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Inspired by the plight of blind and partially sighted pedestrians fearing hybrids running silently in EV mode, Lotus is set to replace the silent whoosh of a Prius' EV mode with some sort of engine noise. So how does Lotus' "Safe and Sound" system sound? In the videos provided by Lotus, it sounds a lot like a healthy four-banger. Hethel's engineers claim you could make your Prius sound like it's packing a desmo-head 1955 Mercedes 300 SLR engine or a breathed-on Chevy small block. Pity the poor gangsters of Agrestic who will lose their drive-by shooting advantages if Nancy Botwin upgrades her Prius with the Lotus system.
13 Comments on “Lotus Develops Hybrid Hi-Fi...”
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I suppose toyota could come up with a “pedestrian approach warning kit” sell it for $500 smackaroos which would consist of a clothes pin and a pack of baseball cards of has-been players.
I would want mine to sound like stampeding horses.
That’s just how I roll ride.
nice Weeds reference!
I live in an area with a lot of blind pedestrians due to a nearby school for the blind. The city has gone to the extra measure of adding warning signs such as “No right on red when pedestrians are present” and audible beepers for the regulated crosswalks.
Maybe I’m missing something here, but isn’t it the responsibility of the sighted drivers to not hit someone or something in the road. I think the whole country has lost the concept of the public right of way. If you hit something, it’s your fault, period
Maybe I’m missing something here, but isn’t it the responsibility of the sighted drivers not hit someone or something in the road. I think the whole country has lost the concept of the public right of way. If you hit something, it’s your fault, period
You’re missing something. Blind pedestrians will never take comfort in the fact that it’s the driver’s fault if they get hit. Then again, that’s an argument for making these things mandatory and not for electing to buy one. If I were blind I’d want every advantage in attempting to walk defensively. But as a driver I always assume that pedestrians are going to walk out in front of me, so it wouldn’t benefit me or them much at all to warn blind drivers that I’m coming.
eastaboga :
August 5th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
If you hit something, it’s your fault, period
BS. If I’m rolling down the street under the speed limit at night and somebody steps out from behind a Suburban with no crosswalk protection and I hit them, that’s their fault. If I’m driving down the street minding my own business and somebody blows a red light and I broadside them, that’s their fault.
Both of those things happened to me, by the way.
It is the responsibility of everyone occupying a right of way to be aware of and comply with the rules of the road, especially where rights of way cross. That applies equally whether it’s a public right of way such as a highway or sidewalk or waterway or at the crossings of public and private rights of way such as railroad grade crossings.
It is right and proper to install protective devices to reduce the chances of collisions at crossings – whether those devices are traffic lights, beepers at crosswalks, gates at railroad crossings, or whatever – but it does not absolve anyone from the responsibility of complying with the rules. “If you hit something, it’s your fault, period” – what a load of manure! Safety is EVERYONE’S responsibility.
Read in context, eastaboga isn’t saying anything different from what you’re saying. You produced that manure yourself.
zintradi :I suppose toyota could come up with a “pedestrian approach warning kit” sell it for $500 smackaroos which would consist of a clothes pin and a pack of baseball cards of has-been players.
I’ve got a dozen boxes of 1987 Topps that I’ll donate to the cause…
I had the idea for this last year, as when I was in a supermarket parking lot (walking and thinking deep thoughts), a Prius “snuck up” on me in electric mode – I couldn’t decide on what sounds the thing should emit…
A Jack-In-The-Box “Pop Goes The Weasel” tune came to mind, or an “Ice Cream Truck” style bell, cats meeowing, etc.
Never occured to me that the sound could be a digital recording of its own powerplant. ;-P fft
From now on, I will consider the squeal emmited from my old Subaru’s brakes and semi-worn drive belts as a “Lotus inspired safety feature”!
How much research do you need to play sound out of the front of a car?
How much research do you need to play sound out of the front of a car?
Do you have any idea how much money it took for Bose to figure out just how to make $400 worth of sound come out of a CD player with two speakers? The price has never come down, either, after more than 50 years. That ought to tell you something right there.
# Strippo :
August 5th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
But as a driver I always assume that pedestrians are going to walk out in front of me, so it wouldn’t benefit me or them much at all to warn blind drivers that I’m coming.
I’d sure want to give them blind drivers plenty of warning that I’m coming :)