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stories filed under: "hybrid cars"
(Mis)Uses of Technology

(Mis)Uses of Technology

by Mike Masnick

Thu, Aug 7th 2008 8:35am

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Filed Under:
blind, fake noise, hybrid cars, noise

Companies:
lotus



Lotus Adds Fake Engine Noise To Make Hybrids Sound Like Cars

from the is-it-april-fools-yet? dept

There have been a few stories over the past few years about the fact that hybrid cars (or just plain electric vehicles) are somehow "too quiet." The complaint is that pedestrians and bikers who are used to judging the safety of a road by vehicle noise are now somehow in danger from these quieter vehicles. Even so, reading this story and seeing the related video about how Lotus has been experimenting with adding a speaker under the hood that makes a noisy engine sound certainly feels like an April Fools joke, or possibly a bit from The Onion.

No matter how many times I watch the video, I'm still not convinced that this is serious.

120 Comments | Leave a Comment..

 
Bleeding Edge

Bleeding Edge

by Mike Masnick

Mon, Jul 7th 2008 3:24pm

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Filed Under:
hybrid cars, prius, solar power

Companies:
toyota



Toyota Adds Solar Power To Hybrid

from the what's-wrong-with-wind-power? dept

Toyota, already considered a leader in producing hybrid gas-electric vehicles is apparently preparing to make that hybrid a bit more hybrid: it's going to add solar panels to some models, using the solar energy to power air conditioning. It's not much, but it's a start. I've actually been fascinated with solar vehicles since the fifth grade (yikes) when I convinced some engineers at GM to send me some cheap solar panels to build a tiny solar-powered car (Chrysler ignored my letter, Ford sent a form letter in response). While GM had invested in some prototypes and took part in various solar powered car contests, the technology has never been good enough to do very much at a practical level. Now, how long will it be until Toyota figures out a way to use wind power as well?

46 Comments | Leave a Comment..

 
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