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Runtime: 12:00
0:00 Cadillac Considers a Hypercar
1:31 What’s the Next Big Body Style?
2:46 People Prefer EVs That Sound Like IC Engines
3:36 Nissan Gives Bolt Owners $1,000 To Switch
4:11 Porsche Offers EV Owners $4,500 To Switch
5:08 EU Countries Want Chinese Assembly Plants
5:58 Volvo Shifts Some EVs From China to EU
6:31 Volvo Recalls EX30 On Software Glitches
7:09 We Drive 4 Chinese EVs
7:57 Report Card Data Available For $45
8:50 Elon Musk Channels His Inner Henry Ford
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
CADILLAC CONSIDERS A HYPERCAR
Will Cadillac make a hypercar? It would make all the sense in the world. A well-placed source tells us that GM President Mark Ruess promised CEO Mary Barra that he would restore Cadillac to the pinnacle of luxury. Those efforts have included a return to Le Mans, a $350,000+ hand-built sedan and an announcement to get into Formula 1. With all that racing going on, GM’s head of design Michael Simcoe was asked if Cadillac could build a hypercar? He said “Could we build a hypercar? Yes. Would we like to build one? Yes. Are we building one? That would be giving too much away.” Well, Michael, we think you did just give it away. Simcoe also said the car wouldn’t have to be electric. We actually think it would make more sense to use something similar to the F1 powertrain GM is developing, rather than the hybrid V8s Cadillac uses in the WEC and IMSA racing series. We also think it would make sense to manufacture the hypercar at the same site where the Celestiq is made at the GM Tech Center in Warren, Michigan. But no word yet if anything has even left the design studio’s sketch pads.
WHAT’S THE NEXT BIG BODY STYLE?
SUVs and CUVs dominate the body styles in most markets, but especially in the U.S. But designers hate designing them because the silhouettes all look the same, no matter what the brand is. Pull the badges off most utilities, and most people couldn’t tell them apart. So automotive designers are trying to find out what the Next Big Thing is. The Wall Street Journal reports that some think it will be a box on wheels, what they call The Toaster. Think of robotaxies, like GM’s Origin, or the one from Zoox, or even Canoo. Automakers are also playing around with design studies of station wagons, 2-door pickups, convertibles, and sports cars. But that doesn’t mean any of them will replace the SUV. The reason so many people buy SUVs is because they’re so practical. They’ve got the cargo room, higher seating position, and sense of security, which seems to meet the needs of most people. But how about you? If you were designing cars for the auto industry, what kind of body style do you think could be the Next Big Thing?
PEOPLE PREFER EVs THAT SOUND LIKE IC ENGINES
Electric cars need to emit a sound at low speeds so that pedestrians can hear them coming. Most automakers have opted to beam out some kind of sci-fi sound. But that’s not what people want. They want EVs to sound more like a gas-powered car, not a flying saucer. That’s according to a new study from the sound-branding agency Listen, and the market research firm CloudArmy. EVs must emit warning sounds up to 18.5 MPH to alert pedestrians or other road users. But the study found that people preferred sounds that remind them of the sounds that gas-powered cars make. Besides, if every automaker uses a different sound, pedestrians could be confused, so a sound they’re already familiar with makes a lot of sense.
NISSAN GIVES BOLT OWNERS $1,000 TO SWITCH
Some automakers are offering EV owners’ money to switch brands. Nissan is offering Chevy Bolt owners and lessees a $1,000 rebate towards the purchase or lease of a Leaf when financing with Nissan. The offer is available until July 8th in the U.S. and owners aren’t required to trade in their Bolt. Now that GM has discontinued the Bolt, the Leaf is the most affordable EV in the market with an MSRP of $28,000 with the 40-kWh battery pack.
PORSCHE OFFERS EV OWNERS $4,500 TO SWITCH
But it’s not just Nissan. Porsche is offering anyone leasing an EV up to $4,500 in credits for the purchase or lease of a new Taycan. The amount of credits you receive depends how much time you have on your current lease. Porsche will give you $1,500 for a shorter remaining lease and up to $4,500 for a lease that is longer. And it’s easy to see why Porsche is offering this incentive. It sold 1,247 Taycans in the first quarter in the U.S., which is down about 20% compared to a year ago.
