All this talk of "sensors" and rfid is going to cost £££. Do you honestly think they should have this? What about cars that are idle? Just doesn't work.

Speakers with "engine" sound will be fine.

Silent. Make cities silent.

I currently don't base my safety on hearing cars, I always look.

Cars don't just drive in cities.

I'd like a sound board that exaggerates every input I make in the car. So when I gently press on the accelerator, I'd get the sound of a V8 spinning up the wheels. Under braking, I'd like the sound of screeching tyres.
Actually, why limit it to just mechanical noise?
Why can't we have an electric car that sounds like a herd of wildebeest?

Either way, silent cars are a killer.

I'll just leave this here.

And when your eyesight fails or is impaired in some way? I'm happy to poke my fingers into your eyes and let you experience impaired vision for a while.

And the rest of the world.

The main reason you can't hear them is because there's so much noise. No noise and you will be able to hear what little noise they do make.

I don't understand why people want them to make noise. Overtaking, crossing the road, whatever, you look to see if anything's coming.

Seriously, how many people cross the road or overtake by sound alone? None. Well, none if they have any sense and want to avoid an accident.


That argument doesn't wash, what about deaf people currently?

I like this idea. try to get ultrasonic.

Really though, I would like a choice of sounds depending on mood, Jetsons, feet running "a la flintstones", batmobile

Maybe you could programme the noise to come on at 30mph and below? That way you'd hear it in pedestrian areas, but reduce noise on main roads out of town etc. Plus the lack of noise in 30mph zones would help the police see who's speeding.

The type of noise could be part of a trim level.
Lowest = 4 cylinder petrol engine
Mid trim = V6
High Trim = V8
Sports model = V10 or V12.

One man's music is another man's noise.

You forgot smartcar - lawnmower

Na. Smart cars would have a repeated tannoy saying "Gimp alert, gimp alert".

I like Smart cars. They make a lot of sense in cities, and they're kinda fun.
Wouldn't say to no to one as a second car in fact.

Same here.

I just can't stand the plasticy styling.
I'm sure they'd have sold a lot more when they first came out if they looked better.
As a concept (small, fuel efficient), I fully understand them.

That plasticy styling is part of the appeal for a lot of people. It's not just styling, the panels are actually plastic. And they're held on by quick fastenings. This means two things

1) Nobody is ever going to pay for a major cosmetic repair on a Smart. If you get a major scratch or a panel gets damaged, you just buy a replacement, pop the old one off and pop the shiny one on. You can do it yourself. No expensive garage fees, no leaving your car with the repairer for days... just job done.
2) The panels are cheap - although the price has gone up rather since they started selling them through Mercedes dealerships . This is good for point 1 above but it also means there is actually a thriving aftermarket in essentially new 'skins' for smarts. You can get panel sets with pretty much any colour or design on them, and change the whole look of your car in a few hours. If you want a really custom design, you can buy a set of primed panels and take them to a car painter of your choice and he can spray onto them just as if they were metal panels. Only your car doesn't have to be there while he's doing it, so you get to use it!

They're not for everyone but I do genuinely admire them as a piece of design.

Jon