Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: iainb on 24 August 2010, 16:36:50
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Toyota's Prius hybrid is becoming a little less quiet with a new electronic humming device which is the corporation's answer to complaints that pedestrians cannot hear the top-selling car approaching.
The 12,600 yen (£96) speaker system which fits under the bonnet of the third-generation Prius sets off a whirring sound designed to be about the same noise level as a regular car engine so that it isn't annoying, the Japanese firm said.
It goes on sale on August 30 in Japan, and owners pay extra for installation charges. Its use is voluntary.
Overseas sales plans are still undecided but Toyota is studying regulations and considering offering it in the US and other markets, said spokeswoman Monika Saito.
The petrol-electric hybrid can achieve good fuel economy but is also quiet because it uses an electric motor some of the time. That advantage has drawn complaints that pedestrians, blind people in particular, are at greater risk of being hit by the car, especially at low speeds when the electric motor is more likely to be used to power the vehicle.
The US government's car safety agency found in a research report last year that hybrids are twice as likely to be involved in pedestrian crashes at low speeds compared with cars with conventional engines.
Toyota, which also makes the Lexus luxury brand, said it plans versions of the device for other hybrid models, plug-ins, electric vehicles and fuel-cell vehicles.
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Toyota's Prius hybrid is becoming a little less quiet with a new electronic humming device which is the corporation's answer to complaints that pedestrians cannot hear the top-selling car approaching.
The 12,600 yen (£96) speaker system which fits under the bonnet of the third-generation Prius sets off a whirring sound designed to be about the same noise level as a regular car engine so that it isn't annoying, the Japanese firm said.
It goes on sale on August 30 in Japan, and owners pay extra for installation charges. Its use is voluntary.
Overseas sales plans are still undecided but Toyota is studying regulations and considering offering it in the US and other markets, said spokeswoman Monika Saito.
The petrol-electric hybrid can achieve good fuel economy but is also quiet because it uses an electric motor some of the time. That advantage has drawn complaints that pedestrians, blind people in particular, are at greater risk of being hit by the car, especially at low speeds when the electric motor is more likely to be used to power the vehicle.
The US government's car safety agency found in a research report last year that hybrids are twice as likely to be involved in pedestrian crashes at low speeds compared with cars with conventional engines.
Toyota, which also makes the Lexus luxury brand, said it plans versions of the device for other hybrid models, plug-ins, electric vehicles and fuel-cell vehicles.
Be much more fun if the speaker shouted 'BOO' when 10ft from the pedestrian though! :D ;D ;D ;D ;D :y
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They should fit one of them sirens from under the Stukas ;D
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They should fit one of them sirens from under the Stukas ;D
Exactly what I had in mind Pete! :D :D :D :D
"Jericho Trumpet" sirens from the Ju87 would certainly attract attention ;D ;D ;D ;)
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They should fit one of them sirens from under the Stukas ;D
Exactly what I had in mind Pete! :D :D :D :D
"Jericho Trumpet" sirens from the Ju87 would certainly attract attention ;D ;D ;D ;)
I can see one big problem with that, all the old dears will be diving for cover when one passes ;D
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Seeing as much of the sound from modern cars when moving is actually; 'tyre noise'......what`s the fuss about? ::)
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Shouldn't be long before the ambulance chasers latch onto this and start sueing anyone who has an accident and hasn't got one fitted.
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It's about time someone did this IMHO. Alternative is a credit card in the spokes. ;D ;D
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The original concept was discarded on animal welfare grounds;
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mIrDN8XmdA&feature=related[/media]
Piece is coro a bocca chiusa (Humming chorus) from Puccini's Madama Butterfly.
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It's about time someone did this IMHO. Alternative is a credit card in the spokes. ;D ;D
You mean lolly ice stick, surely? :-?
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The original concept was discarded on animal welfare grounds;
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mIrDN8XmdA&feature=related[/media]
Piece is coro a bocca chiusa (Humming chorus) from Puccini's Madama Butterfly.
I prefer flight of the bumblebee, although the police would probably try to stop you with a stinger. ::)
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Of course it could all get horribly out of control;
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjR5K_Fb6r4&feature=related[/media]
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Of course it could all get horribly out of control;
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjR5K_Fb6r4&feature=related[/media]
I could have some fun with that. The pedestrian crossings in ASDA car park springs to mind. The tinkers just keep on coming and I usually end up forgetting what I went for. :(
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Of course it could all get horribly out of control;
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjR5K_Fb6r4&feature=related[/media]
I could have some fun with that. The pedestrian crossings in ASDA car park springs to mind. The tinkers just keep on coming and I usually end up forgetting what I went for. :(
Blimey, I live in the wrong area, you can't get that at my local Asda ::)
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Of course it could all get horribly out of control;
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjR5K_Fb6r4&feature=related[/media]
I could have some fun with that. The pedestrian crossings in ASDA car park springs to mind. The tinkers just keep on coming and I usually end up forgetting what I went for. :(
Blimey, I live in the wrong area, you can't get that at my local Asda ::)
They don't have asdas in Cheshire, surely? I thought there was a Fortnum & Mason on every corner. ::)
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They should fit one of them sirens from under the Stukas ;D
Exactly what I had in mind Pete! :D :D :D :D
"Jericho Trumpet" sirens from the Ju87 would certainly attract attention ;D ;D ;D ;)
I can see one big problem with that, all the old dears will be diving for cover when one passes ;D
And everyone else I reckon Pete! :D :D :D :D
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZZ504TGDpE[/media]
:o :o
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.................or there is a law passed that all those cars have their music systems always fully turned up:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8sCxgFSAKU[/media]
:D :D :D :D ;)
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Of course it could all get horribly out of control;
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjR5K_Fb6r4&feature=related[/media]
Oh dear Lord! :o
....I don`t know if I might be horrified or wanting one! ;D
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Of course it could all get horribly out of control;
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjR5K_Fb6r4&feature=related[/media]
I could have some fun with that. The pedestrian crossings in ASDA car park springs to mind. The tinkers just keep on coming and I usually end up forgetting what I went for. :(
Blimey, I live in the wrong area, you can't get that at my local Asda ::)
They don't have asdas in Cheshire, surely? I thought there was a Fortnum & Mason on every corner. ::)
No mate, its the same here as the rest of the country. Patel and Patel ::)
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They should fit one of them sirens from under the Stukas ;D
Exactly what I had in mind Pete! :D :D :D :D
"Jericho Trumpet" sirens from the Ju87 would certainly attract attention ;D ;D ;D ;)
And you know what happened to Stukas, target practice - so expect BBMF to shoot you!