EU COUNTRIES WANT CHINESE ASSEMBLY PLANTS
The European Union is ready to slap import tariffs on Chinese-made cars because it’s afraid that a tidal wave of imports will cause factories in Europe to close. But if Chinese automakers want to make cars in Europe instead of importing them, that’s a different matter. A number of countries are offering incentives to Chinese automakers to build new assembly plants within their borders. The automakers are most likely to locate in low-cost countries such as Hungary, Poland, Turkey and Spain. Labor rates in Northern Europe are probably too high to attract new assembly plants, even with incentives. And if plants in Germany, France, Belgium, Sweden and the UK start closing down years from now, the political backlash will be horrific.
VOLVO SHIFTS SOME EVs FROM CHINA TO EU
Volvo is already making sure it won’t get slapped with those tariffs. The Times reports that the automaker has started to shift production of its EVs, the EX30 and EX90, from China to Belgium. The EX90 is being made in the U.S. as well and it may also move production of some cars being shipped to the UK. This is seen as a way for it to avoid the tariffs but Volvo denied the report and says it’s shifting production because it wants to build vehicles in markets where they’re sold.
VOLVO RECALLS EX30 ON SOFTWARE GLITCHES
At the same time, Volvo is dealing with another software glitch in the EX30. And the automaker is recalling almost all of the 72,000 units that have been made. The model may have an error in the center screen that causes the speedometer to go into test mode. But luckily, the issue can be fixed with an over the air update. Volvo also had to delay deliveries of the model earlier this year in Europe because of another software issue. And software issues have also delayed production of the EX90, which, as we just mentioned, kicked off in the U.S. last week.
WE DRIVE 4 CHINESE EVs
It’s still common to see people comment that the quality of Chinese vehicles just don’t match up to what’s coming out of Europe, Japan, South Korea and the U.S. But once you actually get behind the wheel of one, your mind might be changed. If you didn’t already check it out over the weekend, we’ve posted a video of John and Terry Woychowski, the president of vehicle benchmarking specialist Caresoft, driving around several Chinese EV competitors that are already on sale in their home market and in some cases other parts of the world. I think an important thing to think of when watching the video is, remember how quickly these Chinese automakers have gotten to this point. And if this is what they already have on sale, imagine what’s coming next.
REPORT CARD DATA AVAILABLE FOR $45
Despite all the negative reports about Tesla that you see in the media, it still grew its top line more than any other car company last year. In fact, Tesla came within $22 billion of raking in the same amount of revenue that the entire Hyundai Group did. That’s one of the insights we got from the Industry Report Card, which we think is full of fascinating information. You can watch the video presentation of the highlights from the Report Card on our website or YouTube channel. But if you’d like access to all the raw data, plus information not included in the video, we’re selling it for only $45. Just visit the Autoline.tv website, click on the spot titled Merchandise. Or, just click on the link in today’s transcript or description box.
ELON MUSK CHANNELS HIS INNER HENRY FORD
When the engineers at Ford quietly updated the Model T in 1912 and then showed it to Henry Ford, he was so angry that he literally smashed it to pieces. Does Elon Musk feel that strongly about changing the looks of the Tesla Model Y? It’s been about 4 years since it went into production without a change to styling and it’s going to stay that way for a while longer. Elon Musk posted on social media that no Model Y refresh is coming out this year, but said that it would keep getting little improvements. The Model 3 came out about 3 years before the Y, but only got its first styling refresh last year. So by that measure, the new-look Y would come out in 2026. In the meantime, sales of the Model Y are slipping.
But that’s the end of today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.
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Kit Gerhart says
What I’d like to see, but don’t expect to see as the “next big thing” would be station wagons. They’d drive and get gas mileage like a sedan, while having the utility of SUVs, except for big, bulky items that are 40 inches tall. Something like a Camry or Accord hybrid wagon would be the ultimate efficient, utilitarian vehicle.
A not-too-loud IC engine sound sounds good to me, for letting pedestrians know an EV is about to run over them if they don’t move. I’d like it better for that purpose than various electronic sounds.
MERKUR DRIVER says
I do like the Idea that Cadillac will produce a hyper car. However, they need to be consistent for it all to work. For instance, the Celestiq is a good car that rivals Rolls Royce, but Rolls has been in this game for a long time now and will be in it after Cadillac cancels the Celestiq. I doubt Cadillac has the resolve to make their high end luxury and a high end hyper car long term. If Cadillac is going to get into it, they need to have a 50/60 year plan. Not a 2/5 year halo car plan.
