personal experience)! ... Doug

    2. Re:Deja vu all over again by horza · · Score: 5, Informative

      We have a tram system in Nice and one of the key selling features is how quiet it is. They run straight through all the major squares and streets with no barriers, yet people manage to avoid them without any problem. However just in case they have a horn which when they press a button it goes "beep".

      When I get an electric car one of the things I will enjoy reducing is the noise pollution as much as any other kind. I don't see the problem with Audi making engine sounds, it's just nobody is going to buy an Audi,

      Phillip.

      --
      Property for sale in Nice, France
    3. Re:Deja vu all over again by Grishnakh · · Score: 3, Informative

      The loudest noise their best conversions make is the whirr of the tires

      At low speeds, EVs indeed only have a whirr from their tires. High speeds are another matter: in even gas-engine cars these days, the tires are the major noise-producing component. I remember a while back, Ferrari even had trouble with regulations in Europe because some car of theirs exceeded the drive-by noise limit, not because of its V12 engine, but because of its tires. Gas engines these days are rather quiet, but there's only so much you can do about tire noise, and higher-performing tires generally make more noise (while also increasing safety: the longest-wearing, lowest rolling-resistance tires are also generally the ones with the worst grip, and unless you never turn, lack of grip is a very bad thing, and it's even worse in wet conditions).

  40. Coconut Shells by gregor-e · · Score: 4, Funny

    Coconut shells cloppity-clopping. Perhaps with a minstrel singing a ballad recounting the bravery of the driver.

  41. Top ten list for awesome car sounds by TiggertheMad · · Score: 2

    I see a huge modding community on the horizon...

    I know, right? Here are several sounds I will mod into my first electric

    1) The sound of a fomula1 car driving at full speed.
    2) The sounds of a rabbit screaming as it is ripped apart by a pack of hungry dogs.
    3) Automatic weapon fire. If that doesn't discourage nearby jaywalkers, nothing will.
    4) A steam locomotive sound. Bonus points for the steam whistle.
    5) A looped sample of a teen comedy scene where someone is taking a dump in a bathroom.
    6) UHF white noise.
    7) Overly excited commentator narration from the Daytona 500 (..ANDHEREHECOMESDOWNTHEBACKSTRETCHOHNOBOBBYJOHNESJRHASACCIDENTALLYTAPPEDHISREAR PANNELITSATOTALWIPEOUT!)
    8) looped slurping sounds
    9) looped dubstep music, played in reverse. (Who could tell the difference?)
    10) The David Letterman reading 10 ten lists.


    All of these would be played the an enhanced PA system I'd mod on the car to generate up to 110db of sound, because we wouldn't want anyone to not hear me coming.

    --

    HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
    1. Re:Top ten list for awesome car sounds by Cruciform · · Score: 2

      Maybe they just had a dragnet out for assholes and you were the catch of the day...

  42. pulse and glide by 0111+1110 · · Score: 2

    I don't drive a hybrid but at idle the engine is pretty quiet. I use a hypermiling technique called "pulse and glide" where you accelerate up to speed and then let the car glide for a while in neutral.

    During the glide the tire noise is much louder than the engine. I have to wonder if differences between tire noise is more dangerous than differences between ICE and electric motors. Depending on the tires I could easily imagine an ICE car being quieter than a hybrid. Some tires are very quiet.

    --
    Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave.
  43. Not the problem that you think by pbjones · · Score: 2

    I have a Prius (2nd hand) and with a CVT, the engine is usually running at about the same rev range, but the speed varies a lot. So I need a sound based on speed and not 'engine' RPM. (for those people who don't understand the Pruis setup, a petrol engine provides the running power a lot of the time while the electric motors take up the slack and lessen the strain. The transmission varies the gear ratio without the usual 'steps' and so the engine can be held at optimum rpm while the CVT accelerates the car)

    --
    There was an unknown error in the submission.
  44. Horse drawn carriage by Ragnar79 · · Score: 2

    I would hack it to sound like horse drawn carriage :)