What urban cars could look like in the future

[BaneSilvermoon]

What some have said about fully electric cars is that the fact that there is no noise it could be a potential hazard for pedestrians.It would mean them having to make a set noise for the car which kinda seems daft to me....hybrid is probably the best way to go if it became more advanced.The price of the Prius is daft IMO

Car enthusiasts would probably have enough demand that a car have an engine sound to keep that alive anyway. Many companies, Porsche for example, have adopted the CVT electronic transmission for their cars at this point. But Porsche has said they will continue to make manual transmission an option because the enthusiasts will never give up their gear stick.

How much impact do you think the sound of a Harley Davidson Motorcycle has on it's sales?

[Michelle]

How much impact do you think the sound of a Harley Davidson Motorcycle has on it's sales?

You reminded me of this guy.

http://www.guzer.com/videos/motorcycle-sounds-names.php

[Order66]

Car enthusiasts would probably have enough demand that a car have an engine sound to keep that alive anyway. Many companies, Porsche for example, have adopted the CVT electronic transmission for their cars at this point. But Porsche has said they will continue to make manual transmission an option because the enthusiasts will never give up their gear stick.

How much impact do you think the sound of a Harley Davidson Motorcycle has on it's sales?

That would be cool, like different ringtones, you could select what kind of engine you want it to sound like.

Better yet: An electric car which in terms of engine, body frame, etc is just barely enough to meet requirements to drive on the road. Everything else however is interchangable. You could take off the exterior and quickly exchange it with a different one. So on Monday your car can look like a Porsche. Then on Tuesday you can remove the Porsche and snap on the Ferrari. Like Power Wheels for adults

Edited July 13, 2011 by Halloween78

[ThePhantomFlanFlinger]

Car enthusiasts would probably have enough demand that a car have an engine sound to keep that alive anyway. Many companies, Porsche for example, have adopted the CVT electronic transmission for their cars at this point. But Porsche has said they will continue to make manual transmission an option because the enthusiasts will never give up their gear stick.

How much impact do you think the sound of a Harley Davidson Motorcycle has on it's sales?

Yeah they would have to otherwise people would go mad at driving in silence(apart from stereo) and consumers would keep getting knocked down.Im one of the odd ones that loves to lower my window to hear the exhaust note during acceleration...sad but thats me.I would imagine that it would have some impact on Harley's but bikes are not my thing so i wouldn't know if the sound it made would be good or bad....im a car guy ...sorry just realised what you call CVT is flappy paddles(slang term) over here i think

Edited July 13, 2011 by BrianPotter

[BaneSilvermoon]

sorry just realised what you call CVT is flappy paddles(slang term) over here i think

Yeah those paddles seemed to be the initial answer to the problem of people wanting to shift. Giving the ability to force a down or up shift. My car has a fully automatic CVT, no paddles. Personally I love it. Age has started showing a bit but when I got the car back in 2007 I kept turning it off at stop lights and starting it again because I couldn't tell if it had died or if it was just that quiet. Four years old you can feel it idle now. Still runs 0-100 without a hint of any kind of shift, and only a slight acceleration loss as you get into higher speeds. <3 CVT.

[ThePhantomFlanFlinger]

Yeah those paddles seemed to be the initial answer to the problem of people wanting to shift. Giving the ability to force a down or up shift. My car has a fully automatic CVT, no paddles. Personally I love it. Age has started showing a bit but when I got the car back in 2007 I kept turning it off at stop lights and starting it again because I couldn't tell if it had died or if it was just that quiet. Four years old you can feel it idle now. Still runs 0-100 without a hint of any kind of shift, and only a slight acceleration loss as you get into higher speeds. <3 CVT.

You do lose the odd bhp as the cars get older.The problem with the flappy paddles i see is that it could possibly be just another component to go wrong.I've never driven one so i dont know if it can be driven without the paddles if something goes wrong.I agree bout the autos tho cause my wifes car is one and i love it..especially on a long journey.They are brilliant to have a relaxing drive in.

[BaneSilvermoon]

You do lose the odd bhp as the cars get older.The problem with the flappy paddles i see is that it could possibly be just another component to go wrong.I've never driven one so i dont know if it can be driven without the paddles if something goes wrong.I agree bout the autos tho cause my wifes car is one and i love it..especially on a long journey.They are brilliant to have a relaxing drive in.

As I understand the ones with the paddle shifters work exactly like a fully automatic that doesn't have the paddles until you decide you want to use one. Based on that I would think it would work perfectly fine even if the paddle wasn't working. Assuming the malfunction in the paddle is causing it to do nothing rather than causing it to shift on its own.

[jaguarsky]

I have no idea why they "invented" floppy paddles. Just another electronic thingy to break. I remember VW had a manual automatic back in the day on the Karmin-Ghia. You could shift it (3sp) if you wanted to, or you could just put it in 2nd and drive all day. Makes not much sense but on the days you felt agressive and needed that physical sensation of power and control (although that is kind of ironic if you were driving a Ghia) it was there for you.

I like this little car and think it would be great for driving in cities and even small towns where the traffic speeds are well controlled. But I wonder with all of the electronics how it would perform in extreme weather conditions; heat, cold and wet. And, does it have a solar charger? That would be great, as you are driving you are charging, especially here in S.TX.

There is a driver who lives near me that is driving one of those itty bitty cars, that came to US market a few years ago. I call it the earring. I see the car quite often on HWY 16, a long stretch of two lane blacktop that goes from San Antonio, TX to Mexico. The speed limit on most of the road is 75 and the big rigs do 80+. I imagine that the driver has to clean his/her shorts on a regular basis. Although it looks really cute and is "saving the planet" some things are just not appropriate for some situations. Like the little transport in this article.

I don't think though that it will be any time soon that we will see autonomous cars. To many variables to be worked out. Humans can't agree on anything, even in their own best interest.

[encouraged]

It will never be common on our roads, I'm still waiting for those futuristic cars they promised us in the 60s.

So you have noticed that the radical things of the future never make it, too!

I can see the fun pranksters would have with this:

"Mom, what do you mean I forgot to send the EN-V home from school? I did!"

"Oh, great I'll be late for work again! Okay, I'll call the Traffic Local Dept's lost and found section. I wish you could convince the kids at school to stop taping 'I'm Lost!' signs over the car's forward and rear cameras."

It so would happen!

Or clear tape with a little stick figure drawn on it. What a site to see it keep trying to go home while missing hitting the guy on the tape! By the time it gets back to its owner it will be paranoid... Nothing worse than paranoid EN-V.

LOL!