Also, The technology debuted on these cars needs to appear in their mainstream. You have now a Celestiq with exquisite details and luxury. Can we get at least one thing from that on an XT4? How about exceptional interior design from the Celestiq mated to an XT4 instead of the leather clad Equinox we get today. They need to bring the design/style/quality to their other offerings that makes the link between the Halo cars and the main stream models that they want to sell. Only then is the Halo cars worth the cost of building/selling.
If they do all of that, Cadillac will rival any German automanufacturer around the world.
Lambo2015 says
When it comes to body design the Toaster design like Canoo might sell for a while only because its different. However, Isn’t the saying, something old is new again? Because that toaster design is reminiscent of the 1960’s Ford and GM vans and the VW bus. Not really new.
I believe the sedan has been beat to death with everything from wings to wagons, rocket inspired shapes like a 50’s Studebaker nose and Dagmar bumpers. Then the elimination of bumpers to molded designs. Sharp edge designs to rounded more aerodynamic designs of the 80s like the Taurus then back to sharp lines and everything in-between. The CUV and crossover segment is still a similar design that doesn’t leave much room for change other than pushing the windshield further forward toward the toaster design.
I really don’t think any new body design will be the next new thing. I believe it will be utilization of space and features that will set the vehicles apart. Electrification allows for designs to be shaped around smaller motors and flat floors with no need for drive shafts or exhaust routing. Rivian’s storage space underneath the rear seats is a great example of this. The frunk offered in EV trucks and making use of the space is what will become new. Practicality still always wins so although we might get some radical futuristic designs for niche market sports cars or limited production runs the mass majority of people need practicality and that’s why the SUV has done so well. Offering up features that no one else has will be key. I don’t think the shape is going to change dramatically as we envision is sci-fi movies. What the vehicle is capable of, and the features and use of space will be the next big thing IMO.
ChuckGrenci says
I think a great sound that wouldn’t be foreign to pedestrians and almost universal to the public would be the sound of tires on the road. As with all different types of cars currently making audible noises some are engines, but some are so quiet that the ubiquitous sound of tires meeting the street makes good sense (to me anyway).
Kit Gerhart says
I’m with MERKUR in the Cadillac hypercar. If they want to do that, do it long term, not just a brief run like Ford has done a couple times with their GT. Also, if they can’t make it genuinely competitive with the European hypercars, they shouldn’t do it. I’ve been impressed, though, with how well GM did with the C8 Corvette, while keeping the price for the base version only a little above the C7.
I like the appearance of most of the Cadillac products, but they need to up the game on the interiors. Also, most of the powertrains are underwhelming. Why is a base 2.0 turbo CT4 both slower and thirstier than a similar size and weight 3 series? Maybe GM needs to hire some powertrain people away from BMW.
Kit Gerhart says
Chuck, yep, when I am actually in the position to need to hear vehicles at low speed, like in parking lots, I probably hear more tire sound than anything else, or tire sound plus a small amount of engine sound.
ChuckGrenci says
If you saw the weekend Autoline review of current Chinese cars, while somewhat more affordable, I gleaned that they weren’t up to snuff in the drivability categories. Don’t get me wrong, they were capable and performed unitarily, but I would say still lacked finesse from what I think is out there from the others. Sure, they’ll catch up (as soon as they deconstruct what others produce and copy and perhaps embellish).
Lambo2015 says
Most vehicles including ICE’s are so quite below 18 mph that tire noise is typically what you hear or maybe a cooling fan. I agree there does need to be a standard otherwise it could be a number of things making it really confusing. Weird how one of the selling points of EVs was the quietness they bring to the congested cities and now they will all have a manufactured noise negating any benefit. Does this mean you could get a ticket if the sound isn’t working or gets disabled? I doubt the laws are up to speed with this yet, but I could see people unhooking an annoying sound.
Merkur makes a great point and yes Caddy needs to be looking long term if they hope to make any impact at all. Cause any manufacturer can make 500 limited production hyper cars that end up in museums and stashed away by collectors. If Cadillac wants to get back to the icon it was like back in the 50’s when superstars like Elvis likened becoming famous by when he can buy his mama a Cadillac and that was the sign of success at the time then Cadillac needs to take on the European hyper cars head on. Do it improve on it and continue to build it for years to come. Please Please! don’t repeat the XLR and just take the Corvette and throw a Cadilliac body over it.
