Filed under: Hybrid, Japan, Safety, Toyota
Toyota Approaching Vehicle Audible System - Click above to watch the video after the break
After years and years of doing everything in their power to make cars as quiet as possible, it seems somewhat backwards that we're now talking about adding external speakers to hybrids in order to make them... louder. But that's the current reality, and
Toyota, the undisputed worldwide leader in hybrid vehicles, is leading the way in Japan with its
Prius hatchback.
For about $150, Toyota will equip the Japanese Prius with a Approaching Vehicle Audible System. According to the automaker, the technology is "designed to meet new Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism guidelines for hybrid and other near-silent vehicles." Expect the system to extend to other hybrids from Toyota and probably to countries outside Japan in time.
Anyone interested in making their third-gen Prius sound like a prop from
Close Encounters of the Third Kind are encouraged to watch the Japanese-market video
after the break. We're not going to cast a vote quite yet as to whether or not these systems are a good or bad idea, but we will say this: If we heard that noise coming at us from behind, you can bet we'd be rushing to get out of the way...
[Source: Toyota via
Prius Chat]
Continue reading This Means Something: Japanese Prius to get external speaker option [w/video]
This Means Something: Japanese Prius to get external speaker option [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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