Lotus Adds Fake Engine Noise To Make Hybrids Sound Like Cars
from the is-it-april-fools-yet? dept
There have been a few stories over the past few years about the fact that hybrid cars (or just plain electric vehicles) are somehow "too quiet." The complaint is that pedestrians and bikers who are used to judging the safety of a road by vehicle noise are now somehow in danger from these quieter vehicles. Even so, reading this story and seeing the related video about how Lotus has been experimenting with adding a speaker under the hood that makes a noisy engine sound certainly feels like an April Fools joke, or possibly a bit from The Onion.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Filed Under: blind, fake noise, hybrid cars, noise
Companies: lotus
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Stupid
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It is actually a problem for some...
Due to some politics in the blind advocacy community, there aren't a lot of sight-impaired acoustic assistance devices at signalized crossings. The result is that they rely on the noise made by vehicles to determine when it is safe to cross. Believe it or not, this is actually pretty effective.
Hybrids and pure electric vehicles make that approach unreliable, and thus unsafe. You can argue the cost/benefit of the Lotus approach, but there is a problem they are trying to solve.
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noise
I wouldn't want constant noise either.
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Seriously?
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This is for real
http://technorati.com/posts/Ff67ZruxSLWI5aq7BqsiWsds%2FBGT2FqxvBp4Dpf3c84%3D
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Better Solution
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Blind people need a new system
The answer isn't making everything announce itself to blind people, it's to find a way for blind people to locate potentially dangerous obstacles and hazards. Something like a lidar device to allow them to gauge distance to objects out of reach, or maybe a kind of sonar device to locate large objects would, in the end, be much more practical. One tool for each blind person is alot easier and, to me, more fair than making everyone else who isn't blind work purposeful noise pollution into anything bug that moves.
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As for the blind, I see that white cane, and I am especially on guard to protect them, Prius or not. It is a moral obligation of the sighted to be considerate of the blind. But, if my Prius needs a noise maker constantly blaring, just in case I happen upon a blind person, then so does every bicycle out there. They are just as silent, and just as likely to cause injury. To my mind more so, since "some" bicyclists think of themselves as pedestrians, with rights to use the road, rather the vehicles, required to obey traffic laws.
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I'd want mine to sound like a Ferrari Testarossa
Or an Indy Car.
With a button you could push to make the rev noise.
and I want it so my neighbors 3miles down the street can hear it LOL
I think if they gave you an Option of WHAT the car soundeded like it would be great...
Think about it? custom sounds?
You could make it sound like a Steam Engine car...
If this passes, I should go into business...
lol
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I hate the Prius
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Re: Stupid
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Stupid is stupid.
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The second reason why this bad is a simple matter of Darwinism. Do you REALLY want to help the people too deaf to hear other parts of the car besides the engine? Do you REALLY want to help people to dumb to realize they're too deaf so that they open their eyes before wildly dancing into the street with their back to oncoming traffic?
And please after I bashed on people who are hard of hearing, nobody respond to this saying what about the blind, what about the retarded? I'll tell you what, in the world of Darwinism- they are priority #1.
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Blind People
Everyone else will just get used to not hearing the cars and it will be expected, like joggers wearing headphones expect not to hear a car.
hmm
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Small but genuine concern, thoroughly muddled solution
The discussion must shift from hybrids and electrics to noise level. If there is an attempt to mandate a noisemaker, I guarantee the discussion WILL shift, and the mandate will die. There is no way the luxury car buyers will put up with artificial noise as a required extra in their rolling living rooms.
The activists need to stop pointing fingers at whatever is new and different. Just use a dB meter. It's the only approach that makes sense.
I wonder if seeing eye dogs are trained to recognize an approaching car visually, by sound or both? Is this just a re-training issue?
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I hate SUVs
Aren't generalizations fun?
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Re:
Now with that said, my motto as a driver and as a pedestrian has always been, pedestrians have the right of way, but the smart pedestrian should get the hell out of the way.
