Automotive News - June 30, 2008 - (Page 18)

18 • JUNE 30, 2008 Lobbyists for blind cite dangers of too-quiet cars NHTSA told rules are needed to address growth of hybrids Harry Stoffer hstoffer@crain.com cars, said his group is looking for technology-neutral solutions. That is, the engineers’ panel has not concluded that making vehicles emit more sound is the only cure, he said. Wanted: More noise But groups representing blind people are lobbying for a minimum sound standard, requiring every vehicle to be audibly detectable to pedestrians. During the June 23 hearing, the groups emphasized that hybrids and other quiet vehicles threaten far more than the 1.1 million legally blind Americans. Also at risk are children, cyclists and as many as 20 million Americans who have some vision impairment but are not legally blind, said Mark Richert and Deborah Kent Stein. Richert, director of public policy for the American Foundation for the Blind, said rapid growth in the population of older Americans, many with vision troubles, means the problem can only get worse. Kent Stein, who represents the National Federation of the Blind, called for minimum sounds that mimic the noise made by traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines so that pedestrians can tell when vehicles are speeding up or slowing down. But a consensus may be difficult to find. NHTSA officials have said they don’t want to worsen noise pollution. Les Blomberg, executive director of the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse, contended that the real problem is too much traffic noise, which masks the presence of hybrids and other vehicles. Forcing quieter vehicles to emit more sound will only increase masking, much like the escalation of noise at a cocktail party or in a crowded restaurant, he said. WASHINGTON — The government doesn’t have “a body count” of pedestrians hit by hybrids and other quiet vehicles, but the vehicles represent a safety risk that officials “are trying to get out in front of,” a top federal regulator says. “This is a type of vehicle that is going to grow in terms of the number on the road,” and so will the risk, Ron Medford, senior associate administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, told Automotive News in an interview last week. At the close of a NHTSA public hearing on dangers posed by quiet vehicles, Medford said the agency soon will prepare a comprehensive research plan. It will be aimed at measuring the problem and identifying possible remedies, he said. “I learned a lot” from the hearing, Medford said. It focused on hybrids, which run almost silently when they are in all-electric mode, usually at low speeds. Jay Joseph, a senior regulatory manager for American Honda Motor Co. and chairman of an SAE International subcommittee studying quiet Several people told NHTSA that the Toyota Prius, above, was involved in several near-misses with pedestrians. ing room audience, told Automotive News the answer probably lies in some kind of wireless communication linking pedestrians and drivers of quiet vehicles. Wilson runs a company working on ways to rejuvenate the batteries of older hybrid cars. He openly complained that hybrid owners did not have a voice at the hearing. NHTSA Deputy Administrator Jim Ports responded that the agency is eager to hear from interested parties and is accepting written comments. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers — representing the Detroit 3, Toyota and six other automakers — favors research to find ways to provide safe mobility for blind people and others, said Robert Strassburger, vice president for safety at the alliance. “We don’t know” if adding sound to vehicles is the answer until that research occurs, he told Automotive News. Alliance testimony was presented by Chris Tinto, vice president for technical and regulatory affairs at Toyota Motor North America Inc. Sound effects for the Prius Enhanced Vehicle Acoustics Inc., of California, has developed a soundgenerating system for Toyota Priuses to alert pedestrians, cyclists and animals of oncoming “quiet cars.” The company used seed money from the National Federation of the Blind and others. The prototype system was described last week at a federal hearing on quiet-car safety. Here’s how it works. ■ A computerized control unit produces sound cues like those of an accelerating or decelerating internal combustion engine. ■ Speakers on the vehicle exterior direct sound in ways that alert pedestrians and others. ■ The system cuts off at 20-25 mph, when tire and wind noise make a vehicle detectable or when the gasoline engine is running. ■ Individuals can tailor their vehicles’ sounds for a personalized touch. Need