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New Prius Gets a Sci-Fi Hum, Won't Fold Into a Briefcase

by Terrence O'Brien on August 25, 2010 at 09:20 AM

Prius Makes Humming Sounds
While hybrids like the Prius may be good for the environment, they have a serious design flaw. In electric-only mode, they're almost completely silent, which, if the world were loaded with battery-powered vehicles, would make being a pedestrian a little on the dangerous side. Some safety advocates have proposed that manufacturers equip hybrids with speakers that would play sounds to notify bystanders of oncoming traffic. Toyota, however, has a simpler plan. On August 30th, the newest Prius iteration will go on sale in Tokyo, and will offer a $148 (12,600 yen) optional speaker system that plays a humming sound, resembling that hovercraft drone of early-'70s sci-fi films.

The artificial engine noises are more reminiscent of 'The Jetsons' than 'Star Wars,' but should adequately fulfill their function. As you can see in the video after the break, the generated sound reacts to acceleration and deceleration, providing important contextual information to pedestrians. According to the Boston Globe, the hum is barely audible in loud environments, but could save lives in quieter ones. Toyota has not decided whether or not it will be offering the option in the U.S., but we'd say there's a pretty good chance. After all, who doesn't want a car that sounds like a prop from a sci-fi film?

Tags: green, hybrid, prius, top, toyota, toyota prius, toyota prius hybrid, ToyotaPrius, ToyotaPriusHybrid, transportation

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