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What Do You Want to Hear in a Vroom Tone?

By Rain Noe - July 28, 2011

in Tech | Object Culture

We first reported on what we're calling "vroom tones"—artificial noises that electric cars are required to generate for safety reasons—back in '09 and '10, and it hasn't turned out the way we wanted. What we hoped was that e-car owners would be able to download different sounds in the manner of a ringtone, leading would-be sellers to come up with some truly creative vehicle noises.

Instead Ford has picked four engine sounds for their new Focus and posted them on Facebook, asking you social-network-using whippersnappers to rate which ones you like. The sounds are so disappointing I won't embed them here, but you can hear them at the link above. They sound like airplanes dithering around on the runway waiting for a take-off slot; they might as well add a fifth one of a guy saying "BOR-ring" in a singsongy voice.

Am I the only one that wants to hear an electric car that sounds like this, below?

I'd even settle for this:

Obviously the laser sound would be connected to the horn.

I'm pretty convinced that if guidelines could be set and users could create their own vroom tones, or buy/download them by choosing from a variety of developers, that alone would boost the standing of electric cars.

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simo

13 years ago

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we have the greatest opportunity ever to have silent vehicles on our streets...
let's not ruin it please !!!!!
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Dustin

13 years ago

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who wouldn't want that Jetsons car sound? Its perfect.
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Yssagul

13 years ago

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However, I forgot to say that I would want a vroom to be no louder than necessary for a slow moving vehicle. It doesn't need to be _loud_ it just needs to be noticeable. I'd rather the sounds be what the EV makes just from operation (the motor and tires) but amplified just enough to be noticeable amidst a large group of people talking.
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Jerry D. Elmore

13 years ago

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what Jon said...if anything the absence of noise *should* heighten one's awareness of their surroundings. Unless, of course, you're listening to a Daft Punk remix on your iPod while crossing an intersection. Which then would heighten your chances of receiving a Darwin award.
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Yssagul

13 years ago

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What's wrong? How about blind and inattentive pedestrians getting hit silly all over the place?
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Cameron

13 years ago

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@ Jon - It's a safety issue for pedestrians. You can talk fine in current combustion engine vehicles.

And to answer the original question, I want to hear a combustion engine in a vroom tone, and I don't think that can be mimicked, and is a ridiculous and convoluted 'solution' to this safety problem.
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Jon Olsen

13 years ago

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What would be wrong with a car that made no noise? Imagine walking down a busy street and actually being able to talk. Wow, that would be amazing.
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