The Chevrolet Volt will be one of the most exciting cars in a long time to hit the floor of your Chevrolet dealer near Berlin. The Volt is Chevrolet’s electric hybrid car that you can plug in and recharge in a standard household electrical outlet. According to Chevrolet, you will be able to go as far as 40 miles using only the electric motor.
One concern that consumer groups are raising, however is the issue of noise. A plug-in hybrid such as the Volt doesn’t make the same loud rumbling noise that a gasoline engine does.
The noise of an engine is important for some people. People that are visually impaired, for example, rely on the sound of a vehicle’s engine to let them know that a car is coming.
Still, the issue is being studied. There has not, to date, been much research devoted to the problem. Industry experts contend that the electric motor does make a noise, and that the real question is whether that noise produces enough sound or a sound that is unique enough to be readily identified.
One possible solution that Chevrolet’s engineers are looking into is a pedestrian alert system. This would be a noise maker that the driver could turn off or on, depending on where she was driving. Whether such a system would be effective remains to be studied.
