Chevy Volt Electric Car, 2008 Malibu at Washington Auto Show ( video )
GM - Technology - News - Fuel Cells - Chevy Volt Electric Car, 2008 Malibu at Washington Auto Show
I think it might be a cool idea to have a speaker system rigged up to an electronic engine sound generator, inside to produce engine sounds. e.g if you are driving an electric sports car and you could select from a range of electronic background engine sounds at the flick of a switch. The sound generator would be liked in to your electronic RPM metre and speedometer to reproduce authentic engines at given speeds etc.... Thus if you wanted a v8 sound or a sound of a particular model car engine, you just select it. It could also help double as a road noise dampener and you might feel like you are driving a vehicle with a fuel driven engine. You could even have a sound for a starter motor, when the pseudo ignition key is turned or switched on. Perhaps this feature could help make the electric car more appealing to car fans who love traditional fossil fuel engine sounds.