A Car That Speaks Your Language

Back in the olden days, computers really functioned with blinking lights and tweeping sounds. Cars were noisy, too: they backfired, squealed, and generally set up a racket.

These days, the lights on computers are mostly just intended to let users know that the power's switched on.

And soon, the noises produced by cars will be created artificially -- just to be sure people know something's on the road. The reason: hybrid and electric cars function almost silently. But without a distinctive sound to let us know there's a car on the road, we're more likely to step into the road just as a car is rounding the corner.

The answer to the silent treatment, say experts interviewed in the New York Times, are artificial car noises: "safety experts, worried that hybrids pose a threat if pedestrians, children and others can't hear them approaching, want automakers to supply some digitally enhanced vroom. Indeed, just as cell phones have ring tones, 'car tones' may not be far behind -- an option for owners of electric vehicles to choose the sound their cars emit."

Already, some cool car sounds are in the works. In collaboration with Hollywood sound effects experts, the makers of the Fisker Karma, a high-end hybrid, have created a sound described as "a cross between a starship and Formula One car."

One plug-in car advocate is very excited about the idea of a choose-your-own sound option. His idea: "It should be a manually operated noisemaker, a button on the steering wheel triggering a recording of your choice. It could play 'In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida,' or anything you like."

If things go according to plan, you may get to choose a car noise of your own sometime soon. And it's never too early to make plans. So... what sound will you choose to herald your arrival? Is "Stairway to Heaven" too mellow...??

Photo courtesy of stock.xchng