I Got My First "Freak Out!"

Godiva,

You ought to point out to your mom the stats where people have backed over kids with thier Sport Rediculous Vehicles, then show that you can actually see if there is someone behind you while backing up (or for that matter anything else within a quarter mile radius that is usually a blind spot for SRV's).

Terry

 

I wonder what it would take to retrofit the siren and horn from a fire truck...

Could you imagine hearing something like that coming from a Prius?

 

Yep I believe it. Trust me on this: it's a Guy Thing. Then when it gets *real* cold we crank the electric blanket up past Hi to Meltdown.

 

Jayman, he was so upset when we found out we can't use an electric blanket with our tempur-pedic mattress! But now that we're in NC for 4 years we don't really need it anyway.

 

Oh sure you can ... if you don't mind melting into the Tempur Pedic mattress.

That's why I don't have one. They really do feel nice, but no electric blanket ... pass.

 

An electric blanket is a great thing to have in this part of North Carolina - on those two days every other year or so when having 4wd on an SUV might actually make sense!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius\";p=\"92743)</div>

Believe it.

Now imagine if that person had been yabbering on the cellphone while driving ...

 

Re: sound to play in parking lots:

The sound I would use is listed in a very similar PriusChat thread -- including a sample of the sound on the thread.

 

I love the idea of having an external speaker to play an "engine tone" on demand. Could also use it for a backup warning. My choice of sound would be the theme music for KITT from Knight Rider. Speed Buggy would be a close second.

I wonder what it would take to build one... hmmmm. Might be my first mod. :mrgreen:

 

this thread is funny.

" Personally, I think they're just a depressed species prone to suicide. I haven't had the experience of running into one yet."

Like squirrles, they're terrible last minute decision makers under diress.

I drop my 15 yr old off in a squarish small parking lot - I have to in backup since there's no room (even in this car) for a 360 - I inch back millimeter by millimeter and STILL they walk in front, in back. Teenagers are the worst at feeling invulnerable.

 

The most fun is when you're in a parking garage. I can just about count on somebody trying to use the entire two lanes in between the parking spaces as a walkway.

Sneak up close, and then give the horn a bit of a tap. The horn is MUCH louder inside a building. :mrgreen:

 

I see a whole new market opening up.

Just like ringtones for cellphones....cartones for hybrid/electric cars.

Hmm...a speaker under the hood and some kind of chip? I have no idea how cellphones work. Then you could choose from a menu of engine sounds to use when moving forward or backward in stealth mode.

I'm partial to SciFi myself. I can see using the Star Trek phaser and beaming sounds. And perhaps some Star Wars laser or fighter sounds as well.

I used to have a lot of Soundmaster audioclips on my realllllly old Mac. When I emptied the trash it was the beaming sounds from Star Trek. "Welcome Earthlings" from Hitchhiker's Guide on start up. Marvin from Hitchhiker's Guide saying "It won't work" when...well, you know. I always missed that when I moved up to system 7. It sure would be fun to have a choice of little audioclips to sound off in my Prius depending on the circumstance. There's something a little satisfying about hitting a pedestrian with my phaser rather than just honking at them.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva\";p=\"93088)</div>

SoundMaster was great. I would empty the Trash and Oscar the Grouch would sing, "I love trash!" I would copy a file, and the woman in the deli from "When Harry Met Sally" would say "I'll have what she's having."

My ideal ringtone is also what I would use for the Prius approach sound. It is very soft and a bit too cheerful to be ominous. It is the very low rumble-rumble-rumble that repeats at the very start of "You're So Vain" before the piano comes in.

You probably think this car will miss you...

 

My best Freak Out was December of 2004. Prius was only 2.5 months old and I was loving the Stealth Mode. Mapwife and I were cruising in Stealth thru a neighborhood looking at Christmas lights and came upon a group of about 8-10 people walking thru the neighborhood looking at the lights. To enhance our experience, I was also driving with just the parking lights at about 4 mph. After following the group for about 5 minutes, one of the teenagers turns around and sees this car about 10 feet behind the group. He panicks and jumps into the bed of a pickup parked on the street until he realizes that there is no problem since I am driving at a walking speed. However, his family is having a ball at his expense.

Gotta love Stealth.

For sound effect, how about a 747 coming in for a landing????

 

It seems to be a bigger concern in the US than in Sweden (or probably entire Europe). Here people are using bicycles to a great extent even during winter, so we are used to vehicles approaching in stealth mode.

The last bit of road when I get home is a busy city street with pedestrians crossing anywhere anytime and I always drive there in EV mode. In the nine months I've had the Prius only one or two people was surprised to find a car right behind them.