The Sounds of the Chevrolet Volt

[imzjustplayin]

God damn, could you imagine a cacophony of sounds if three of those volts lined up with each other at the red light! It would be awful!!! Everybody who isn't blind but is complaining about these vehicles being "too quiet" OBVIOUSLY were not paying attention! One can DEFINITELY hear the noise of the electric motor and drivetrain of the electric vehicles if you're, uh you know, paying attention! All these complainers were probably wearing earphones or distracted with something. SILENCE IS GOLDEN!

[MrEnergyCzar]

The silent acceleration of the Volt is amazing. And pushing it doesn't damage the battery....

[S4kit4]

1:22 OMG, i will sleep hearing this shit

[S4kit4]

V8 Sound , sounds better for me XD

[Tysto]

This video spends almost half its running time explaining that blind people can't hear cars and much of the rest of the time showing people describing the sound in the experiment. FAIL.

[mhks68]

@:25 "so we can look at" You mean bastard!!

[GoranB2010]

We have work with NFTB and they love our system , P.A.S.S. ( CREATIVE PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS ) We have our video

thank you

Goran Bogdanovic

248.379.3565

[lulzmacher]

fuck blind people

[DARTHNECRION]

It's not starling, it's annoying. 

[chechnya]

Is the problem really that serious enough to ADD noise pollution? Are there thousands of traffic fatalities against the blind to warrant the thousands/millions into R&D for a noise? Give me a break!

[tigrepez]

YOU ARE THE AMERICAN SOUL, GO GENERAL

[NebKheru7]

I'm gonna ad some all weather speakers under the car and loop some jet sounds through them! Cool as hell!

[kyleisreallycool]

just give it a fart can muffler

[carmaster569]

@kyleisreallycool lol ikr... i wonder who would be the first person to call it a ricer?

[sweiland75]

substituting one inconvenience (air pollution) for another (silence)

[beemaster69]

i would just buy some subs and turn it up

[whothehellgivesadamn]

THE BLIND COMMUNITY WOULD BE THE FUCKING TAX PAYERS GETTING STUCK WITH THIS CRAP TO BAIL OUT.

THE BLIND COMMUNITY WOULD BE THE SUCKERS THAT BUY GM CRAP WHICH ALWAYS BREAKS DOWN............

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST WHEN IS THIS CRAP GOING TO STOP

[whothehellgivesadamn]

OH FUCK...LIKE GM NEEDS MORE HORSESHIT TO DEAL WITH, WHICH OFCOURSE GETS TRANSFERED TO THE TAX PAYERS IN EVENTUAL BAILOUTS OF THIS HORSESHIT...IF THE BLIND MAN HAS A PROBLEM HERE IS A SOLUTION:

1. DON'T WALK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FUCKING STREET YOU FUCKING IDIOT.

2. OH MY GOD, MECHANICS UNIONS, INCORPORATING FAILURES IN THE CAR SO THEY GET MORE WORK, NOW THE BLIND FOLKS WANT A PIECE.

3. THEN THE GMAC GOES BANKRUPT GIVING AWAY MONEY ON CRAPPY LOANS.

4. THEN THE OTHER UNIONS STICK THEIR HANDS OUT

[YodaPala]

get a TDI Diesel

this is failure for sure

[musubi69]

Why do the headlights flash if the system is supposed to be for warning blind people???

[LOLDISNEYLAND]

Hang on a fucking second. My god damn car when idling and slowly moving is practically noiseless. You definitely cannot hear me driving down a street except for the tire noise.

I never see blind people in my area. It is so rare to see a blind person walking down the street.

[nomainreason]

Make it sound like a car... with the sounds of V6,V8... all the way to W16. Learn from computer games.. and input those sounds to the car's own computer.

[NearTheLimits]

The aim of these cars should be quietness. So it would be quite annoying to make it louder just for the safety of blind people. There must other solutions available.

[nomainreason]

@NearTheLimits I'd rather hear the cars than seeing them blasting through people

[NearTheLimits]

@nomainreason that's right, I know what it feels to suddenly see a prius going 40 mph next to you without even noticing its presence, so scary.

[Linnehan13]

@nomainreason I'd rather not wander aimlessly into streets.

[Shuffle3956]

1:25 the guy is so turned on by the car

[GotTheTeeShirt1]

I work a lot of public auto racing and marathon events utilizing gasoline pickup trucks. We have a tendency to sneak up on people. If we tap our horns, the often intoxicated or near drunk pedestrians will try to start a fight with us because they are offended we honked at them. I rev the engine, it still doesn’t work like I’d like it to. In my case, loud electric fans are the answer. It needs to blow forward so the feel it sneaking up behind them.

