Drivers Want Quiet Cars
American car buyers have always been known for their preference for high performance vehicles. Aside from offering the essentials, their vehicle of choice needs to have at least a small degree of luxuriousness. Luxury aside, car buyers also opt for high performance vehicles which come with a responsive handling and very comfortable seats.
Recently though, the American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA) reported that car buyers are now changing their preferences and are also looking for another special attribute that a vehicle should possess. The association reported that drivers are becoming more and more enamored with silent cars.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the main cause of a vehicle’s noise is its age. As a vehicle ages, just like humans, it exhibits flaws which may even result to car breakdowns. The international daily newspaper cited that the worst cause of noise in vehicles is wind. This actually refers to that sound that is produced when the wind flows over the outline of the vehicle.
This is why car makers are looking to decrease the coefficient of drag of their vehicles. Lowering the coefficient of drag not only gives the car a good appearance but it also increases the top speed and lowers the amount of noise produced by the wind flowing over the vehicle.
The noise as the car ages has always been one of the problems of automobiles. Car manufacturers are already taking steps to address the problem. Some of the players in the auto industry that has taken steps to combat wind noise are General Motors, Hyundai, and Ford. These car companies are developing new materials to user on their vehicles to reduce the noise reaching the interior of the vehicle.
Aside from using new materials, these companies are also working out new manufacturing techniques to further improve noise reduction. Noise control engineers are also being employed by these companies to oversee the development of quiet cars.
Hyundai, the biggest Korean car maker, is using electronically controlled adjustable engine mounts in the new Veracruz sport utility vehicle. Aside from the adjustable motor mount which is as tough as a Volvo rotor, the Korean brand also integrated extra thick lightweight foam insulations on the said SUV. The insulation reduces the amount of noise coming from the engine bay that goes right into the vehicle’s cockpit.
These improvements on newer models of vehicle close the gap between luxury and non-luxury vehicles. As the cost of production of materials used in noise reduction go lower, more and more vehicles will become quieter. This shows that the auto industry is always tuned to what their consumers want. It is common that motorists associate the absence of noise inside a cockpit to overall quality and the new vehicles being manufactured by car makers are blurring the distinction between a luxury and non-luxury vehicle. This, of course, will serve to benefit the consumers.
About Author
Glady Reign is a 32 year old is a consultant for an automotive firm based in Detroit, Mi. She is a native of the motor city and grew up around cars hence her expertise in the automotive field.
Source: ArticleTrader.com