Kevin A says
People didn’t like the XLR, but that was mainly because it didn’t offer anything for the extra money. A Cadillac-Corvette would be OK if it had the F1 like engine and wilder styling. More of a ‘show car you can buy’ vibe. For the next big thing, I’d like to see a CUV with Honda N-Box styling. If it was built on Civic mechanicals, it could have as much interior room as an SUV 2 sizes bigger. (Do the math) , My Honda Accord Hybrid makes an ‘angel’ sound, which is not too bad. I don’t see why the companies don’t do the obvious thing and make the sound selectable or even programmable. F1 and muscle car are obvious possibilities, but I would prefer more humorous choices to be included, like Vespa, VW, jet engine, lawnmower, diesel and 2 stroke motorcycle. Finally, I was wondering how difficult the regulations make it to have a ‘special edition’ with a defunct nameplate. The best example would be a Firebird edition of the Camaro. It would seem easy to change the grill and taillights and just leave the Chevrolet and Camaro badges off. But is it easy? I’d like to see Stellantis do this kind of special edition with all of the defunct English brands they own from the Rootes group. I’d also like to see whoever owns the English ‘Riley’ brand to do a ‘life of Riley’ special edition.
wmb says
Wow, there are a lot of things to comment on in today’s report!
As some have said, for Cadillac to do a hyper car, with hyper car power and performance and for hyper car money, there is so much they would also need to do for the rest of their line up, for such a vehicle to ever be taken seriously, IMHO. It has been said before: “Anybody can build an expensive vehicle!” It cost OEMs the same amount of money to build and design a vehicle like the Rolls Royce Phantom, as it does the smallest Toyota Yaris. To get the return on investment, Toyota has to sell hundreds of thousands of Yaris, while Rolls only needs to sell a few thousand Phantoms. Similarly, how may auto companies, from startups to legacy OEMs, have made vehicles with hyper car horse power and characteristics recently or in particular automakers history, that, if they could guarantee sells, would not build them today?! Don’t the vehicle by Faraday Future have hyper car type power and perceived dynamics? What is the point of building a hyper car, when no one is impressed with the rest of their vehicle line? What makes the Sapphire and Plaid so impressive, to me at least, is the fact that Lucid and Tesla are working from the building blocks of already amazing products! If Cadillac/GM we’re to build a hyper car and do nothing to improve upon the rest of the vehicles that make up the bulk of the vehicle sells (XT4, XT5 and XT6), it would seem like a wasted opportunity! What I think might be a little more realistic, is seeing Cadillac taking the Lyriq, Optiq and the Escalade IQ and giving them the horsepower and range to compete with the Plaid, Sapphire and Turbo versions of the Model X, Air and Macan EV, along with some of the appointments and features of the Celestiq!
Kit Gerhart says
The XLR was far outperformed by the C6 Corvette it was mostly based on, but the XLR was a retractable hardtop, not available with the Corvette.
If Cadillac builds a hypercar to truly compete with the “big boys,” it would need to have a carbon fibre chassis, aluminum body panels, and an exotic engine. Maybe a turbo or supercharged version of the Z06 engine would qualify. Still, would people buy it over a McLaren or Lamborghini at the same price? I don’t see it. Would it make sense to build a more “exotic” Corvette to sell as a Cadillac, using plastic body parts? Done right, it might work, but they need to really forget the XLR.
I just watched the show with the Chinese cars, and wow! The interiors put Tesla and most others to shame, badly. I liked the Zeekr with the green interior. They need to take the cars to a test track where they can drive them fast, and find out how they are with NVH at higher speed, and also better test their dynamics. It looks like they had a good place to test low speed suspension behavior in that really bumpy truck yard.
Ziggy says
So a $350k Cadillac built by GM isn’t laughable enough, they want to build an even more expensive GM vehicle? Good luck with both.
Of course I am the world’s biggest proponent of 2 door vehicles so I would like to see everything that is built in 4 door now also built as a 2 door, primarily for aesthetics but also for less weight, less cost, less maintenance, less complexity, better safety and better fuel economy, if you really carry passengers in the rear seat on more than just a few occasions then get the 4 door, but most vehicles that I see only have the first row used, and if an occasional crowd really has to ride along with you then they shouldn’t object to climbing in the back past the pushed forward front passenger seat, it is the least they can do for bumming a ride off you 🙂
Kit Gerhart says
kevin A, BMW now owns the Riley brand. and SAIC owns sister brand Wolseley, from what I could find. BMW could make a “Life of Riley” Mini.
