On Noise Reduction

It's simply what we call as unwanted sound. Your voice or somebody else's voice, your music or somebody else's music - anything that goes beyond the normal limit of sound a human eardrum can take. N-O-I-S-E. But more than that, noise is something your car produces causing a worse form of pollution in town.

Road noise is said to be a large contributor of driver fatigue. Who wouldn't get a drowsy feeling while driving your car amidst blaring horns? And what usually follows? A CRASH!

About 20 percent of road toll is caused by driver fatigue but with Cascade Audio Engineering's (CAE) floating barrier system, the statistics need not increase. CAE floating barrier system is made out of multilayered composite material that absorbs noise. It provides a physical barrier that stops sound from entering your car's cabin.

Fuel-cell vehicles like General Motors' EV1 offer the same convenience. They use electricity produced by fuel cells, a reaction of hydrogen and oxygen combined, to power motors in its wheels. Since they only emit water, they're also called zero-emission vehicles. Plus, they are smooth, quiet and pleasurable to drive like any other electric-powered vehicles. Maybe having an Acura Integra wheel cylinder is a factor to consider. Let's scrutinize the advanced technologies used by GM, as detailed in Wikipedia. These include the following:

• Aluminum frame
  
• Dent resistant side panels
  
• Anti-lock brakes
  
• Traction control
  
• Heat pump
  
• Keyless entry and keyless ignition
  
• Special one-way thermal glass to allow better heat rejection
  
• Regenerative braking
  
• Very low drag coefficient
  
• Superlight magnesium alloy wheels
  
• Self-sealing and low rolling resistance tires
  
• Automated tire pressure loss warning system
  
• Magnesium framed seats
  
• Time programmable cabin heating or cooling settings

By the way, General Motors never offered EV1 in the market. Nowadays, they're taking the lead in developing concept cars including a car that can drive by itself. Now that would surely make great noise! Sshh…

Chrysler Going Hi-Tech

For years, Chrysler has been trailing both Ford and General Motors in terms of sale and production. But Chrysler is expected to return to profitability as early as this year while the other two automakers expect to be back to profitability by the turn of the decade.

At the North American International Auto Show, Chrysler announced another of its plan to bring more consumers back into their dealerships. The company announced that they are currently working on an "advanced, in-vehicle, wireless communications system". The automaker said that the system will improve security and convenience of vehicles.

Frank Klegon, Executive Vice President for Product Development at Chrysler had this to say according to The Auto Channel: "We recognize that customers are spending more and more time in their vehicles, and that the automobile is becoming much like an additional room in the home or office. To address this evolving reality, Chrysler vehicles will soon boast an unprecedented level of vehicle connectivity, delivering a wide array of important communications features directly to our customers, in their vehicles."

According to Klegon, here are some of the features that their vehicles be equipped with in the near future:

• Turn-by-turn navigation combined with satellite imagery to provide more realistic maps
• Automatic wireless map updates, to ensure that drivers will always have the most up-to-date map information. Real-time weather and hazard information will also be available
• Electronic service reminders, delivered directly to the vehicle
• Internet search
• E-mail access, to include access to e-mail accounts, read-out of messages using text-to-text speech, and sending messages via voice command
• The ability to make on-line purchases, view streaming movies and download music
• Remote vehicle computer updating - Wirelessly download software updates for any electronic module
• Wireless audio and video file transfer from home computer to car