Japan considers adding noise pollution to hybrids
By Thomas Ricker 
posted July 3rd 2009 8:01AM
posted July 3rd 2009 8:01AM
posted July 3rd 2009 8:01AM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
This is how i do EVERYTHING. Driving a car, motorcycle, bicycle, walking... you can't assume other people are paying attention and will avoid you because 9/10 times, they are assuming that others are paying attention and will avoid them. Treat life as if you're the only one that knows whats going on and you'll avoid a lot of accidencts.
Maybe you get a megaphone and have to yell out the window. CAR CAR! COMING THROUGH. MOVE FAT ASSES.
Oh, the irony of the person encased in a multi-ton metal and plastic cage calling pedestrians "Fat Asses". LOL
The Fisker Karma ER-EV will use small speakers mounted in the rear valence to generate an artificial exhaust sound. Currently it sounds like a small jet turbine spooling up combined with the burble of a large displacement V8. From what I understand, there will be an option for owners to choose whatever sound they please by loading a sound file.
They'd find a niche market for samples of a Big Block Chevy V8 with big headers and open glass packs, powered by a 500W amp.
Sure, a full charge now only lasts for 20 miles, but, damn, does it sound good before the speakers wheeze to a stop!
" we presume Japanese manufacturers would choose a sound that's as tasteful and unassuming as their locally brewed hybrids" .... I'm thinking maybe HARLEY-DAVIDSON here.
i want the pod racer sound or tie fighter sound (which was just the recording of semi trucks anyways)
I've decided to use a recording of the Flight of the Valkyries, (AKA "Kill the Wabbit" as performed by by Elmer Fud.) I'm changing the lyrics a bit...
Wook owut fo' da Pweeeus
Here come da Pweeeus
I'm dwivin da Pweeus
I'm savin' fuwel
Man I hope not. We don't need more noise. Making cars noisier will not change anything for those driving noisy cars of thier own anyway. People need to just look where they are going. It is not terriby difficult.
The whistles go WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
whahaha. Great idea!
I think this is a good idea, my wife rides a bike to work and I'd feel better in world of hybrids if they made a little more noise. It'd be kind of pointless at higher speeds so it could turn down after around 30-40 but a subtle sound for city streets would be a small sacrifice to make to assure people's safety. I used to be a cyclist and expecting someone to turn around every few seconds to see if there's a car behind them is pretty unreasonable, the audio que is necessary and going uphill a car is likely to come up behind a person pretty quickly.
Like's been mentioned before, they only need to compensate for the sound of the engine, there will still be noise from the air turbulence caused by the car and the sound of the tyres on the street.
...and so the rest of the planet must bend to your will, because your wife bikes to work and it would make you 'feel better?' Wow. Hey, how about if all narcissistic muddleheads like you wear beepers so the rest of us can avoid contamination by your imbecile rays?
I fully expect detailed online instructions for disabling this.
Sure try that. Disable it, then if you do hit someone - you'll be sued till you're crosseyed.
Who can afford lawyers nowadays?
TIE fighter sound. Eeeeeeoooowwwwwwhhhh would be frickin scary from a mile away.
the tires are a large part of the noise a car makes. I'm sure they can find some noisy tricycle tires for the prius and other smug vehicles.
"Kaitlyn, honey, what did Mommy tell you about crossing the street?"
"Listen both ways."
I'd want my Prius to sound like Tick Tock the Croc..
Since were talking about prius. Top Gear did a test on the them and how they are made and they actually do more harm to the environment than a normal car could do in 15 years. Amazing how a car thats suppose to be green does the most damage.
I vote for the Frogger tune - and add a sighting target to the front hood - like the Mercedes star.
Utter nonsense. Most passenger cars have decent cabin isolation (not to mention music), and again, most passenger cars don't make a lot of noise. So you're not hearin gother cars anyway. This isn't a problem. The problem with bikes is that they're small and so don't always catch the same level of visual recognition a car does; not that they're quiet. Motorcyclists recognize this, and compensate for size with a LOT of noise. Which works. There is no visual problem with a compact car -- none at all -- and therefore, no need to compensate with noise. This is just more whining and bitching for the sake of ignoramuses hearing themselves talk. Or ridiculous compensation for the blind that should never be considered in the first place.
Don't forget that this argument is often used by proponents of ICE cars. A similar campaign of misinformation was started in Australia by a bunch of V8 enthusiasts.
he got it of afp i dont trust afp this is a possible lie
So basically they're rice-ing out their hybrids too now
Meaning people watch out already.
Incidentally, japan has google streetview so everybody can check out the streets themselves now.
Was suppose to be a reply to evan's "Absolutely needed!" post saying it was needed because of how the streets are in japan.
putputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputputput
The whole Blind pedestrian thing is bad argument for noise pollution. Has anyone seen a blind person run or jump out the way from an incoming vehicle? They are going to get killed regardless of noise or not. A simple wearable notification device for traffic lights should suffice.
One of the things I love most about my hybrid is its engine silence at low speeds.
I don't believe there's any statistical proof of a higher than average accident rate with hybrids running in silent mode.
In reality, there's a fair bit of tire noise when the car is rolling, so I think the concerns some people are expressing (without any evidence), are misguided.
These are the sounds I want for my Prius. I want to be able to select them based on my mood: Ferrari, Cobra, Peterbilt, old VW Beetle, old two-stroke Saab, 1970 Dodge Dart with a sticky valve. Feel free to add, but they must be iconic sounds ;-)
I hate to be cranky old guy, but don't you kids realize that even non-hybrids have negligible engine noise these days? Unless the car is accelerating heavily you don't hear engine noise over the wind/tire noise on most cars from the outside. And the Prius actually often makes more noise when accelerating heavily due to the low-displacement engine revving up; electric-only is automatically disengaged during heavy acceleration.
Simple - Cards in the spokes
Soil is a sort of ecosystem unto itself, and it is relatively sensitive to foreign matter being applied to it. That’s good for us in the case of wanting to add soil amendments, fertilizer and compost to make the soil healthier, but not so good when it comes to soil pollution.