4 ms·

I'm not impressed by this article. Most of the things that he sees as "different" about these electric cars - push-button gearshifts, automatic parking brakes,

I'm not impressed by this article. Most of the things that he sees as "different" about these electric cars - push-button gearshifts, automatic parking brakes, programmable suspension - are available in internal-combustion cars now. Even the very aggressive engine braking is a feature of some ICEs (though, I will admit, not all the way down to a stop). The only real electric car feature he's caught onto is the silence. On another note, I don't like silence in cars either as a driver or as a pedestrian. As a driver, engine sound offers feedback, it's part of my control loop, allowing me to gauge speed without taking my eyes off the road. As a pedestrian (or a cyclist, or even the driver of another vehicle), engine sound is a safety feature. It helps me notice cars and helps me keep track of where they are when I can't see them. A few years ago, I had a job in Manhattan and I commuted via bicycle. This was around the time that all the city's taxis (and plenty of other cars) were switching to hybrids - entirely silent at low speeds. I found it entirely unnerving (especially given the reputation of New York drivers) to know (from having looked back earlier) that there was two tons of metal moving behind me but not be able to tell where it was or how fast it was moving. I could hear cars with internal combustion engines and keep decent track of how far behind me they were, but the only noise these electrics made was from the rolling of their tires, which was completely drowned out by the bustle of the city. At times, I got a feeling of real danger - far more than typical as a cyclist.

jhayward 7y ago
I'm always mystified by people, especially people who live in cities, that want to require cars to emit noise pollution. Thankfully, the "mandatory noisemaker" impulse seems to have died out at least for now. I know if my vehicle is ever required to have a noisemaker I'm going to have it be the Ghostbuster's Ecto-1 broken ambulance sound. To me the thing that is most noticeable about electric propulsion cars is the smoothness of the drive train. No revving, lurching to shift, then revving again. No coasting, then a lag when you step on the accelerator, then a lurch in to acceleration. Just pure smoothness. It is luxurious, quite apparent, and different.
- jazzyjackson 7y ago
  Having lived in manhattan I can attest that the cars are just about the last source of noise pollution I noticed when contrasted with larger vehicles and construction. I think a 1% increase in taxes would be totally justifiable for quality of life to replace all the garbage trucks with electric vehicles (or at least buy em some damn mufflers!) Maybe we can divert some R&D funds to engineering a quiet jackhammer. If I had stayed in the city any longer I would have become a politician running on the platform that we use all the subway trains as garbage / freight / delivery haulers, and put light rail up and down the avenues. cars banned below 110th st (you too deBlasio !)
  - brokenmachine 7y ago
    Leaf blowers are astonishingly loud. There must be a way to make them quieter, but it seems that no manufacturers are doing that. Seems there might be an opportunity there, "buy the only leaf blower that doesn't make your neighbors want to murder you"!
    - Doxin 7y ago
      I can imagine quieter leaf blowers selling worse because they seem less powerful to potential buyers.
    - rbanffy 7y ago
      Has Dyson ever looked into that?
- neuralRiot 7y ago
  To each its own, smooth cars are the most boring thing for me, automatic/ gearless and smooth, why driving at all?
  - Kirby64 7y ago
    The vast majority of people drive because they need to go some place. You're in the minority here if you want a car that's doing that sort of thing during their morning commute. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good manual transmission car, but if I'm just putting around, I'd rather not deal with that.
Kirby64 7y ago
Push-button gearshift is different than what the article mentions: no gearbox. There's no shifting which means everything is way smoother. Also, engine noise is only a feedback mechanism because we rely on it. If it was eliminated overnight, then we'd have to rely on other mechanisms (probably tire noise). Tire noise is actually dependent on vehicle speed, unlike engine noises. All engine noise really tells you is that something is there, or that something is trying to look like/seem like it's accelerating fast (from high revs). Not really a lot of information you get over tire noise. I'd love to be in a place where all engine noise is eliminated. That being said, just as another poster mentioned, the bigger challenge is tackling heavy vehicle noise concerns. For the most part, cars today are quiet in comparison. I just want semi trucks/dump trucks/delivery vehicles to be quiet since they tend to be many orders of magnitude louder than regular cars.
- flyingfences 7y ago
  He spends way more time talking about the "gear shift" mechanisms than about the actual gears. The one time he mentions the fixed ratio (something that combustion engines can do and have done, btw) it's in the context of the driver not having to actuate a shift. Engine noise is an excellent feedback source because it utilizes a sense that is otherwise mostly idle when driving. Tire noise is much quieter, harder to hear over other sounds. And, engine noise is directly proportional to vehicle speed unless I intentionally and consciously change gears. I'm all for electrifying the loud trucks. I just don't like being snuck up on by anything that weighs an order of magnitude more than me.
m463 7y ago
Yes, he doesn't communicate well. Teslas just have a gearshift lever. that's it. I have never driven a car with as few controls as the Teslas. ICE cars have the idea of on and off. With the tesla (s/x), you approach the car, the car wakes up as you near, you get in, move the gear lever into drive or reverse and that is the only control you touch. I do disagree about the internal silence. The teslas are supremely silent inside (aside from A/C fan noise) and it is magical and modern. I have driven electric cars with added internal noise, and it really cheapens the experience. External silence is a moot point with new laws.
- brokenmachine 7y ago
  ? Do Teslas not have an indicator stalk/accelerator pedal/brake pedal/steering wheel? If so, there's not much difference between an automatic ICE vehicle, except the engine sound.
  - m463 7y ago
    lol, yes wheel, pedals. I meant the author didn't really describe how radically simplified the tesla cars are. (maybe too much?) You get in, foot on brake, shifter to drive then step on accelerator to go. There isn't an on/off button. The model X even opens and closes your door without touching it. Yes you should put on your belt. (oh, and you can summon the car out of your garage automatically)
- brokenmachine 7y ago
  >External silence is a moot point with new laws. What are the new laws?
  - m463 7y ago
    hmmm. I thought it was this year, but it has been pushed off one more year. FMVSS No. 141 says electric cars have to make a noise https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/02/26/2018-03721/federal-motor-vehicle-safety-standard-no-141-minimum-sound-requirements-for-hybrid-and-electric https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/02/26/2018-03...

