Ford To Facebook Fans: “How Should The 2012 Focus Electric Sound?”
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All-new 2012 Ford Focus Electric
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The days of the almost silent electric car are gone. Motivated by a severe case of liticaphobia - or the fear of lawsuits - the auto industry has already agreed that electric cars should have some form of audible warning system fitted as standard to alert pedestrians of their approach.
But while noise generators are now an accepted part of any electric car design, the noise they make isn’t, which is why Ford has turned to social media site Facebook for help.
In preparation for the launch of its 2012 Ford Focus Electric, the automaker has asked Facebook Fans to help choose the sound the car will make at low speed.
With four noises to choose from, Ford is asking for fans to place them in order of preference, from favorite to least favorite.
Interestingly, all four noises from Ford’s acoustic laboratories are much more striking than Nissan’s audible warning on the 2011 Leaf, which we proved earlier this year doesn’t really work.
While one of the sound designs Ford has placed in the list sounds a little like the noise of a gasoline or diesel engine fed through a hollywood effects unit, the other three sounds have a distinct air of science fiction about them. One in particular sounds as if it would be more at home in the U.S.S. Enterprise than a family hatchback, while another sounds a little like a jet plane readying itself for takeoff.
As well as placing the sounds in order of preference, Ford is asking its Facebook fans to list adjectives they’d like to associate with the sound they think the 2012 Ford Focus Electric should make.
So far, many of the fans commenting have put the jet-like sound at the top of their list - but with the stipulation that it be possible to either customize or turn it off the warning system.
Metaphorically then, most fans feel they have their hands tied. If they have to chose a sound they will, but one message is clear.
Electric car owners generally don’t want their cars to make a noise.
Which noise would you choose, and why? Let us know in the Comments below, and be sure to let Ford know on its Facebook page too.
[Ford via Gas 2.0]
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They're all silly and will all be drowned out by the noise of the tires and in summer, the air conditioning.
Let's continue to rely on the vision orbs in our thought boxes.
a bicyclist does not need to be able to differentiate a ford from a nissan.
btw, is there a way to have the "share this on facebook" and "post to twitter" boxes default to NO ?
Killing all of the liability lawyers would be a much preferable solution. If it's so damn important that a car make noise, why hasn't the issue been addressed long before now? Try to hear a quality Japanese car
coming your way. You can't, and haven't been able to
for the past 20 years - my dentist first brought this to my attention. He noticed that after Japanese cars
were introduced, he could no longer hear cars as he walked to his office. Perhaps those who want cars to announce their presence would provide some shred of evidence that noisy cars avoid pedestrian accidents.
Fat chance. This is just another scheme for lawyer fees
No blind man with any sense in his head would step off the curb except at a legal cross-walk where I am watching cars and pedestrians and have no intention of driving through a pedestrian right-of-way.
No sound making device is required. And, sorry, I can not vote on Facebook because they don't have the option to choose "No Sound".
~ Erik
KlnAir4U
the goal is to try to avoid injuries, not to place blame.
most of the people on this site are probably better than average as far as driver attentiveness. hopefully you arent putting on make-up, talking on your cell phone, or doing any of the other common distractions.
cars do not see bicycles. as a cyclist, i have my own set of rules due to this. it is unlikely that i will ever get hit, because i expect drivers to be absolute idiots, and prepare for the worst.
however, not all pedestrians and cyclists are as good at protecting themselves.
my first bicycle rule is that i come in second place.
it is a completely separate issue. we are discussing injuries and the possible avoidance of them.
but thank you for demonstrating the correctness of my argument.
you stated that people get hit because either the driver or pedestrian were not paying attention. with this i agree with you.
and in those cases where the driver was not paying attention, the pedestrian/bicyclist may have been able to avoid injury if the vehicle was not silent.
unfortunately, typical human behavior often relies on others to do their part. when this fails, it is the ped/bicyclist who suffers the consequences.
the driver has a lethal weapon on him. it is a no-brainer to allow the ped/cyclist a warning.
however, whether a law regarding cell phones has been adopted or not, has no bearing on cars making noise.
they are separate issues.
guns and knives both kill people. but the deadliness of the gun has no effect on the deadliness of the knife, and vice versa.
if you recall, i am also for placing the noise in new gas cars. most cars already make little noise. i am not just singling out evs.
which is another reason why i find it ludicrous that people are whining about not being able to have an absolutely silent vehicle.
heck, drivers dont hear their vehicle once they turn on their sound system at even a very moderate level. and what percentage of people are listening to some sort of sound system ? i am guessing it is over 90%.
i am all with you regarding cell phones. they are a pet peeve.
the car is a LETHAL WEAPON.
i never thought it was you who did that. i do understand what you are saying.
what most of you dont seem to understand is that you are rationalizing with the general comment "if they dont do A, then why do B".
and i am telling you that A and B are not related, in the sense that they are causal.
the fact that they dont regulate cell phones very well is no reason to also let silent cars slip by.
it is best that they address the issue right up front. the best cure for cancer is prevention.
humans have ears that allow them to detect noise. if you take away the noise, then you have taken away that piece of information from them. one does not need a test or be a rocket scientist to figure that out.
from my perspective, i see 2 main points.
one, of course, is the safety issue.
the other, is that i dont want to give the oil industry any reason to bring down evs. a lawyer would have a no-brainer slam-dunk win in court with the argument that a silent vehicle is dangerous.
cuz he would be correct, and the car manufacturers know it. so i am glad on both counts that some sort of noise will be installed.
however, i think it would be a lot more effective if there was one standard noise used.
and it only needs to be used at slow speeds when the tires do not cause enough noise.
just wanted to restate that i am not singling out just evs. many of today's cars are fairly quiet.
but as you know, with my belief that gas cars are gonna go by the wayside in short order, i am more concerned with evs.
i am also thrilled that we will no longer be dependent on oil, that our atmosphere will improve, our health will improve, our health care costs will decrease.
the ev industry is what will turn around the entire international economy. it is starting with vehicles, but will expand into tools, and other devices.
we will get to witness a revolution in process, much like when we went from agriculture to industrialization.
We all recognize that noise anyways and why not let those old shows not sound like liars.
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