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Not just blind people
Dead silence is going to lead to low speed collisions between the car and the pedestrian. By "low speed" I mean no damage to the car. The pedestrian will not fare so well. Some sort of noise - and it can be fairly quiet - is going to be needed. Possibly just when the car backing up (and no, I DON'T mean the high-pitched beep-beep-beep we currently get from trucks that you can hear 2 miles away).
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Re: I hate the Prius
Oh wait, you refuse to share the road or acknowledge other peoples existence and think you somehow have a superior right to it. Why would you share money when you lack basic respect for others.
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Re: Stupid
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Re: Darwinism
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Great idea!
I would opt for the Formula1.wav
Can't you just see a prius like car revving up at the light! Ha Ha!!!
Loud pipes DO save lives, but it's the Harley riders lives they save!
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SUVs
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quiet cars made noisy
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Re: SUVs
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Sound
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Re: Stupid
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Why only cars?
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Re: SUVs
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Re: It is actually a problem for some...
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Re: Re: Stupid
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What about Horns?
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Re: Why only cars?
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Re: I'd want mine to sound like a Ferrari Testarossa
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Re: Re: Stupid
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Re: Re: Re: Stupid
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Convenience to the driver
Obviously, I take up space in the road. When I know a car is behind me, I do my best to hug the very edge of the road, and when there is not a car behind me, I move to a relatively safer 3-4ft from the edge.
When cars are too quiet, I do not notice them, and do not give them the room they need to pass me in-lane, so they will have to wait for the other lane to be clear to pass me out-of-lane.
I'm not saying this cause I advocate adding speakers to cars for the obscure convenience of getting bikes to move out of the way, just to point out that the issue with bikes isn't merely cause bikers aren't paying attention, it's because you're removing their capacity to pay attention when the vehicle is too quiet, thus the onus shifts to the driver to pay this attention tax. There's just no way for us to know you are there!
This goes for non-hybrids too!
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Re: I hate the Prius
Excuse me, did you say something?
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Re: Re: Re: Stupid
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Dumb posters
The solution may not be to put noise in electric cars but can't we work with the blind pedestrians to make a solution instead of just waiving them off as if it's their fault for not being able to hear? Someone mentioned an RF chip and canes that would make noise when it is in close proximity? I think that might be a nice idea. We should have more ideas like this.
Backup alerts might be a good idea also but not the irritating backup noise we currently have. I know this great country has full of ideas and we should pursue them instead of using this "Noise" law they are trying to push. Let's work together for a solution instead of saying "This LAw sucks!".
Just my two cents.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Stupid
Maybe we need to teach kids in school what happens when you DON'T look for vehicles. I'm sure a bloody mess will get the point accross to most kids...
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Re: Not just blind people
Yes, this could be a problem. Maybe they could put some lights on the back of the car that will turn on when you start the car or put it in reverse.
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Marketing opportunity
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Re: I'd want mine to sound like a Ferrari Testarossa
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Re: Re: I hate the Prius
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why bother with it?
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Re: This is for real
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Re: Not just blind people
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Stupid
Nope. Never have, never will.
Less noise on the road is a bonus. The *last* thing I want to hear at night is some under-the-hood speaker going by pretending to be an engine.
Stupid and pointless doesn't even *begin* to describe it.
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Re: Convenience to the driver
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Does anyone else
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Heck if people spend money on RingTones for PHones why not change the sound of your car Ferarri, Porsche, Shelby, General Lee - or maybe just put it on Vibrate?
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Re: Stupid
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two words
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Re: Convenience to the driver
This seems like good motivation for mandating mirrors be put on all road-legal bicycles, does it not ? I'm sure they can come up with some aerodynamic mirror designs for competition cyclists that like to train on public roadways.
I would prefer a less personally-intrusive solution for dealing with blind pedestrians, such as the audio signals at intersections and whatnot that was mentioned earlier. I'm rather selfish, so I'd rather something like that be put there than on *my* vehicle.
