September 17 Weekly Open Thread--Electric Car Whines
Some say that electric cars are too quiet in everyday traffic. That
they need some sort of artificial noise maker so that everybody around
them can hear them. Well, some real life experiences tell me that all the flak about dangerously quiet electric cars is unnecessary.
The Nissan Leaf will be built in Smyrna, TN, starting in December of this year. So with the close proximity of the plant to me, and with Nissan's corporate headquarters literally between home and my favorite jumbo home improvement store, it seems we have an overabundance of Leafs. There are even a few running around in my neighborhood judging by their multitude of hues, and I'm sure there will be more to come.
Part of the reason for having a roadster is to let the top down and enjoy the outdoors wherever you go. So in these warm summer nights, I'll drop the top while heading over to the warehouse store. That exposes me to the traffic and elements probably moreso than any other vehicle except a motorcycle.
This has given me many opportunities to listen to them in traffic, as well as walking beside them while I'm on a sidewalk. And you know what? I think they make about as much noise as any other small car. That makes the addition of any noise-making device seem unnecessary, at best.
So is all of the noise about silent cars just a bunch of whining? Has anybody else been around electric cars lately and heard (or not heard) them? Do you think they need audible warning devices?
And of course, this is your once-in-a-weektime opportunity to say anything about vehicular transportation.
--That Car Guy (Chuck)
Image Credit: The black Leaf image is from the post here on Car Lust.
KC Perry on September 17, 2012 at 10:13 AM
The hybrids can scare the bejeebers out of you as a cyclist. At slower speeds, you can hear an internal combustion engine car coming at you. Not so much with a hybrid, especially if it's running on electric. I think that's where the issue is. I understand that hybrids can be difficult for the visually impaired when they are negotiating a street crossing.
tigerstrypes on September 17, 2012 at 03:16 PM
Forget that! Here's some Mustang II love. It's a graphic novel!!:
Read from page 4 to page 21.
http://www.mangareader.net/gunsmith-cats-burst/3/4
Here's the test:
What type of Mustang II is it actually?
Answer: http://www.mangareader.net/gunsmith-cats-burst/3/5
What engine does it have now?
Answer: http://www.mangareader.net/gunsmith-cats-burst/3/7
Here's the thing all fixed up in a later chapter:
http://i26.mangareader.net/gunsmith-cats-burst/3/gunsmith-cats-burst-1724166.jpg
"The post-'79 Mustangs that don't have the coke bottle line just aren't as sexy."
She may have a point.
You guys better appreciate it, as a Shelby G.T.500 gave its life earlier in the series so this gem can shine in the spotlight... and gunfire!!
Bob on September 18, 2012 at 06:54 AM
I love the blessed silence of driving a hybrid or electric car.
My hybrid 1997 Toyota Camry was silent in electric mode, and my hybrid 2011 Hyundai Sonata is also silent in electric mode. They both came equipped with loud horns to startle any inattentive wildlife riding on bicycles or motorbikes. I expect the new generation of electric bikes to come equipped with horns or - like silent cars - to have vigilant operators. Eternal vigilance is the price of safe driving.
Bill Thompson on September 18, 2012 at 11:05 AM
All electric vehicles should come with 115dB sirens that wail continuously whenever the ignition key is on. Because otherwise people might not hear them.
They should have yellow strobe lights on the roof, otherwise people might not see them.
They need a bank of daytime-running floodlights, otherwise people might not know it's coming at them.
The entire rear of the vehicle needs to be covered by ultra-bright, wide-dispersal LED brake lights. Otherwise people might not know it's stopping.
Then the same criterion needs to be applied to bicyclists in their ridiculous Wiffle-helmets and Spandex shorts, clogging up the roadways like mobile smug roadblocks. Because they're quiet too, other than their continual emissions of greenhouse gasses.
Or people could just start paying attention to the world around them and get their noses out of their dam' mobile phones.
Bill Thompson on September 18, 2012 at 11:50 AM
tygerstripes -- thanks for the link! I never knew Sonoda wrote a second series of Gunsmith Cats! I followed the first series years ago, but lost interest because of Dark Horse Comics' awful chop job on its flipped/edited versions. Distracting when everyone shoots left-handed, especially when the art is otherwise so exacting and beautiful.
I'm glad they've gone to the original unedited manga format...I may have to give it a try again. Although I'm not sure how I feel about Rally driving a Mustang II instead of her beloved Shelby! :)
kenny on September 19, 2012 at 07:44 AM
There has a been a few times on my bicycle commutes where I did not hear one coming. It does add to the list of why I would like to see real investment in cycle tracks, like other developed civilized countries have been doing for a long long time. So I don't have to worry about rushed drivers that find sharing the road inconvenient.
No weird clothing on this one, I wear what I wear for the day... just slip rain pants, shoe covers, and rain jacket over those normal everyday clothes when the weather is wet.
That Car Guy (Chuck) on September 19, 2012 at 11:45 AM
The problem is, cycle tracks cost lots of money. But, we can't afford to maintain the roads we have now. So here's an idea: Let's license, insure, and tax bicycles like every other thing that uses the roads. Then we can look at building special lanes for them.
I live in an area where hundreds of bicycles pass by ever weekend day. I'd love them to have their own lanes; it would make the roads safer for all of us.
kenny on September 20, 2012 at 12:15 PM
What happened to my intelligent reply? i posted a couple hrs ago? I was give the brief response. I have studied road use policy for 10 years and travelled all around Western Europe.
No civilized country with much better infrastructure than us has ever charged a license or fee to ride a bicycle. It is to be encouraged for the health and vitality of the communities. Not discouraged.
Does Copenhagen? No. Amsterdam? Nope. But look how livable and vital those areas are? How pleasant it is to ride a bike.
Bicycle infrastructure is only 1% of total road development costs. Abysmally low in the U.S. Sad. Very Very Sad.
We already pay taxes for the roads, even those that do not drive. Yet, here we are with having to treat a bicycle like a motorized vehicle despite their differences.
Colorado tried to license bikes in similar attempts. Failed miserably. The fees and costs to run the licensing program cost more than the gains. There would be nothing left in revenue to pay the fees to add bike lanes or cycle tracks so this is moot.
How do you deal with kids riding bikes to school? (Something that has miserably fallen with poor infrastructure, more cars, more fear). Homeless on a bike? Why complicate a complete carbon neutral, healthy, active means to get around that does not have negative consequences to society?
Comparably bicycle infrastructure is not even pennies on the dollar.
More people riding a bike means less congestion, less pollution, healthier populous, and less stress on the far more costly car-based roads. No transportation infrastructure gives back so much for so little cost. The pay back is far greater than the fee to create livable communities with safe well designed bikeways near commerce.
Licensing and Insurance? Bikes simply do not have to consequence to the welfare of others that say, a car does. 2000 lbs coming at a pedestrian or a bicycle is a totally different ball game than a dude on a 45 lb bike. It is an autonomous, healthy, affordable means to get around and that should never change.
I am a car enthusiast and a bicycle one. I am also keepin it real. See things for what they are. Equity is missing in the area of active transportation in the USA.
Other developed countries "get it".. we don't.