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Video: This is what F1 racing will sound like in 2014

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Mercedes-Benz, Racing

Mercedes-AMG Petronas V6

Formula One is making a switch from the current naturally aspirated 2.4-liter V8 found in the back of every car, to a new, 1.6-liter turbocharged V6. Suffice it to say, things are going to change. The new engines are having such an impact on the teams of F1, that at least one manufacturer, Ferrari, is reportedly thinking of branching out to Le Mans.

For spectators, though, the concern over the new turbocharged mills isn’t so much one of power. We know the things will still be ridiculously powerful. What we’re worried about is just what these new engines will sound like, which is arguably the most defining characteristic of any era of F1. Changes in cylinder counts and the addition of forced induction can result in dramatically different exhaust notes.

We’ve now gotten our first chance to hear the new engine that will be fielded by Mercedes AMG Petronoas and Williams next year. The engine used in the video below is a development powerplant at AMG’s High Performance Powertrains facility in the UK. Set to debut for the 2014 season, it sounds, um, different? Now we know why Bernie Ecclestone mentioned augmented sound. It’s certainly a big departure from the current V8s. Take a listen as it laps a virtual Monza circuit below, and let us know what you think of the new sound in Comments.

Continue reading This is what F1 racing will sound like in 2014

This is what F1 racing will sound like in 2014 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 02 Aug 2013 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Opinion: Time to raise the speed limit, how does 150 MPH sound?

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Autoline on Autoblog

Ever since automobiles first appeared over 100 years ago, every automaker has tried to make them go faster. And they succeeded. Nearly every year, cars became more powerful with higher top-end speeds. But then, in the mid-1950s, we hit a plateau. The national speed limit was set at 70 miles per hour, and we’ve been stuck at that rate ever since. As a result, the automobile has made absolutely no progress as a transportation device in over half a century.

Speed itself is not a safety hazard. It’s the difference in speeds between cars that lead to accidents.

Actually, in 1974, it got worse. The national speed limit was lowered to 55 mph, ostensibly to save fuel and lives (it did neither). Such an agonizingly slow rate of travel proved too much to take for most Americans. We demanded that the limit be raised, and we got it back to 70 mph. Now it’s time to demand another raise.

I’m not talking about some sort of modest increase to, say, 85 mph. We need to put a comprehensive plan in place to gradually move the limit up, over the next couple of decades, to 150 miles an hour. And we need to do that with no sacrifice in fuel economy or safety.

Continue reading Opinion: Time to raise the speed limit, how does 150 MPH sound?…

[Image: Getty]

Continue reading Opinion: Time to raise the speed limit, how does 150 MPH sound?

Opinion: Time to raise the speed limit, how does 150 MPH sound? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Custom car audio system shreds phone books with sound

Filed under: Aftermarket, SUV, Etc., Technology, Videos, Chevrolet

Steve Meade Designs Tahoe

Steve Meade Designs’ phone book-shredding Chevrolet Tahoe – Click above to view videos after the jump

There’s ridiculous bass, and then there’s this madness. Steve Meade Designs is a custom car audio shop that specializes in the kind of audio systems that require 10 batteries and three alternators to run. This clip features Meade’s own 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe, and its compliment of four 18-inch subwoofers, backed by a total of 13 amps and 26 smaller speakers, including 10 6.5-inch mids, and 10 one-inch tweeters.

The result of all that firepower directed at four 18-inch woofers is a phone book-shredding bass attack. We don’t mean phone book-shredding in the figurative sense, either. As the videos after the jump clearly show (hint: fast-forward first video to 3:00), Steve Meade Designs has built a stereo system so powerful it can shred your average metropolitan phone book to bits in minutes. Just think about what it’ll do to your ear drums.

[Source: YouTube]

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Video: Custom car audio system shreds phone books with sound originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 21:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Hyundai Sonata Hybrid delay due to modifications of virtual engine sound

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Government/Legal, Hyundai

2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid

2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid – Click above for high-res image gallery

In mid-October, Hyundai announced that its 2011 Sonata Hybrid would be eligible for a $1,300 tax credit. The electrified midsize sedan was scheduled to hit dealerships in late 2010 and the first 60,000 buyers in line to plop down some cash for the Sonata Hybrid would’ve pocketed that credit. However, there was a hitch: the Sonata Hybrid was delayed, dashing any chance of snagging the $1,300 credit.

What caused the delay? Well, according to Hyundai chief executive officer John Krafcik, a last-minute modification to the vehicle’s “virtual engine sound” system, made “amazingly late in the process” was the culprit. The automaker initially developed the Sonata Hybrid with a feature that would allow drivers to disable the vehicle’s pedestrian warning system, but after the Senate and House voted to approve a measure requiring hybrids and plug-in vehicles to automatically emit audible sounds at low speeds, Hyundai’s manual disable functionality had to be axed.

According to Green Car Reports, that modification required changes to the vehicle’s wiring harnesses, user-interface software and owner’s manual, which caused the lengthy delay. Hyundai delivered the first 2011 Sonata Hybrid in January.

Gallery: 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid: Second Drive

2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid

[Source: Green Car Reports]

Report: Hyundai Sonata Hybrid delay due to modifications of virtual engine sound originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 24 Feb 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: What is the sound of Audi?

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Technology, Videos

Audi R8 V10 all mic'd up

Audi Sound Studio – Click above to watch the video after the jump

Audi wants you to be able to identify its brand without looking, and a consistent sonic signature is key to that. In that spirit, the company has undertaken an extensive sound capture, catalog and research program to ensure that the soundwaves drifting into your ears from the commercial playing in the next room are instantly identifiable. It extends beyond advertising, too. Even the voices and microphones used to record voicemail prompts were exhaustively auditioned for just the right sonic character.

The Audi Sound Studio effort may seem quite obsessive, but at least they’ve produced a cool video filled with the tastiest in high-end audio gear. Sound geeks who like to brand-spot should be on the lookout for Neumann, API, Focusrite Reds and the deified U47. The rest of you can just watch as a uniformed team of recordists swarms all over Audi vehicles on a track and in an anechoic chamber to capture all the sounds an Audi could possibly make. Being an advertising effort, the most important sound all of this effort can lead to is the “ka-ching” of a vehicle purchase. Video posted after the jump.

Gallery: First Drive: 2010 Audi R8 V10

audir8v10_fd000 audir8v10_fd001 audir8v10_fd002 audir8v10_fd003 audir8v10_fd004

Continue reading Video: What is the sound of Audi?

Video: What is the sound of Audi? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 12 Oct 2010 12:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Chevy engineers get into the sound collage thing with 2011 Cruze

Filed under: Budget, Sedan, Etc., Videos, Chevrolet

Chevrolet Cruse sound engineers

2011 Chevrolet Cruze mixes it up – Click above to watch video after the jump

Development engineers rarely get to have the same kind of fun as, say the guys out flogging the crap out of prototype mules on the test track, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have a good time. A few of the lab coats behind making sure the audible quality of the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze is up to par have gotten together to work up a sound collage featuring all of the moving bits on the new compact.

If you’re looking for an up close and personal look at just how tomb-like the sedan’s doors actually are or you have a thing for watching an engineer stomp and clap his hands at the same time, you’ll want to check out the video after the jump. If you like what you hear, the Cruze starts at a meager $16,995. Thanks for the tip, Mike!

Gallery: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze: First Drive

[Source: Chevrolet via YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Chevy engineers get into the sound collage thing with 2011 Cruze

Video: Chevy engineers get into the sound collage thing with 2011 Cruze originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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