| Back in the days when classic automobiles cruised the | | | | Regulators in the European Union, Japan and the |
| old streets, engines roared and nobody worried | | | | United States are considering allowing manufacturers |
| about the effects of driving – mainly due to the | | | | an array of sounds – from the conventional brum |
| fact that there were far fewer cars on the roads. | | | | brum car engines to sci-fi sounds from Star Wars |
| Nowadays the streets and the cars that crowd them | | | | (let's just hope we don't have Darth Vader breathing |
| have changed, but unfortunately this revolution has | | | | down our necks while driving). |
| created a surge in CO2 emissions. | | | | It's ironic that for decades car manufactures have |
| There have been many suggestions for battling the | | | | been on the quest to make engine sounds quieter, |
| effects on the economy from the continuous | | | | and yet now they are digitally enhancing engine |
| introduction of modern gas guzzlers, but the answer | | | | sounds to make them more apparent. NY Times |
| has come in the form of hybrid vehicles. Not only do | | | | website has reported that some hybrid auto |
| they emit lower levels of CO2, but they provide a | | | | companies have started "tinkering in sound studios, in |
| quieter sound output - the only problem with this is | | | | order to customise engine noises". "One possibility is |
| we can't hear them coming. Lotus is going full steam | | | | choosing your own noise", said Nathalie Beuters, a |
| ahead with their Evora 414E model that comes | | | | spokeswoman for BMW's Mini Division, which could |
| complete with "fancy sound FX", according to | | | | open up a whole new possibility for car |
| Motorists and pedestrians run a high risk on the | | | | manufacturers to compete in the race to be the |
| roads, so by having sound FX generators built into | | | | most prominent sound on the roads. |
| hybrid cars, road users will be alerted by rendering | | | | According to Dailymail.com, "electric and hybrid cars |
| audible sounds. The Daily Mail website has reported | | | | don't have to make the same noise as conventional |
| that "electric cars could soon be given special | | | | cars however, they present us with a chance to |
| signature tunes so that pedestrians can hear them | | | | change that irritating roar into something more |
| and avoid stepping out into their path". | | | | pleasant". |