Toyota EV mimics manual transmission with feel of gear sticks, roaring engine

wsj.com

1 point·erehweb··4 comments

In accordance with prophecy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marching_Morons

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51233

I just read the reason for this is that if you are accelerating hard, the car would drone very loudly, which is not the sound one would expect from hard acceleration. You would feel the acceleration, while the default noise would sound like you are at a steady pace. By imitating gears, the steady drone is mitigated to some degree, and you won't be tricked into thinking you are not accelerating.

Why would you want this? One of the thing I love about EVs are the single speed transmissions. The drive is smooth and lack of noise peaceful. Why would you want shift-jerk and emulated RPM variations in a technology that doesn't need it?

I think there's a corollary from the motorcycling world.

The Honda Nighthawk was always a reliable motorcycle. However, it is often panned because it is considered one of the most boring bikes to ride. It barely vibrates (they used to demo it by putting a glass of water on the seat and revving the engine - no spillage!), the acceleration is smooth and uneventful, and the in-line engine makes it sound more like a small car than a big v-twin.

When Harley Davidson made its EV motorcycle, they made sure to give it a distinctive sound. Whether that will work or not is yet to be seen. I live in a metropolis city where newfangled vehicles abound, and I've yet to see an electric Harley, despite it having been around for several years now.

I might be getting old, because a "boring" vehicle sounds just about right for me these days. I still remember when one of the luxuries of driving a Cadillac was the silent cushioned ride, which is something that only an EV can compete with.

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