Stealth marketing: Ford makes a noise about EVs
July 28, 2011 by admin
Filed under Latest Lingerie News
One of the less talked about downsides of the electric vehicle – coming in a distant third to range limitations and the high cost of the batteries – is the stealth quiet of its engine. While we have heard at least one proponent of the EV claim that this could translate into a win, by making real estate on main roads more desirable, the more commonly held belief is that the near noiselessness of EVs makes them a safety hazard for pedestrians – particularly those with impaired vision or hearing. And it’s a bit hard to teach the kids to stop, look and listen when there’s nothing to hear.
For this reason, Japan requires its automakers to install sound alerts in hybrids and EVs – the Nissan Leaf emits an ‘engine noise’ at low speeds and a chirp when the car is in reverse. And in the US, national road safety authorities are currently weighing up whether they should do the same. “Even as we make giant leaps forward with hybrid and electric vehicles, we must remain laser focused on safety,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s David Strickland said in a statement earlier this month, when the agency announced a proposed regulation that would force EVs and hybrids to automatically sound alerts at low speeds. “With more and more quiet vehicles on the road, we have to consider their effect on pedestrians.”
Which brings us to the interesting approach of Ford Motor Co. Rather than wait for a law to be introduced, the US automaker has decided to take affirmative action and install sound alerts in its soon-to-be-released Focus EV. And in the spirit of hair-brained marketing schemes, it has decided to tap that font of collective wisdom, Facebook, to help it decide which artificial noise it should choose.
“We’re trying to find a distinct sound that’s pleasing to customers and alerts them of an on-coming vehicle,” says Dave McCreadie, noise/vibration supervisor for hybrid and electric vehicles at Ford. “This sound needs to be something that can be integrated into a person’s sound spectrum so they can immediately recognise the noise and associate it with an EV approaching… just like we do with emergency vehicle sirens.”
They started by polling their 300-odd EV Facebook fans, and their 3,400 employees, on what kind of sounds they would like to hear coming from the Focus Electric. “The poll tells us two things: Without a question, people are interested in the future of electric vehicles, and they want to be heard,” says Scott Monty, Ford digital and multimedia communications manager, on egmCarTech. “Consistent with our overall approach to social media, we’ve given customers a chance to have a voice and we’ve gone the extra step of acknowledging their input and building it into our business process.”
That extra step is Ford posting four test sounds on its Ford Electric Vehicles Facebook comments page, and asking fans (and employees) to rank them 1 (favourite) to 4 (least favourite). They are: Sound A, Sound B, Sound C, and Sound D. If you don’t have the time or inclination to listen to each of these, here is a quick rundown. A: Sounds menacing and a bit space-aged. B: Sounds a little bit like a car, sort of miscellaneous machine noise. C: Sounds a bit like a jet engine starting up (but a bit quieter, of course). And D: Another spacey, jet-y sound.
And the reactions? Varied. They range from people simply ranking the sounds from 1-4, as requested, to some interesting feedback about the sounds – and about whether EVs should have sounds at all.
One respondent, who ranks B as his number one choice, says: “But I think the high noises are very annoying compared to the deep noise of B, which sounds like a ‘real’ motor.”
“NONE OF THE ABOVE!,” says another participant. “At least make it sound like a car, and offer several choices like a Mustang GT, a regular focus or, an RS focus rally car.“
“I like none of the above,” says another. “How about horses trotting or maybe sleigh Bells? Seriously, something there but not obnoxious and invasive.”
And another: “‘B’ sounds like an internal combustion engine, which EV customers by definition loathe…that’s why they bought an EV. The other three clips all sound like the mothership revving up right before it blasts off and leaves ET behind.”
But as another Facebooker points out: “SIGH. The GOVERNMENT is mandating all electric cars have a sound. ‘SILENT’ is NOT an option.“
So perhaps it’s back to the sound lab for Ford.
