The fear here was actually that the horses pulling other vehicles would freak out and bolt uncontrollably. Horses these day are familiar enough with cars to be familiar with them but back then that wasn’t the case.
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Well, horses are specifically trained for this if they’re going to work around cars, yes. As someone who’s been thrown from my share of horses who jumped at a butterfly or rock that they didn’t expect, I can attest that horses have to be trained to be chill about pretty much everything. 
The RCMP does impressive demos at rodeos and such to show how well trained their horses are. They ride them over a wooden bridge (which horses hate) and fireworks go off at both ends. All the people jump out of their seats but the horses don’t flinch. Really amazing.
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Guys, have you heard of Engine Simulator?
I expect more EV will just simulate an IC engine.
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And sparks flying out the back!
I cannot find the old Punch cartoon where the robbers have realised that the game is up, for the Flying Squad have joined in the car chase, and their flag-carrying dude is wearing shorts and running shoes.
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As a six year owner of a BEV, the idea that I need fake vroom vroom VROOM sounds to feel embiggened is redonkulous. A bogus shifter? pshaw… Put your energy into better batteries n motors, not bullsh!t like this.
I read Dodge has been working on their EV for quite a while: first order of business was making the throaty roar of partially combusted dino juice. Hooray?
Also, we walk to work every day (down the hall for me, almost 5km for my wife, I walk her half way there most days, then I walk our cockerdoodle Sir Poopsalot) I don’t make fake horsey clop clop sounds as I walk (tho that would be a cool EV ‘I’m backing up!’ sound!)
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I drive an old Japanese 2000s era refuses-to-die thing. It’s a manual. I refer to the gearshift lever as an anti-theft device; I’d say it eliminates about half the potential crimes-of-opportunity.
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That’s brilliant! I’ve always hated the fact that car horns are on/off devices, and built to be heard inside another car that’s also experiencing engine and road noise. Something for people out walking, riding bikes, etc. is delightful.
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I drove a stick for all but 4 of the 32 years I drove cars before getting my current EV. I don’t miss the stick at all. The 100% torque when stepping on the accelerator gets rid if any need to downshift, IMO. And my left calf doesn’t ache after spending too much time in stop and go traffic, anymore. The “move shifter forward to go in reverse, backward to go forward” thing is the only problem I have with the setup.
Half the pedestrians / cyclists are wearing earbuds or texting so it won’t matter anyway. Texting While Walking Accidents: Video - YouTube
I’ve had stick cars my entire life, and enjoy them immensely over the experience of automatic cars of all types. Until… the goofy little Prius shifter in the dashboard. Man, I love that thing! It somehow makes the difference, and probably because you can slap it around. The Sport Mode powah surge doesn’t hurt, either. So I’m satisfied as long as they don’t move that around.
Engine noises were not designed as warning sounds. There tends to be a preponderance of lower frequency energy, which is more difficult to spatially locate than higher frequencies. Also, the lower frequencies require larger transducers and more power to generate the sound. Lastly, lower frequencies travel further so they tend to increase background noise pollution.
The goal of the warning noise is to get the attention of the pedestrian, let them know that there is something they hadn’t been previously aware of nearby. The more unique the better. Anyone who hears an approaching Toyota EV and registers it as “Just a normal everyday horror spaceship cruising the parking lot that I definitely don’t need to look up at before walking into its path” is probably going to get hit no matter what.
I can remember a time before backup beeps existed, but people quickly caught on. I don’t know anyone lobbying to replace backup beeps with engine noises.
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Not really a surprise, is it? CVT emulates individual gears already.
Back when cavalry was still a thing, one of the drills was to charge while the rider was crouching forward, hiding behind the horses neck, and fire his pistol, inches from the horses head. That must have involved VERY well trained horses, and even so, I would think that the chances of being thrown were far higher than the chances of hitting anything.
My mom’s Prius does that and it is very counterintuitive.
Right? It’s such a good idea. But then they didn’t use it anywhere else, and discontinued the Volt (which was full of good ideas like that 
).
It used the horn, so not a lot of additional parts, either. It electronically triggered the horn very quickly and lightly, to make a pleasant sound. Super clever. The Volt was one of those rare cars where a special team comes together within a car company and is given carte blanche to go do whatever they want. Magic happens when companies are brave enough to do this.
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I don’t own an EV, but I do play driving games on my phone while sitting on the subway. Seems like a similar compensation effect…
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Most pedestrians can hear cars making noise through earbuds. I always find these compilations of inattentive pedestrians a fascinating insight into the psychology of most drivers. In most jurisdictions the pedestrians have the legal right of way in the crosswalk, but drivers are mad that they are inattentive. The people with the legal responsibility, in a giant soundproof box, with a built in stereo and built in sight line obstructions are mad that the people without those things aren’t paying enough attention.
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