The Sound of Silence: Why Automakers Are Changing the Noise That Electric Vehicles (Don’t) Make
When the new Mustang Mach-E pulled up next to Darren Palmer at its public debut in Los Angeles last month, the sound of the electric vehicle’s engine made the hair stand up on the back of his neck. The low bass. The varied timbre. The grumble of a powerful turbine. Says Palmer, Ford’s director of electric vehicle product development: “It’s a distinctive sound.”
Wait, aren’t electric cars silent? Mechanically, yes. Since electric cars don’t get their power from combustible gas engines, they tend to be eerily hushed. But by 2020, federal mandates will require that all hybrid and electric cars make a sound at low speeds for pedestrian safety. And with the number of visually impaired and blind Americans expected to double in the next 30 years, giving these quiet rides some noise is essential, not to mention that our brains are wired to react to sound more quickly in moments of danger.
But for car makers, sound is about more than just safety. Sonic branding is on the rise, with the right auditory aesthetics triggering the brain’s amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for mood, emotion, and memory. The idea is, the right audible experience can even affect our behavior, our purchases, and our perception of flavor, scent, and texture.