Daimler Electrics Get Fake Vroom to Thwart Silent Threat: Cars

Christoph Meier, a sound engineer at Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler AG (DAI), typically spends time making engine noise less jarring. For Daimler's e-Smart city car, Meier and his team invented a "sonorous purring" that was pitched higher than conventional vehicles, while Mercedes's 416,500-euro ($569,600) SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive gets huskier tones to reflect its power. Daimler isn't alone in adding noise to electric cars. Synthetic motor noise, like the jangly, high-pitched whir of Renault's glam track, could save lives and at the same time protect investments in electric cars.



via Business News - Yahoo Finance http://finance.yahoo.com/news/daimler-electrics-fake-vroom-thwart-080828097.html