Albemarle says
I agree with Kit that the next body shape will be a station wagon, (estate, shooting brake). I consider our Outback one of these.
I think standardizing on a low speed noise for EV (and also for very quiet ICE) vehicles is good. After all, it’s all about pedestrian safety, not personal expression. You can always turn up the stereo and roll down the windows to satisfy the world’s need for hearing your personal sound.
Our Bolt sounds like a missing wheel bearing at low speed, more grind than crunch. Not to be recommended.
When walking listening to podcasts, the only vehicles that intrude are boomer’s motorcycles, trucks, and small Honda’s with 4” diameter exhausts.
Roger T says
Lambo, i think the next design theme to recycle is the wedge design of the original Ford Probe or the Lumina minivan. Maybe thats what i think because i Just watched Nack to the Future II yesterday, was admiring their vision of the future 🙂
Cadillac will likely make expensive vehicles with high margin going forward, provided interest remains.
wmb says
Then next big thing, to me, would be the four coupe. I know that a number of people hate them, but even more hate the two box shape of the SUV/CUV and fewer and fewer are buy sedans. With the hatch back four door coupe, especially in SUV form, you get a lot of the utility of the wagon. I don’t necessarily agree with the designer/stylist argument that vehicles are becoming a sea of sameness, in an attempt to get more efficiency from vehicle shapes. I like to point attention to the human body and, particularly the head and face. Most have two ears, eyes, nostrils, but one nose and mouth. Add to that, some have facial hair, hair on top of their heads, while others do not or it may be short, long or low to the scalp. While some may look similar, especially among families, it is the rare recurrence that there are two that look exactly the same, despite the fact that we all have a lot in common! No one has eyes on the back of their heads, an upside down nose or a chin on there forehead. No matter how much they may try to imitate their looks, there is only one Cindy Crawford, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Taylor, Swift! While each human head and face may have a lot in common, most of use do not look the same, so, IMHO, it seems to be a copout to say that vehicles look alike for the sake of efficiency. I would even go as far as to say, that buyers would gladly be willing sacrifice a few/couple miles of range, if it meant that their vehicle didn’t look like one of a million cookie cutter vehicles. It’s up to those designers and stylists to come up with something that stands out, but doesn’t look weird too!
Albemarle says
I think the multi-year styling sameness of Tesla is the biggest reason they are having sales problems and having to discount. Proves the auto industry is emotional wrapped in a practical coating.
wmb says
Having EVs make sound for pedestrians is cool and along with the required sound, maybe this is where a subscription service might add some additional appeal? People pay to have personal emojis or to buy ring tones and such, why not a vehicle sound? Maybe the required “noise” maybe an ICE, but why not your choice of which sound as an upgrade? Screaming V12? V8? Turbo charged 4 cylinder? What about the sound of a H’Cat? Fighter jet? Or the Storm Trooper theme music from Star Wars? I’m not talking booming load, but whatever dB that government thinks is best. Just a thought
wmb says
Kit — To your point, I think that the reason the Porsche Taycan sells are down, are due to the arrival of their updated version too! Once the new one goes on sell, their sales may very well rebound too!
Kit Gerhart says
“I don’t necessarily agree with the designer/stylist argument that vehicles are becoming a sea of sameness, in an attempt to get more efficiency from vehicle shapes.”
Yep, the “sea of sameness,” SUVs taking over America, and to a lesser extent, the world, is an attempt to get LESS efficiency, not more. Making a vehicle 10 inches taller does not make it more efficient.
There are reasons I wouldn’t buy a Tesla, but styling is not one of them. Yeah, it would be with some people, though the VW Beetle sold well, globally, for more than 20 years, and a lot longer than that is some markets. Tesla’s having a lot more good competition is part of what’s hurting their sales, especially in China.
Wim van Acker says
@Kevin on “A Cadillac-Corvette would be OK if it had the F1 like engine and wilder styling.” F1 cars have 800 HP 1.6 liter engines with an additional 200 HP electromotor. What power unit would you equip the Cadillac-Corvette with?