Salespeople, Tech’s, Managers & Other Employees? The Auto Industry’s #1 Recruiting, Training & Marketing Company Salespeople~BDC~Detailer~Porter~Technician Body Tech~Service Advisor~Service Manager Parts Counter~Parts Manager~Sales Manager Finance Manager~Office Staff~GSM~GM Deborah Kent Stein, who represents the National Federation of the Blind, called for minimum sounds that mimic the noise made by traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines so that pedestrians can tell when vehicles are speeding up or slowing down. The Toyota Prius is the most common hybrid on the roads. It was often cited by witnesses for the blind organizations as the vehicle involved in several near-misses with pedestrians. c 800-421-4550 www.clickhereforadvice.com Brian C. Hall, President & CEO A wireless alternative? Bob Wilson, an engineer from Huntsville, Ala., who was in the hear- TM USING MAGNETIC CARD TECHNOLOGY Consumers like hybrids, balk at price Andrew Grossman agrossman@crain.com Portable, attractive, easy to use promotion box. Attracts attention and drives trafﬁc to your showroom, store-front or onsite special event. John Q. Sample Turnpike Motors 06/12/08 $ 150.00 PEDESTAL STAND SHOWN HANGS ON AUTOMOBILE SIDE WINDOW Use in conjunction with Gas Rebate Promotions CUSTOM PRINTED PLASTIC CARDS PLACED ON YOUR MAILER ENHANCE YOUR MAIL WITH OUR CARD SWIPE PROGRAM FOR A MARKETING SPECIALIST NEAR YOU All prizes insured through American Hole’n One Hole ‘n One® Try it It Works!!! CALL 1-877-632-5587 www.cardswipe.com Almost three-quarters of U.S. consumers are interested in hybrid technology for their next vehicle, but the added cost seems too high for many, a study has found. In J.D. Power and Associates’ 2008 U.S. Automotive Emerging Technologies Study, 72 percent of those surveyed said they were interested in the technology before they learned how much it costs, making it fifth among the technologies ranked. But when they were told about the $5,000 price premium, that number dropped to 46 percent, and the technology fell to eighth place. The annual survey, involving more than 19,000 U.S. consumers, showed that Americans continue to be most interested in such optional safety technologies as blind-spot detection, backup assistance and active-cornering headlights. But entertainment and information features are gaining ground. Mike Marshall, the study’s director, said the main reason is that young buyers are entering the market. “Up until last year, safety features dominated,” he said. “There is a general difference in terms of what the young consumers — say, 30 and down — what they’ve been exposed to, what they expect.” Marshall also pointed to a quicker inclusion of advanced features in lowpriced vehicles. “The rate at which they’re brought down-segment is much, much quicker,” he said. Said Marshall: “The mere fact that they’ll be in the marketplace is going to raise the awareness level of clean diesel, and I think that will begin to crack some of these wrong perceptions of what diesel is today.” $500 is key price point The study found a few key price points at which consumer interest changes. When the average price of a feature is revealed to be below $500, it usually rises on the list relative to other technologies. Wireless connectivity, for example, jumps from 16th place to third after its $200 average price is revealed. Features priced from $500 to $1,000 tended to hold their place on the list when their prices were revealed, while those priced above $1,000 tended to sink. Other technologies, such as backup assist, have risen. One of the perennial top-ranked features, run-flat tires, wasn’t included in the survey this year. This was the first time in the past four years that hybrid powertrains and clean diesel were included in the full survey.c Driving demand That hints at another trend: Interest in many technologies is driven in part by availability. Clean diesels, for example, received little interest. Marshall thinks that’s largely because the technology isn’t widely available in the United States, and Americans know little about its benefits. “There’s a good chunk of the carbuying population that has these latent misconceptions about what diesel is,” he said. “There are these thoughts of diesel being dirty, diesel being noisy.” Marshall said he expects that perception to change this year as Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz start selling clean diesel systems in the United States. http://www.clickhereforadvice.com http://www.clickhereforadvice.com http://www.cardswipe.com http://www.cardswipe.com

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Automotive News - June 30, 2008

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