An interesting post on Nissan adding “noise” to electric cars was posted on Bloomberg.com. If you remember a recent post on “Hybrid Cars Too Quiet? Japan May Require Adding Noise?,” there are efforts to add noises back into quiet hybrid and electric cars. Seems like we’re going backward, but there are some legitimate concerns for the vision-impaired, older citizens, and children crossing the streets not hearing cars coming.

I know, I know. Some may say that this is not the problem of the quiet cars. Of course, everyone should take responsibility: drivers must pay attention, and pedestrians must pay attention as well. But there is this thing called “accident” and the more ways we have to prevent it the better.

Now Nissan becomes the first to add noise back into a car. What noise, you ask? According to Mr. Toshiyuki Tabata, a Nissan engineer who spent the last 30 years trying to make gasoline-powered cars quieter, he chose to make it “beautiful and futuristic”. À la Blade Runner flying car beautiful and futuristic, to be precise.

The sound system would turn on when the car starts and be automatically turned off when the car reaches 20 km/hr or a little more than 12 mph.

Noisemakers are not too far behind. According to the Bloomberg.com piece, car electronics manufacturers also developed noisemakers. Tokyo-based Datasystem Co. makes a device selling for 12,800 yen ($140) that emits 16 different sounds including a cat’s meow, a cartoon-like “boing” and a human voice saying, “Excuse me.”

Can you say “Downloadable car noises”? We may be reducing automobile pollution, but get ready for strange and artificial car noise pollution the next time you walk the streets.

Read the complete “Nissan Adds ‘Beautiful’ Noise to Make Silent Electric Cars Safe” article.

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