[GotTheTeeShirt1]

Forward blowing electric fans are the answer.

I work a lot of public auto racing and marathon events utilizing gasoline pickup trucks. We have a tendency to sneak up on people. If we tap our horns, the often intoxicated or near drunk pedestrians will try to start a fight with us because they are offended we honked at them. I rev the engine, it still doesn’t work like I’d like it to. In my case, loud electric fans are the answer. It needs to blow forward so they feel it sneaking up behind them

[danwat1234]

@GotTheTeeShirt1 Exactly! A good non-annoying automotive sound is the sound of a radiator fan. Turn up the fan that cools the drivetrain when their are pedestrians about.

[vidiot6682]

The horn thing is too loud. Too offensive. Not good. The car should just emit a continuous simulated motor noise. Something like a fan motor sound. Or an electronic whirring like the starship enterprise.

[alteregoash]

@vidiot6682 that would be a fairly big waste of energy.

[RichardEllisxyz]

@ChevroletVehicles Perhaps GM could devise an alert system whereby this organization could be issued small transponder type devices, perhaps integrated into the common Red-Tipped canes. The Volt could detect this said transponder & "turn up the volume" as it gets within a specific range. If this system could be perfected, GM could be the leader in this technology & a standardized specification could be applied. The system could then be applied to all future electric cars.

[mooserman911]

lol that noise is funny, i have heard it in real life and it sounds like a loud chirp noise

[Karazha]

that is ONE hell of an HD camera

[callthemall]

I think something like that deer whistle noise may work better, like a whistle that would be audible from outside the car, and as the car is slowly moving the whistle is loud, and as the car progressively speeds up and makes more road noise, the whistle can gradually go down.

[talbertnz]

Awsome that Gm is thinking about the blind but... it sounds like one of those t-ford horns imaging having 100 volts riding down a street making that "uh-uh" noise that would drive one nuts!

[badguy66626]

just buy a louder muffler

[ndyt]

@badguy66626, motor doesn't run in first 40 miles of charge.

[reidclifford]

The thing that is really frustrating about the Volt and GM is, that when this car comes out, it will be a hit.. but how is GM gong to keep up with demand? In the past GM would have come out with a Chevy, Buick, Pontiac and Olds version of the car. Here we have only one.. Chevy version. GM will never be able to keep up with demand, so the Chevy dealers will be marking up the price or you will have to wait years to get one. Real frustration coming with the introduction of this great car.

[reidclifford]

Why isn't the electric cord for the VOLT built in and retractable. That is the one fault I find with the Chevy Volt. The owner has to take the electric cord out of the trunk plug in both ends, then un-plug both ends and wind up the cord and put it in the trunk. You know the cord is going to be all over the trunk. Too much work. I hope GM goes with a retractable cord, to make the Chevy Volt almost perfect. You know the Japanese will do it.

[ColinCronin]

I hear ya, but the problem with a built in cord would be 110V charging limit. With a seperate cord you can plub in to 220 or 110. My guess is many owners will want to charge 220 at home for quicker recharge times.

[reidclifford]

Do you need two different cords for 220 vs 110 charging? GM should just make the Volt 220V charging. People who can afford the $40K for the Volt, can afford to have a 220 install in the garage for 3 hour charging. I think the big drawback is that electrical cord in the trunk. Its kinda tedious and primitive to be plugging in both ends.. The Japanese are going to do it right.

I am sure when electric magnetic charging comes along, this will all be put to rest.

[im1greatman]

@reidclifford Are you seriously that lazy?

[reidclifford]

@im1greatman

it has nothing with being lazy.

I purchased an electric scooter 2 years ago, and the big draw back was that electric cord and plugging and un-plugging both ends. Vectrix got it right with one cord and one end to plug in. I am glad to hear that the 220V will require the owners to plug in one end. The day will come with a electro magnetic device that you can drive over and charge the car.

Its not about being lazy, its about being a-head of the game and forward thinking.

[im1greatman]

@reidclifford Good enough and very well put.

[falconwind00]

Its gonna be hilarious when they come out with aftermarket sounds for your car.

Imagine screaming down the highway in a Chevy Volt that sounds like a muscle car. LOL!

[SScamaro93]

It only makes that sound when you pull the lever

[uncleflaco]

bathellfire: Maybe go get your Prius and go plowing through your living room wall. Rather buy American, where GM has proven to innovate numerous automotive technologies that the whole industry emulates. Honestly though, I think the horn sound will scare the crap out of people, so it's a nice gesture, but won't be used by most normal people.

[bathellfire]

So the car will be honking as i drive along? Any other "genius" ideas GM? How about emulate gas engine sound? A pleasant buzz of some sort, not some gay "beep beep" shit.

