ICYMI: Dodge Charger Concept, an EV with exhaust and shifting

In reply to David S. Wallens :

I'm going to hear these coming through my neighborhood and instantly reach for my lightsaber...

In reply to madmrak351 :

Pedestrians hearing it is good.  The whole neighborhood?  Not so much....

So this campaign about internal combustion engines are evil -- V8s twice as much -- and electrics are the way of the future, but in the end of the day it is all about having the V8 experience while saying "but I am thinking about the enviroment." This reminds me of the fake hood scoops and turbo whistle sounds (which never worked, I tried in my turbo car). Of the distressed designer pants "that gives you that rough look associated with hard work" (I should have saved that ad).

What is next? Something to make it shake like a V8? Plastic fake airfilterbox and top of a V8 under the hood?

msterbeau said:

Apparently Dodge is too busy cashing checks from strong sales of a profitable platform whose engineering was paid off long ago to care that there are lot of people, even car people, that hate the loud, juvenile products they are making.  

FTFY.

msterbeau said:

I was hoping electric would also mean relatively quite.  Apparently Dodge is too busy being the infantile car brand to notice there are lot of people, even car people, that hate the loud, juvenile products they are making.  

This is why Chrysler exists. Chrysler will take this platform, put a "sophisticated" body on it with a luxurious interior, throw self driving and sound deadening at it to insulate the driver from the road and market towards the Audi/Tesla/Cadillac crowd. Dodge is jumping up and down screaming "why can't we just have fun?"

As stupid as fake exhaust sounds I can understand why dodge is testing it on a concept car.  As ev's move from the appliance categories to ones that people spend a lot of money on to personalize.  And what is one of the first mods done? Exhaust.  There are some strange issues with what noises an ev can produce, tesla was forced to remove the fart noise from the pedestrian warning tone.

I'm not sure what the aftermarket is going to do to support ev's, that's a big industry that may find its options on new vehicles limited.

I also wonder if they plan on offering two versions of this, one electric & one with the hurricane turbo 6 cylinder.  Have they said if it a skateboard chassis?

Tony Sestito said:

-It makes similar sounds as the car in The Wraith

DUDE, It looks like the Wraith SO MUCH

As for the noisemakers and shifting- as long as it's an option and it helps get people to feel okay making the switch, I'm perfectly fine with it.

As I read through this thread, it struck me that this car was alike a carnival ride for little kids....then I realized that it was exactly that, but for big wealthy kids.  And also that this is nothing new - almost all of the Vipers, some of the Corvettes and a lot of Italian performance cars have always been expensive carnival bumper car substitutes and there is nothing wrong with that even though it comes across like a comic book in a world based on more serious literature.

To each his own.  I bet that we'll ass be surprised at how many they sell if they do get around to offering this sort of thing - there are a lot of people out there that don't seem to have moved on from about 10 years old emotionally.

I'd suggest to the manufacturers that they build in some flexibility with their sound making gear so you can set it for Tie fighter or whatever floats your boat on a given day.

My only reservation is about being T boned by some aging 'kid' when he is playing with his expensive sound maker in traffic while I am just trying to get somewhere.

Jerry said:

It needs downloadable sounds.  Jetson's flying car, Luke Skywalker's landspeeder or maybe the Millenium Falcon?

I'd want a couple ridiculous, inappropriate sounds. Like an air cooled VW with the stock exhaust. A circa 1990 hit and miss engine. Maybe some dude beatboxing fake engine noise. And a squeaking hamster wheel.

And yeah, definitely the TIE fighter option.

I found the new pistol grip for the shifter, because eletric Mopar.

In reply to wspohn :

I used to get a big kick out of setting on the carousel horsey hollering "getty up" 

But not since I was a wee lad, knee high to a grasshopper. 
 

I don't get the appeal of an electric cars with pretend ICE sounds. 
now funny stuff, like a tie fighter, I can see it. 
The squeaky hamster wheel is my fav. suggestion yet!
 

Ok new idea . 

Electronic hub caps , well they are really just LED screens , but you can have Halibrand wheels , Moon discs , Mini-lites etc

Or a hamster on the squeaky wheel :)

I almost want one just from the amount of completely baseless vitriol being directed at it here.

I see the 'jump to conclusion' mats are out in full force too. Pity.

Driven5 said:

I almost want one just from the amount of completely baseless vitriol being directed at it here.

I see the 'jump to conclusion' mats are out in full force too. Pity.

I love the car itself and I'd buy one in a heartbeat... subject to every post I've made in this thread.

A related thought.

A good chunk of an ICE car's shape is dictated by the drivetrain–specifically the engine and cooling system.

How will the EV skateboard dictate the shape of future cars? We're seeing some of that now–like the frunks–but how do you see designers and engineers taking advantage of that newfound freedom? 

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Freedom is an illusion. Those designed for kinetic efficiency will look like eggs, while those designed for volumetric efficiency will look like loaves of bread.

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Don't know that freedom is the correct word for it, but the target market will prolly not allow much in the way of radical changes, just in her name of practicality. Sad, 'cause I'd love to see some alternative packaging. 
Out of several hundred vehicles, over 45+ years, I've only bought new a few times. And only 4-5 years old a dozen. Prolly never be able to afford a new one the rest of my life, so I can only have an outsiders opinion. Marketing could care less!!!

californiamilleghia said:

Ok new idea . 

Electronic hub caps , well they are really just LED screens , but you can have Halibrand wheels , Moon discs , Mini-lites etc

Or a hamster on the squeaky wheel :)

Been done, for several years now actually.

https://lumencycle.com/a/s/products/midnight-rider-customizable-led-bike-spoke-lights

I've seen em on trucks before, never in real life though.  

I'm late to the party, but EV sounds versus ICE sounds is kinda like comparing Daft Punk to Led Zepplin to me. Sure, you can turn either of them up to make lots of noise, but... which one do you really want to hear?

In reply to te72 :

Based on the garbage sound coming out of most turned-up modern ICE exhausts, I think I might actually want to take my chances finding out what happens with more EV sounds getting turned-up.

te72 said:

I'm late to the party, but EV sounds versus ICE sounds is kinda like comparing Daft Punk to Led Zepplin to me. Sure, you can turn either of them up to make lots of noise, but... which one do you really want to hear?

Is Daft Punk supposed to be the bad option here?

In reply to Driven5 :

I'm on board with the silly sound brigade, it might make autocross a bit safer, if nothing else. Go to take a drink of water and have a Tesla 3 fly by you having no idea anything was even happening (it's windy here most of the time) isn't a fun experience. Need *something* coming out of them...

In reply to 93EXCivic :

Compared to Zepplin, yes. Daft Punk isn't bad, but I don't think people are still gonna listen to them in 50+ years. In 2070, people will probably still be rocking Led Zepplin II.

In reply to te72 :

You missed the uproar when Daft Punk decided to retire. 

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On topic tho, is there any word on things worth discussing on this? Price, range, projected availability (It could be sub $30K and have a 400 mile range but they are only making 50 of them)?

It sounds like it will be available with both gas & electric power trains.  So I would not expect range to be as good as a dedicated ev platform.  Time will tell what version sells better, I would think the ev version should get some fleet sales from law enforcement.