Kit Gerhart says
wmb, I like 4 door hatchback “coupes” like BMW 4 series gran coupe and Audi A5 sportback, but calling them “coupes” seems silly. I just wish Toyota or Honda would make a Camry or Accord hybrid that way.
Tony Gray says
I still want EV’s to sound like George Jetson’s flying ride.
Kevin A says
@Wim A Cadillac-Corvette should have an engine that is anything different than a Corvette. If not, why pay extra? Also, I meant ‘F1-like’ in terms of sound. A real F1 engine would be stupidly unreliable.
Kit Gerhart says
An “F1-like” engine in a road car should probably be bigger, maybe 2.2 litre if a V6, and rev to only ~10-11 thousand rpm, instead of up to 15K like F1 engines.
Bob Wilson says
“PEOPLE PREFER EVs THAT SOUND LIKE IC ENGINES” ROTFLMAO!
“The pounding of the cylinders increased:ta-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa” from “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber. But then another excellent car sound came to mind:
https://youtu.be/3VXEDUVkbt8?si=8mVFvQsgJRu2PClW
Kit Gerhart says
Bob W., that’s pretty good.
I just hope these EV pedestrian warning sounds remain low volume, similar to an ICE car idling at parking lot speed. There needs to be an upper and lower limit for loudness, but allow any type of sound. I don’t want to hear it when in my own car, and want it loud enough to let me know a vehicle is there, but not much more, when I’m walking.
jp41 says
I’m thinking a sound like this is more in tune with an electric vehicle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwiompXH6kI
Sean Wagner says
Great conversation and comments here.
I think Cadillac got the basics of the XLR right, in that it had the marque’s bespoke Northstar V8, and a design that reflected the design language. Remember a pair of approving French journalists at Frankfurt saying ‘the Americans are getting serious’.
Its three best years for sales were 2004-2007, with between 3.2-3.7K. Which seems OK for halo car.
People can’t tell cars from the 1930s/40s apart either. As fro green interiors, it looks different and appealing, but how many sales will it actually garner? That would be interesting to know in a year’s time. Shades of the Bertone Ramarro:
https://www.hagerty.com/media/car-profiles/bertone-ramarro-italys-unmistakable-unforgettable-custom-corvette/
Kit Gerhart says
A lot of ’30s and ’40s cars looked similar, but there were exceptions.
https://www.google.com/search?q=cord+car+photos&oq=cord+car+ph&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgBEAAYgAQyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQABiABDIICAIQABgWGB4yCAgDEAAYFhgeMggIBBAAGBYYHjIICAUQABgWGB4yCAgGEAAYFhgeMggIBxAAGBYYHjIICAgQABgWGB4yCAgJEAAYFhge0gEIOTI3NmowajeoAgiwAgE&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#vhid=RMIHO01iUwlckM&vssid=l
I doubt if that green interior would go over very well in the U.S. I guess time will tell about China, and places they might export it to. My first car, a white 1957 Chrysler had a green interior, fairly common in the ’50s. I’ll see if I can find anything about what other colors might be used on today’s Chinese cars.
That Italian Corvette is interesting. They put a lot of work into building it.
Kit Gerhart says
From what I find, white is the most popular car “color” in China, as everywhere else. Green is not popular, only ~2%, from what I could find. It’s hard to find if they have, like, white cars with green interiors.
Lambo2015 says
I really don’t think EV generated sounds should be selectable. Sure, people would like the ability to customize the sound to something that is unique to them, and the automakers would love to have a revenue stream selling customizable sounds. However, if it’s really about pedestrian safety then it needs be a sound that is very recognizable and not to be confused with music from someone’s distant radio or leaves rustling in the wind, birds chirping It needs to be recognizable as a 4000lb moving object that can kill you.
I would not want to the driver that downloaded a cute sound that was a form of personal expression then have a pedestrian confuse it with anything other than a moving vehicle. If I struck someone and they claim that they didn’t understand the sound was a car, am I liable? Thats why it should be a standard sound. Not that I don’t like the idea of personalizing my vehicle but when it comes to safety, they rules should be clear and unmistakable. IMO.
To me it’s like emergency vehicle sounds. They all sound the basically the same, so everyone knows exactly what’s going on. If each fire dept could choose the sound they wanted, you can imagine the confusion it would create with drivers. Yeah, they alternate from a few different tones like Wail, the Yelp, the Phaser, the Airhorn and the Howler. But all very recognizable.