Along with their general lack of range, one of the major downsides of an electric car is its total fail in the cool noise department. Engine noise, or more succinctly a car’s exhaust note, is one of the most important ways we subjectively judge a car’s coolness factor, and the electric car’s puny swooooooosh just doesn’t make the grade.
There’s another issue with the paucity of sound that electric cars generate in operation, lawmakers have discovered that, like sneaky flatulence, they can be silent but deadly. Quiet cars may make for good neighbors, but on the street apparently they need to do more in announcing their presence, lest they run down the errant pedestrian.
Of course, you might think that’s just Darwin’s Law in action, and that a few distracted peds crossing the street can only be a good thing. That however doesn’t take into account the blind or your grandmother, hence the supposed need for an audible warning. Should that be the case and electrics’ be required to emit some sort of beeping noise as the law requires, is that going to be generally awful? Wouldn’t it be better to imbue the cars with some sort of internal combustion engine sound? Heck, you could choose from a plethora, even race cars as the volume would be controlled. Regardless of what sound they make, do you think electric cars should be required to make a sound at all?
Image source: Autoblog Green
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