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They should fit one of them sirens from under the Stukas ;D
Exactly what I had in mind Pete! :D :D :D :D
"Jericho Trumpet" sirens from the Ju87 would certainly attract attention ;D ;D ;D ;)
O come on now Lizzie I thought a steam buff like you would fit a horn that sounds like a chime wistle of a A3 :y
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They should fit one of them sirens from under the Stukas ;D
Exactly what I had in mind Pete! :D :D :D :D
"Jericho Trumpet" sirens from the Ju87 would certainly attract attention ;D ;D ;D ;)
O come on now Lizzie I thought a steam buff like you would fit a horn that sounds like a chime wistle of a A3 :y
I would HI, but I don't know how you would fit a steam generator to such a car ::) ::) ::); personally I convert the whole car to steam propulsion with an A4 chime whistle!! :D :D :D :D ;) ;)
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They should fit one of them sirens from under the Stukas ;D
Exactly what I had in mind Pete! :D :D :D :D
"Jericho Trumpet" sirens from the Ju87 would certainly attract attention ;D ;D ;D ;)
O come on now Lizzie I thought a steam buff like you would fit a horn that sounds like a chime wistle of a A3 :y
I would HI, but I don't know how you would fit a steam generator to such a car ::) ::) ::); personally I convert the whole car to steam propulsion with an A4 chime whistle!! :D :D :D :D ;) ;)
I mind the time we fitted one to a class 47 at a steam gala at Boness the 47 went up at 7am with a railtour and brought the first service train back and on rounding the corner the driver hit the horn(well whistle) and the cameras were clicking good style and the expression on the faces when the 47 came into veiw were to die for :D :y ;D
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They should fit one of them sirens from under the Stukas ;D
Exactly what I had in mind Pete! :D :D :D :D
"Jericho Trumpet" sirens from the Ju87 would certainly attract attention ;D ;D ;D ;)
O come on now Lizzie I thought a steam buff like you would fit a horn that sounds like a chime wistle of a A3 :y
I would HI, but I don't know how you would fit a steam generator to such a car ::) ::) ::); personally I convert the whole car to steam propulsion with an A4 chime whistle!! :D :D :D :D ;) ;)
I mind the time we fitted one to a class 47 at a steam gala at Boness the 47 went up at 7am with a railtour and brought the first service train back and on rounding the corner the driver hit the horn(well whistle) and the cameras were clicking good style and the expression on the faces when the 47 came into veiw were to die for :D :y ;D
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D Great one Hi!! :y :y :y :y :y :y
I'd loved to have seen the gricers faces as well :D :D :D :D ;)
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i remember when i worked in a warehouse when i was 20, one of the lorry's had a inter city 125 horn in his cab, what a loud sound it was too. brilliant :y
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i remember when i worked in a warehouse when i was 20, one of the lorry's had a inter city 125 horn in his cab, what a loud sound it was too. brilliant :y
Wow!! 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)
That certainly would do the job Richie! :D :D :D :y :y
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....................in fact the Class 375 emu's operated by Southeastern Railways have a horn that has been complained about in the past, and the use of it has to be controlled to only when necessary (no blowing of a steam whistle to please the kids anymore!! ::) ::) ::) :D :D). In fact I live some distance from a railway line, but when these horns go I can hear them as though they are right outside my home :o :o :D :D :D ;) :
Judge for yourself suitabilty for "silent cars":
Put your volumn full up to appreciate the 'real' sound!!
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfzdugGDkTQ[/media]
:D :D :D :D ;)
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A slightly more organic sound 8-) :y
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwlUhUTA6K8[/media]
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Another to raise the pulse a little :-* :y
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSoEmySoc-0[/media]
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Two great finds there Zulu! :y :y :y :y
73096 at speed is the winner for me, and that locomotive is not too far away from being returned to traffic after its piston failure last year. To think that engine, like most steam engines, was consigned to the scrap heap, but as a 'modern' engine with around just 10 years of BR use, the likes of 73096 had so much more to give as that video shows 8-) 8-) 8-) :-* :-* :-* :-*
As for the little boy freeking over the engines whistle, that is so representative of thousands millions of kids over the ages who have feared the sounds of an active loco, only to later love them without question. I was one, as a little 3 year old girl who went through 'the fear' of steam engine activity on Tonbridge Station platform. Did I freek!! :o :o :D :D :D ;)