I would also think that car-equipped audio signals would be the much more expensive solution in the long-run, but I'm not really sure about that one.
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Perpetuating obsolete technology...
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noisy cars
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custom sound
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Harley Davidson roar IP?
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Re: Re:
It may be every states law that pedestrians have the right away, but dead is still dead.
I don't get why people are stupid enough to think that because they have the right away they are perfectly safe to step out in front of a 2 ton pile of metal rolling on rubber.
Survival of the fittest should be the rule of life.
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Safety?
I like the idea of some kind of RFID or acoustic detector in the walking stick to alert the person. PLUS, the guide dog is trained NOT to let the blind person into the street with a vehicle approaching... the dog can hear the road noise of the vehicle hundreds of feet away and see it coming, too. Not all blind persons have dogs, but that is ONE alternative, rather than millions of cars with hundreds of dollars in equipment just for one small subset of the population.
We could buy a guide dog for every person in America for that amount of money...
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2 Points
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Re: Re: Re: Stupid
uhm... car enthusiasts. Any one that has ever sat in a Shelby Mustang as it rockets from a stand still to top speed. The opening scene for I Am Legend was like heroin for me. So yes there are people who like engine noise. Mostly on higher end cars... like a Lotus.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Stupid
Look both ways before crossing the street???
Didn't your parents ever teach this to you?
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Re: Re: Stupid
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Whether your car makes noise or not makes no difference - YOU should be insuring that you're not slamming into people while driving. What are you going to do, complain that the person crossing the street you hit couldn't dive out of your way because your car didn't make enough noise?
You know what happens when a motorist hits a pedestrian? We throw them in jail. The judge is not going to care if you were driving a truck or a magic carpet.
The only consideration that should be made with quiet cars is reminding the drivers to PAY MORE ATTENTION.
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Re: Re:
Pedestrians have the right of way, but for one reason, and one reason only: Legal Liability.
Other than that, as you say, a smart person can easily make the connection: Car > Me.
There is a crosswalk on my way to work. At least once a week I see someone slamming on their brakes because some jackass thinks He > Car. If there is someone nearing the walk as I approach, I will stop, and everyone should, but that idiot running out there without a care in world is going to get killed one day.
...and sadly, it will be the driver's legal liability.
The stupid need to stay indoors and concentrate on not using hair dryers in the shower.
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Re: I'd want mine to sound like a Ferrari Testarossa
"A device that alters the frequencies from another device installed in vehicles to increase audible recognition for alerting and warning pedestrians, bicyclists, and other motorists of said vehicle's presence."
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Re: Better Solution
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Re: Blind people need a new system
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Re: I hate SUVs
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Re: Re: I'd want mine to sound like a Ferrari Testarossa
So, to get your patent all you need to do is change presence to 'distance'.
Bam, patent approved by our wonderful system, because obviously distance is not an obvious extension or evolution of presence.
Don't knock it. They probably would ...
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Re: 2 Points
I believe it was stated very well in Resident Evil: Apocalypse
"GTA, mother***ker!
Oh, yeah!
Ten points!"
Ahhh priceless the running over of zombies with a car.
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Wasn't this already done in the 90's?
IIRC, there was a Corolla which sounded like a Ferrari to the occupants...
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Re: Convenience to the driver
Perhaps he's got the only one in existence?
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Re: Dumb posters
No, actually.
It's not about that at all. It's about the needs of a few being placed above the needs of the many.
I'm fine with protecting the blind. I have *no* problem with that. But when that turns into "put some lame-ass speaker in your car to annoy *everyone*", it becomes a problem.
It costs millions of drivers to do this to protect a huge minority. It's a waste. That money could be *much* better spent in outfitting the blind with detection gear...
...dont'cha think?
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Re:
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Re: It is actually a problem for some...
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Oh Really?
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Re: It is actually a problem for some...