[ndyt]

bathellfire, you have to pull the blinker toward you to make the sound. They should have make that clear in this video, they have in others. It is an alternate horn.

[Annieaksamia]

mmhanyone wanna cam and swap pics then let meh know

[kjrehberg]

These cars should be required to *always* make noise when in operation. This problem isn't just for the sight impaired--all pedestrians are in danger of these nearly silent vehicles. A 25-cent piezo buzzer or speaker placed behind the grill should be required. It will make an unmistakable car engine-like sound at all times when the vehicle is in operation, keeping all pedestrians safe in addition to the seeing impaired.

[ndyt]

kjrehberg, gas cars are just as quiet at low speed you tard.

[eldictator1]

@kjrehberg why should they, blind people should use crossings. there is no dta to support quiet cars causing more accidents. I had an illegal exhaust on my bike years ago and some moron still didnt see me

[Pmanningboy1]

Instead of trying to come up with other ways why don't you ACTUALLY congratulate GM. FOR SAVING YOUR FREAKIN BUTT. I am impressed congratulations GM.

[xxdrzombiexx]

There is an older piece of technology that can help.

It's called "a horn".

[MomofRockStar]

The cane needs to tell the person something is coming, the car beeper is an OPTION for drivers to turn on, if they dont well, then it's useless.

Problem is, not all people who need a warning will use a cane; older people who dont pay attention, people walking while texting will also benefit.

GM needs to put a vibrating sensor in to the canes.

[MerlinsWheel1964]

Tell me he didn't say "We setup this opportunity to work with the National Federation of the Blind so we can "LOOK AT" some of the issues ..." not the best choice of words.

[diggingforgold]

My suggestion:

Install some sort of proximity sensor on blind canes (like an RFID tag). Then as the Volt gets closer, a sensor on the Volt can bounce a signal off the cane's RFID tag, identifying a blind person in the area, and only then, sound an alert. It would also be prudent for some sort of alert to appear on the dashboard as well to notify drivers of a potential hazard.

This can be done with minimal expense (RFID technology is cheap), and without making constant annoying noises.

[eldictator1]

@diggingforgold good idea

[c0nv1ct1337]

This idea is retarded. Sounds good in theory but its utter waste of time. No wonder out tax money is bailing out failure companies.

The horn needs to loud and alarming. It doesn't matter if you are stationed and there is a blind person crossing the street. You can open the window and say something. However, while you are moving you need something loud to make sure the blind person hears you coming and doesn't get hit.

Wtf you need an "excuse me" beep for when you're about to hit someone.

[speer320]

The Horn is loud. The pedestrian alert is different then the Horn

[Lou58Lou]

I agree with mundotaku. An engine noise simulator would be better. The horn is too annoying, and I think would cause a lot of dirty looks from people who would this they were being beeped at.

[nextgeneric]

If I crossed the road and that thing kept honking at me, I couldn't help but to think that the driver wanted me out of his/her way. I can't imagine how confused a blind person would be by hearing that. They'd think a car wanted them out of the way or something. It's an idea, but the honking sound is just not going to cut it. They need some other kind of sound for this to work efficiently.

[ixfxi]

i have an idea

gm, you and all the big car manufacturers can pay me for this wonderful idea.

rather than piss the rest of society off with a car that has a pulsed HORN. how about make a cane that will vibrate when they are within a certain distance of a vehicle?

sounds like a much better, SILENT solution. if sony can implement rumble-technology in their joysticks, i dont see why you guys cant make vibrating canes.

bunch of executive jabronis

[DGio8778]

If you hear a sound you can understand from where it's arriving, but if you feel a vibration you're allerted that you're near to a car, but you can't understand where the car is. Excuse me for my bad english...

[Valicore]

Exactly - having the sound be emitted from the car allows the person to judge where the car is relative to themselves.

[imzjustplayin]

@ixfxi OMG YES! AWESOME IDEA!  LOVE IT!

[bugaboo711]

Sounds more like a terrible solution to a problem that affects .000001% of the population and will annoy 90% of it in real world situations.

[MrGSNfan]

Are there motion detectors in the car or will it honk like that all the time?

[edwinhawthorne]

Good idea, bad execution.

[mundotaku]

If the sound is going to be the horn, is going to be a little bit annoying. It would be better an engine sound simulator.

[triplexxxsatyr]

Great to see the engineers and designers covering all the bases.

Keep it up and chin up, GM.

[DanFrederiksen]

if they were covering all the bases they would make plugin hybrid drivetrains for all their cars as well as new intelligent models that are light weight and ultra aerodynamic. the volt is nowhere near enough and they've made it intentionally expensive. so this is bullshit