jhayward 7y ago

I'm always mystified by people, especially people who live in cities, that want to require cars to emit noise pollution. Thankfully, the "mandatory noisemaker" impulse seems to have died out at least for now. I know if my vehicle is ever required to have a noisemaker I'm going to have it be the Ghostbuster's Ecto-1 broken ambulance sound. To me the thing that is most noticeable about electric propulsion cars is the smoothness of the drive train. No revving, lurching to shift, then revving again. No coasting, then a lag when you step on the accelerator, then a lurch in to acceleration. Just pure smoothness. It is luxurious, quite apparent, and different.

jazzyjackson 7y ago
Having lived in manhattan I can attest that the cars are just about the last source of noise pollution I noticed when contrasted with larger vehicles and construction. I think a 1% increase in taxes would be totally justifiable for quality of life to replace all the garbage trucks with electric vehicles (or at least buy em some damn mufflers!) Maybe we can divert some R&D funds to engineering a quiet jackhammer. If I had stayed in the city any longer I would have become a politician running on the platform that we use all the subway trains as garbage / freight / delivery haulers, and put light rail up and down the avenues. cars banned below 110th st (you too deBlasio !)
- brokenmachine 7y ago
  Leaf blowers are astonishingly loud. There must be a way to make them quieter, but it seems that no manufacturers are doing that. Seems there might be an opportunity there, "buy the only leaf blower that doesn't make your neighbors want to murder you"!
  - Doxin 7y ago
    I can imagine quieter leaf blowers selling worse because they seem less powerful to potential buyers.
  - rbanffy 7y ago
    Has Dyson ever looked into that?
neuralRiot 7y ago
To each its own, smooth cars are the most boring thing for me, automatic/ gearless and smooth, why driving at all?
- Kirby64 7y ago
  The vast majority of people drive because they need to go some place. You're in the minority here if you want a car that's doing that sort of thing during their morning commute. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good manual transmission car, but if I'm just putting around, I'd rather not deal with that.

Kirby64 7y ago

Push-button gearshift is different than what the article mentions: no gearbox. There's no shifting which means everything is way smoother. Also, engine noise is only a feedback mechanism because we rely on it. If it was eliminated overnight, then we'd have to rely on other mechanisms (probably tire noise). Tire noise is actually dependent on vehicle speed, unlike engine noises. All engine noise really tells you is that something is there, or that something is trying to look like/seem like it's accelerating fast (from high revs). Not really a lot of information you get over tire noise. I'd love to be in a place where all engine noise is eliminated. That being said, just as another poster mentioned, the bigger challenge is tackling heavy vehicle noise concerns. For the most part, cars today are quiet in comparison. I just want semi trucks/dump trucks/delivery vehicles to be quiet since they tend to be many orders of magnitude louder than regular cars.

flyingfences 7y ago
He spends way more time talking about the "gear shift" mechanisms than about the actual gears. The one time he mentions the fixed ratio (something that combustion engines can do and have done, btw) it's in the context of the driver not having to actuate a shift. Engine noise is an excellent feedback source because it utilizes a sense that is otherwise mostly idle when driving. Tire noise is much quieter, harder to hear over other sounds. And, engine noise is directly proportional to vehicle speed unless I intentionally and consciously change gears. I'm all for electrifying the loud trucks. I just don't like being snuck up on by anything that weighs an order of magnitude more than me.

m463 7y ago

Yes, he doesn't communicate well. Teslas just have a gearshift lever. that's it. I have never driven a car with as few controls as the Teslas. ICE cars have the idea of on and off. With the tesla (s/x), you approach the car, the car wakes up as you near, you get in, move the gear lever into drive or reverse and that is the only control you touch. I do disagree about the internal silence. The teslas are supremely silent inside (aside from A/C fan noise) and it is magical and modern. I have driven electric cars with added internal noise, and it really cheapens the experience. External silence is a moot point with new laws.

brokenmachine 7y ago
? Do Teslas not have an indicator stalk/accelerator pedal/brake pedal/steering wheel? If so, there's not much difference between an automatic ICE vehicle, except the engine sound.
- m463 7y ago
  lol, yes wheel, pedals. I meant the author didn't really describe how radically simplified the tesla cars are. (maybe too much?) You get in, foot on brake, shifter to drive then step on accelerator to go. There isn't an on/off button. The model X even opens and closes your door without touching it. Yes you should put on your belt. (oh, and you can summon the car out of your garage automatically)
brokenmachine 7y ago
>External silence is a moot point with new laws. What are the new laws?
- m463 7y ago
  hmmm. I thought it was this year, but it has been pushed off one more year. FMVSS No. 141 says electric cars have to make a noise https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/02/26/2018-03721/federal-motor-vehicle-safety-standard-no-141-minimum-sound-requirements-for-hybrid-and-electric https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/02/26/2018-03...