ICYMI: Dodge Charger Concept, an EV with exhaust and shifting

californiamilleghia said:

Can someone post a picture of a bicycle wheel with playing cards in the spokes !

is this what they are trying to reproduce ?

That's exactly what it is, and I'd wager that every single one of us did that as kids :)

Yes Sir, I would like the Enthusiast Pak option for $1. What does it come with?

Well Mr. Its a fantastic option for your EV Charger. You get one 2021 model year Hellcat crate engine that bolts right up to your Dual Clutch 8 speed. You just remove the electric motor and install the Hellcat. We've made it very easy to swap and can be performed in less than 2 hours!

.......Dodge things.....

In reply to Duke :

I was thinking something like that Mach E drift car.

To use the food analogy, steak is awesome but done right a vegetarian meal can also be awesome and it is better for you.

I'm more leery of a Dodge electric vehicle, just because all the dodge Chrysler whatever products I've had have had horrid electrical gremlins even from new. 

But if you're going to pump in a fake exhaust noise, let me pick it based on mood. Tie fighter, jetsons, someone screaming "get out of the berkeleying way". 

Have they actually said that the transmission will just be simulated shifts and not a real transmission? The Jeep Magneto 2.0 concept from the Jeep Safari this year had a 800V EV system (just like this concept) run through a 6 speed manual. That concept had 625hp and 850 lb-ft of torque so it probably would have been fine without a transmission.

In reply to 93EXCivic :

I don't have a problem with a vegetarian meal.

But 'vegetarian steak' is awful.

I also don't have a problem with shifting, if it is real EV shifting for an engineering reason.

JG Pasterjak said:

I don't know what the issue with "fake sound" is. There are no fake sounds. There are only sounds. This car makes cool ones, and likely has the ability to make other cool ones. It also goes fast, and looks pretty cool overall. I'm failing to see the downsides.

"Fake sound" meaning a sound not produced by the engine, but by other, artificial means. 

This concept's fake sound initially made me roll my eyes but the more I read about how it's done, the more I'm intrigued. Apparently it's not just a speaker pointed out the back of the car. They take the electric motor whine and pipe it through... something... maybe a resonance chamber, maybe a electronic signal processor, maybe some of both? To create that sound. Not unlike using a muffler or resonators to change a car's exhaust note. Or not unlike a guitarist using effects pedals. 

It's kind of interesting and I'd like to learn more about it... hint, hint...

The transmission has a real purpose, too. Electric motors produce instant torque at 0 rpm, but eventually that torque starts to drop off. The transmission could be helping to keep the motor in its optimal range. Again, would love to read more about it...

In reply to Duke :

To each their own. For me, as long as it makes it more fun I don't care if it is "fake." However if it does just end up feeling super gimmicky then yeah, it will suck.

In reply to RadBarchetta :

I don't know what the Mach-E drift car sounds like.

If it is actual mechanical sound from the vehicle itself that is physically / acoustically manipulated via passive means, I have much less objection.

But the moment electronics or active amplification enters the equation, forget it.

93EXCivic said:

In reply to Duke :

I was thinking something like that Mach E drift car.

To use the food analogy, steak is awesome but done right a vegetarian meal can also be awesome and it is better for you.

This thing will make noises akin to the drift car and for the same reasons, without an amplification system. 

Lots of wrong guesses in this thread. 
 

What Dodge has actually said is that it will have an exhaust system with a performance sound similar to the SRT Hellcat.

To me, that sounds like a couple hundred pounds of useless tubing hung under the car so it can have "tail pipes", and FAKE sounds. 
 

As a person trained in theatrical design, I find some amusement in it. Even the fake sounds. Hell, I was piping fake sounds into theatres 45 years ago. 
 

As a car guy, no thanks. 
 

Tesla offers electronic whoopie cushions that make a fart noise when you sit in the passenger seat.  Goofy. 
 

User experience matters. 
 

If any of us could actually SEE what is going on every time we step into an elevator, we would UTTERLY FREAK OUT!! 
 

So, I can see WHY they are using fake sounds (because their customers want noise).   Still don't like it. And I doubt that "horsey noises" would have made the automotive user experience better in 1915.
 

I also think the "perfecting the ICE experience" has a risk. Faster?  Yep. Better?  It depends...

A boring car is a boring car, and user experience MATTERS. 

You can hear plenty of the "exhaust" note from 7:35-10:00 in this video:

Sir, can I interest you in the widely popular Lucas option ?

it gives you all the nostalgic pleasures of the Lucas Electrics of old , 

Power windows that stick open in the rain ,  misfires with sudden deceleration , blinkers that will not turn off , those lovely smells of plastic wiring melting , 

there are over 25 extras in the Package L-1, and another 25 in Package L-3.......

ohh and there is a $9.95 a month fee for the Lucas butt warmer option , 

Drive with confidence , Drive Lucas

SV reX said:
 And I doubt that "horsey noises" would have made the automotive user experience better in 1915.

Oooh! That's a good one!

'Course, for all the good and the bad of the "good ol' days", folks in 1915 did not expect someone else to provide them with distracting entertainment 100% of their life!!!

 

SV reX said:
 And I doubt that "horsey noises" would have made the automotive user experience better in 1915.

heh...

BlueInGreen - Jon said:

 

SV reX said:
 And I doubt that "horsey noises" would have made the automotive user experience better in 1915.

heh...

"Man, this new carriage smell is terrible. It's nothing like that old horse-drawn carriage aroma." ;-)

Maybe it’s just a pedestrian safety warning for those who forgot their hearing aids or have their ear buds cranked up too high........

In reply to madmrak351 :

Don't need it. We have the Darwin Awards for them...

I really love that floating upper grill structure. Looks like the air can pass straight through and over the hood while maintaining a bold musclecar style, hopefully proving you don't need dorkly Tesla styling to build an efficient EV.

What I want to know is if the EV makes it more of a heavy pig, or less?

Put me firmly in the "exhaust noise is stupid" camp for this.  Willing to check out the shifting, though.

I like the idea of a better soundtrack  for an EV. The mild whine really doesn't  invoke excitement. I'm surprised  that the aftermarket  hasnt already been offerring different  sounds for the cars already on the market. Adding a transmission make sense to me. Electric  motors have torque at low rpm.  Maybe 6 speeds aren't needed but 2 or 3 to play with would certainly  add to the interaction.  

As mentioned several times already, interaction is key. Cars are an extention of ourselves and evoke an emotional response. Most electrics are dull, lifeless appliances that don't invite you to drive them because they are enjoyable, you drive them only when you have too.

This Dodge may be a step forward for EV's , the styling is the best I've seen in an electric car. What the production car looks like in the end remains to be seen along with the driving experience  and price. 

Sadly I'm betting on a car few can afford and typical over complex systems that reduce reliability. 

So it sounds like a pretty mean vacuum cleaner...

Less gimmicks, more gear noise. Behold all-natural EV sounds in this video:

 

I was hoping electric would also mean relatively quite.  Apparently Dodge is too busy being the infantile car brand to notice there are lot of people, even car people, that hate the loud, juvenile products they are making.