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Re: Not just blind people
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Re: Convenience to the driver
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Re: Why only cars?
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Stupid
I hear ya. Every day I see idiots and other defectives that I would love to be able to run over as a way of improving the gene pool. Unfortunately it is illegal to do so. You're right, stupid and pointless doesn't even *begin* to describe the idea of protecting these people.
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Re: Re: Stupid
Oh, and think of the children!
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Re: Convenience to the driver
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Re:
Folks, don't listen to this guy. Darwin merely described how species evolve through NATURAL selection, he never prescribed how we should act towards each other. This guy is talking about ARTIFICIAL selection: purposefully allowing the weak or disadvantaged in our society to fend for themselves and full prey to misfortune, to somehow cleanse the gene pool. Firstly, it doesn't work that way! Second, this is completely contrary to the human spirit, and does not represent a majority of naturalists, humanists or atheists out there.
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I have little sympathy for any motorist striking (or having a "near miss") a blind person with or without a white cane as they whiz by in their quiet hybrid or electric car.
This problem has also impacted the ability of guide dogs to recognize safe crossings.
This is a recognized and known serious problem of electric vehicles and researchers are working on identifying good solutions.
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Problem solved.
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Re: Not just blind people
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Re: Stupid
Don't get me wrong, I don't like the noise any better, but until they get bionic eyes down I think it isn't the worst idea I've heard.
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Personal Responsibility v2.0
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silent vehicles
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Re: Re: Not just blind people
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Re: Re: Not just blind people
Agree with most with what you say. Not as big a problem in a garage as the lights are much more obvious. In an outside parking lot on a sunny day, much less so - some lights are virtually undetectable (especially from the side, which is what we're talking about) under these conditions. Also, in a tight parking situation, you may not have line of sight to the driver. Finally, the driver needs to back up a few feet to get line of sight on passing cars. He's hit you by then.
I'm not endorsing loudspeakers continually simulating roaring engines - the problem of blind people crossing the street can probably be solved in a more clever way as has been discussed. I'm delighted when I see but don't hear a hybrid driving by. But there may be justification for some fairly quiet noise (e.g. sufficient to be barely audible 5 feet away).
Before we had internal combustion, the prevailing equine transportation technology did indeed emit a fairly quiet, but noticeable, noise when in motion.
Interesting point about deaf people - I'd be curious about their coping strategies in parking lots.
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Re: Personal Responsibility v2.0
What they seem to forget is that modern vehicles are loaded with electronics anyway and adding something to make a unobtrusive sound is really a no brainer and likely would cost next to nothing. Particularly as it became more widespread in the industry.
No one who has proposed such a thing is looking for a noise maker pumping out 110db from a stack of Marshall amps loaded on the roof!
Selfishness run rampant.
ttfn
John
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Re: Convenience to the driver
"When cars are too quiet, I do not notice them, and do not give them the room they need to pass me in-lane, so they will have to wait for the other lane to be clear to pass me out-of-lane."
Whether you hear them or not, this is the correct and legal method for cars to deal with cyclists in all 50 states. As a cyclist, you have a right to the road. If it's not safe to pass a cyclist within one lane, a car is required to use the next lane to the left to pass the cyclist.
In addition to a mirror, spend some time learning about the vehicle code in your state so you understand a cyclists rights (and responsibilities!) on the road.
The life you save may be your own.
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Re:
Uh yeah, and have you seen how many motorists simply ignore traffic lights and the presence of people in crosswalks?
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Re: Re: It is actually a problem for some...
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Re: Stupid
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Re:
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Re:
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Re: What about Horns?
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Re: Re: Convenience to the driver
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Re: noisy cars
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Re: Blind people need a new system
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Re: Blind people need a new system
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Re:
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Re: Stupid
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Re: I hate the Prius
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Re: - or maybe just put it on Vibrate?
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awtoys
www.awtoys.net
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Re: Stupid
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