Making Noise? The Future of Hybrids

Motorists want their hybrid electric vehicle to not only look different than other cars on the road, they want it to act differently as well, insists Dave Lyon, GM's executive director of interior design for North America.

"Simply putting a 'hybrid' badge on a car doesn't have much impact on other consumers," Lyon says, and when paying a premium to conserve fuel, most consumers want those around them to know they're conserving energy.

In addition to unique and novel styling on its upcoming electrics, like the proposed Chevy Volt plug-in, Lyon said GM is considering a few special features to make folks sit up and take notice.

"One thing we're debating now is whether an electric should make noise," he said.

Unlike a gas engine, batteries are whisper-quiet, and the fear is that a pedestrian could walk into the path of an oncoming electric without hearing it coming.

"We're debating whether we can dial up noise, just like you can by adjusting the ringer level on your cell phone," he said.

And when backing out of the driveway or parking stall?

For safety's sake, "If you can program a song for the ringer on your cell phone, why not for your car? You even could program in a dog bark when you back up if you want."

Also, "Today we pull the shift lever back to go forward and push it forward to go backward. Why not just push a button and go?"

A navigation system will tell you to "turn left at the next light," but another item under study is whether gauges or audible warnings could warn when you only have so many miles of battery charge left before needing to stop and recharge.

"The car could advise that if you lower your speed by so many miles an hour, or turn the radio off or turn up the temp on the air conditioning or do all of those that you can make the 20 miles needed to get home."   

That's what GM is thinking about. What features do you want to see in future hybrids?

Comments

[Max Reid]

Gear : Simple
Forward Arrow for moving Forward
Circle / Square Button for Neutral just like in Music System,
Backward Arrow for moving Backward

Identity :

The Hybrid logo should also be made bigger and fixed on both
the front side (below the Make Symbol) and
the back side (on the side opposite to the Model Name).

Other than this, I dont think every company can make a Hybrid only Model like Prius which may be expensive price-wise.

[Cesar]

Seriously? GM wants to make Hybrids louder? Dial up the noise? How about making your cars more energy efficient, stylish, and cheaper sir. Yikes.

[Amuro Ray]

This DL guy...man, you can see his prep talks. Don't you think manufacturers like Toyota or Honda couldn't have done what he said? Heck, Honda even makes ROBOTS that do all that.

#1 Reason - COST!!!

Toyota has just cut down on the features on its hybrid to save cost (and to sell the vehicle at a lower price). This DL guy doesn't seem to have learned from EV1 mistake - if you build a vehicle with brand new everything, the cost is just super high that not many people can buy it. If you have a compromise of off-the-shelves technology, then though we aren't getting the best of the worlds, we can get something "better' yet we can still afford it.

P.S. For those who have studies Human/Machine Interface, you'll just laugh at his comment on "shifter - go back for forward, go front for backward, and why not use a button."

[Phaeton]

...maybe GM could make the car sound like the hovercraft from the Jetsons.
Im not sure im sold on the whole sound off a battery powered vehicle. I would much rather enjoy the silence (obvious depeche mode reference). What concerns me is, with people attmepting to distinctly differentiate their vehicle as being a hybrid for show off value. This may just end up becoming another hip trend and not something that will stick, to change the automotive industry in America. To me it is the equivalent of someone with 20/20 vision buying glasses just to look smart. I would be curious to know if all the Hollywood "Green" stars are still driving around in their fuel efficient vehicles or if they just take them to environemental events for a photo-op. Growing numbers in the sales of hybrids strongly argue against my theory and I would really love to be wrong.
Personally I would buy my car with effiency, reliablility, and technology in mind. Looks to make my car stand out as a green vehicle would be last on my list. If my hybrid looked identical to its regular counterpart but operated much more efficiently, then thats fine by me. By making your hybrid stand out seems like doing a good deed then screaming about it over a bullhorn to make everyone aware of it. Of course you could say this helps the cause by raising awareness. I think the action, or rather the in-action of visiting the pump will speak much louder then a specific "look" which can be very polarizing when the goal is broad appeal by the buying public.

[Markus]

"The car could advise that if you lower your speed by so many miles an hour, or turn the radio off or turn up the temp on the air conditioning or do all of those that you can make the 20 miles needed to get home."

Hybrids seemlessly switch between the electric motor and the gasoline engine when warranted, so why would this feature be necessary?

[BrooklynJon]

Yep, I think I'll be buying another Toyota in 15 years when my Prius dies.

[Troy in Ft Walton Beach]

I think it's more of a safety issue. If the car is too quiet, pedestrians, animals on the roadway, etc may not hear it.

I also agree that the money invested to "make noise" can be used elsewhere. Reminds me of the muscle car "Road Runner" How much was spent to make the horn sound like the cartoon roadrunner? Useless gimmick.

[Unzo Viter]

You know that weird window on the back of a Prius? What a perfect place to put a large scale version of the dashboard displays so everyone else can watch what the vehicle is doing! People buy the car so that everyone else will recognize their wisdom and eco-mindedness, why not broadcast the facts?

[California Girl]

Tell that hybrid to shut up and drive.

Seriously, I have been driving a Corolla Wagon for 15 years and I get 35 to 40 MPG. Real life reports from the Prius put it at 45 to 50 MPG. Is this the best that the new technology can deliver?