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Latest comic: Electric vehicles gone wrong

I'm fine with the soft, whirring spaceship sounds that some EVs emit as a safety feature to alert people that they're moving. The new Dodge Charger EV comes with a deafening 126 dB roar, which is just plain obnoxious.

#cars #ev #evs #transportation #gender #marketing

in reply to Jen Sorensen

I would like to buy an electric car that is NOT built by a comic book villain, please.
in reply to Jen Sorensen

@BinChicken
Are the fake sounds at least projected in the direction of travel

(That'd be particularly an advantage over rear-engined ICE cars and buses)

in reply to sabik

@sabik @BinChicken My understanding is that the Dodge Charger EV is supposed to mimic the sound of a traditional internal combustion engine through a series of speakers and acoustic chambers in the rear of the car, like a traditional exhaust system
in reply to Jen Sorensen

@sabik @BinChicken Being a Dodge, it's designed to mimic the sounds of charging at antifascists you're about to murder.

That's literally their brand/target market now.

in reply to Jen Sorensen

@sabik @BinChicken wat. I've seen these systems inside the car to make it sound vroomy to the driver (it sells more cars despite being silly) but... exterior speakers? soooo silly.
in reply to Jen Sorensen

@sabik @BinChicken Unfortunately, the excessive catering to unnecessary male egos is neither new nor specific to EVs: https://motorillustrated.com/2020-chevy-corvette-c8-exhaust-sound-speakers/35883/
in reply to Jen Sorensen

Now I want an electric bus that looks like an 1880s locomotive
in reply to Jen Sorensen

If it gets a few people who normally wouldn't buy one to buy one, then I'll live with it. The spaceship noise is pretty ridiculous IMHO.
in reply to Jen Sorensen

"petro-masculinity" in a nut shell:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0305829818775817

> The concept of petro-masculinity suggests that fossil fuels mean more than profit; fossil fuels also contribute to making identities, which poses risks for post-carbon energy politics.

(Truly a fascinating paper when I first read it)

This entry was edited (8 months ago)
in reply to Jen Sorensen

Instead of noise and smoke, wouldn't it be even more manly to have a tesla coil shooting lightning bolts as you drive? It's just as wasteful, but far cooler and still uses electricity. Also it's noisy, so maybe you could use it as a horn.
in reply to Jen Sorensen

counterpoint: i've nearly been run over and nearly been t-boned by electric cars because the godaccursed things are (literally) deadly silent

some of them, you can't hear them coming AT ALL and they're a fuckin menace because of it

in reply to Jen Sorensen

I gave a ‘21 Leaf Plus. I like the soft whirl noise
in reply to Jen Sorensen

Moving to a fully electric vehicle economy means we're gonna have to sell EVs to the small dick crowd.
in reply to Jen Sorensen

One thing I love about my EV is how quiet it is. I guess we can’t have nice things.
in reply to Jen Sorensen

Ford now concentrating on small EVs. Renault subsidiary Dacia launching one in UK for $15k. Early adopters are generally rich and probably want a status symbol. Later come the people who want more economy and as a manufacturer goes more and more into EV efficiencies occur and prices decline. EVs here have to make a noise. US I thinks is 56db. Over that most who don't sell to red necks don't bother with added noise as they believe drivers and passengers like peace and quiet
in reply to Jen Sorensen

I, for one, am very pleased to have a car that sounds like a flying saucer.
in reply to Jen Sorensen

On point!
Maybe you get a kick out of this, if you don't know it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cipX_UcZdxg&t=81
in reply to Jen Sorensen

Obnoxious *and* a waste of electricity, which seems to be recurring theme in many products these days. The only need for any vehicle to make a really loud noise like that is if it’s being stolen.
in reply to Jen Sorensen

I've been told that with some EVs, you can choose a noise they make to make ppl aware that they're coming and that coconut clip clops à la Monty Python are available. Not sure if true or urban legend, but I do wish it's true 😃
in reply to Jen Sorensen

...while I'll be looking for a dinky little 2-door hatchback some time this year. I'm not sure if they make them anymore.
in reply to Jen Sorensen

I love my Volkswagen e-golf because of this, it's a sensibly sized car, quiet and doesn't look like it was made to feature in a sci-fi movie.

I remember EV's 8 years ago, they were cool and upcoming, I remember being impressed whenever I saw someone drive one.
Now electric cars like Tesla's join the rankings with BMW when it comes to being the worst and most annoying people on the road.

Where are the cute, small and practical electric cars we were promised? 🙁

in reply to Jen Sorensen

As someone who's driven electric for over 5 years now, I just don't get why I would want it to have a loud fake engine sound? I saw a video of one trialing simulating gears for a mad reason!

I love the fact it is quiet, has a spaceship sound and doesn't have gears! But unfortunately the EV market is moving into trying to cater for petrolheads now.

in reply to Jen Sorensen

if there's one small bright spot here, it's that Dodge/Ram buyers will be the last of the EV converts... Judging by what I read on their car forums
in reply to Jen Sorensen

When I read "cool small electric cars" I can't stop thinking about having an electric variant of the first generation Daihatsu Midget.
in reply to Jen Sorensen

Personally, I'd a nice little town EV with a 1960's Jetsons flying car noise.
in reply to Jen Sorensen

the insecurity of some people is so damn stupid and sad. And I hate that car manufacturers don't build "normal Cars" anymore. In Germany station wagons were everywhere - Small and spacious, perfect for people who travel a lot, having a small family or people with dogs.

Now there are these stupid SUV everywhere, and there is no electric car in the size of an "Opel Astra H Kombi". It is so bad that I'm even thinking about converting one to electric if I need a new car.

in reply to Jen Sorensen

WTF? However marketing asshole who came to with that idea should be sued…

126 dB is well above the danger threshold. People are not supposed to be exposed to 90-100 dB without par protection…

Or even 85 dB, actually, if it's long exposure…

USA: We make stupid ginourmous electric cars with fake engine sound at 126 dB.
France: We make anti-protesters grenades that produce a 165 dB blast to equip far-right-voting brailess militarized cops.

Fuck them all…

This entry was edited (8 months ago)
in reply to Jen Sorensen

Sounds like they are tailoring for the American market. Rumor has it, a European vacuum-cleaner manufacturer used to adapt their models for the American market by removing the muffler and adding some dead weight. That made them appear more powerful, which was what sold there.

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