« Heineken Green Synergy 2008 Sounds | Home | Ken Hollings blog/Welcome to Mars news »
Car lovers need sound
By Simon James | July 10, 2008
I’m not really interested in cars but this story in The Guardian newspaper caught my eye. It is about a new electric powered car called the Electric Lightning GT that can go from 0-60MPH in four seconds making very little noise. And there lies the problem. The makers of the Electric Lightning GT realised that a powerful car doesn’t seem half as powerful if it sounds like a milk float. This led to them adding a programmable sound simulator to provide the growl of a fossil fueled super charged engine. Yet more evidence of how sound plays a key role in enhancing our interactions and experiences.
Additionally I really like the idea of the sound generator being programmable. I wonder if you can add your own sounds; now that would be fun. Imagine driving down the road in a car that can sound like a supersonic jet, a beaten up old jalopie or even home made sounds. And when you get bored of that you can just switch off the sound simulator and live out your fantasy of being a milkman, albeit in a very expensive milk float.