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The below article, published in the Washington Post, was reprinted
in Sunday's Chicago Tribune in the Rides section. It's a great
section for those interested in learning about or maintaining cars.
It's just one reason the Newsline habit is one worth developing.
It's good to know sound regulations will be coming soon. It seems
we aren't the only ones who want cars to sound like cars.<br>
<br>
Cordially,<br>
Bill<br>
<br>
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<td>Article from Chicago Tribune Rides Section 2015 02 01</td>
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<th align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE">Date: </th>
<td>Mon, 2 Feb 2015 12:42:29 -0500 (EST)</td>
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<th align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE">From: </th>
<td>NFB-NEWSLINE Online <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:nfbnewsline@nfb.org"><nfbnewsline@nfb.org></a></td>
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<th align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE">To: </th>
<td>William B. Reif <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:billreif@ameritech.net"><billreif@ameritech.net></a></td>
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Can you hear me now? \ Artificial noises help fuel-efficient
engines roar instead of purr -- but purists are howling. By Drew
Harwell, The Washington Post. Stomp on the gas in a new Ford
Mustang or F-150, and you'll hear a meaty, throaty rumble -- the
same style of roar that Americans have associated with auto power
and performance for decades. . It's a sham. The engine growl in
some of America's best-selling cars and trucks is actually a
finely tuned bit of lip-syncing, boosted through special pipes or
digitally faked altogether. And it's driving car enthusiasts
insane. Fake engine noise has become one of the auto industry's
dirty little secrets, with automakers from BMW to Volkswagen
turning to a sound-boosting bag of tricks. Without them, today's
more fuel-efficient engines would sound far quieter and,
automakers worry, seemingly less powerful, potentially pushing
buyers away. Softer-sounding engines are actually a positive
symbol of just how far engines and gas economy have progressed.
But automakers say they resort to artifice because they understand
a key car-buyer paradox: Drivers want all the force and fuel
savings of a newer, better engine but the classic sound of an old
gas-guzzler. "Enhanced" engine songs have become the signature of
eerily quiet electrics like the Toyota Prius. But the fakery is
now increasingly finding its way into even beefy trucks and muscle
cars, long revered for their iconic growl. For the 2015 Mustang
EcoBoost, Ford sound engineers and developers worked on an Active
Noise Control system that amplifies the engine's purr through the
car speakers. Afterward, the automaker surveyed members of Mustang
fan clubs on which processed "sound concepts" they most enjoyed.
Ford said in a statement that the vintage V-8 engine boom "has
long been considered the mating call of Mustang," but it added
that the newly processed pony-car sound is "athletic and
youthful," "a more refined growl" with "a low-frequency sense of
powerfulness. Among purists, the trickery has inspired an identity
crisis and cut to the heart of American auto legend. The "aural
experience" of a car, they argue, is an intangible that's just as
priceless as what's revving under the hood. "For a car guy, it's
literally music, to hear that thing rumble," said Mike Rhynard,
41, a past president and 33-year member of the Denver Mustang
Club. He's swayed between love and hate with the snarl-boosting
sound tube in his 2012 Mustang GT, but of the computerized noise,
he's unequivocal. "It's a mind-trick," he said. "It's something
it's not. And no one wants to be deceived. That type of ire has
made the auto industry shy about discussing its sound technology.
Several attempts to speak with Ford's sound engineers about the
new F-150, a six-cylinder model of America's best-selling truck
that plays a muscular engine note through the speakers, were
quietly rebuffed. Car companies are increasingly wary of alerting
buyers that they might not be hearing the real thing, and many
automakers have worked with audio and software engineers to make
their cars' synthesized engine melody more realistic. Volkswagen
uses what's called a "Soundaktor," a special speaker that looks
like a hockey puck and plays sound files in cars like the GTI and
Beetle Turbo. Lexus worked with sound technicians at Yamaha to
amplify the noise of its LFA supercar toward the driver seat.
Some, like Porsche with its "sound symposer," have used
noise-boosting tubes to crank up the engine sound inside the
cabin. Others have gone further into digital territory: BMW plays
a recording of its motors through the car stereos, a sample of
which changes depending on the engine's load and power.
Orchestrated engine noise has become a necessity for electric
cars, which run so quietly that they can provide a dangerous
surprise for inattentive pedestrians and the blind. Federal safety
officials expect to finalize rules this year requiring all hybrid
and electric cars to play fake engine sounds to alert passers-by,
a change that experts estimate could prevent thousands of
pedestrian and cyclist injuries. With traditional engines, some
boosters have even celebrated artificial noise as a little added
luxury. Without it, drivers would hear an unsettling silence or
only the kinds of road racket they'd rather ignore, like bumps in
the pavement or the whine of the wind. Yet even drivers who
appreciate the accompaniment have questioned the mission. A
SlashGear reviewer who otherwise enjoyed the new F-150 said the
engine sound was piped in "arguably pointlessly. This raises a
more existential question: Does it matter if the sound is fake? A
driver who didn't know the difference might enjoy the thrum and
thunder of it nonetheless. Is taking the best part of an
eight-cylinder rev and cloaking a better engine with it really,
for carmakers, so wrong? Not everyone is so diplomatic. Karl
Brauer, a senior analyst with Kelley Blue Book, says automakers
should stop the lies and get real with their drivers. "If you're
going to do that stuff, do that stuff. Own it. Tell customers: If
you want a V-8 rumble, you've got to buy a V-8 that costs more,
gets worse gas mileage and hurts the Earth," Brauer said. "You're
fabricating the car's sexiness. You're fabricating performance
elements of the car that don't actually exist. That just feels
deceptive to me." ---------- <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:ctc-transpo@tribpub.com">ctc-transpo@tribpub.com</a> <br>
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