My apologies for giving you two car posts in a row, but this has presented with the unique opportunity to waffle on about a Toyota hybrid without ever having to consider how environmentally friendly or green it is. What’s more, it provides me with the opportunity to mention the words Toyota and hybrid in the same sentence without having to talk about the Prius – a unique combination that warrants this post.
The Crown Hybrid from Toyota had raised a few eyebrows thanks to its particularly noisy engine. In order to reduce petrol consumption (for the sake of saving money, obviously, and nothing to do with the environment), the engine runs at low revs and therefore pumps out more noise than a 3 year old Xbox 360 fan.
To counteract this, Toyota has added three microphones to the ceiling of the car that register and record the noise output. Three speakers then playing noise cancelling digital sounds (otherwise known as antiphase signals) reduce the ambient engine sound by 5 decibels or more. We don’t have the first idea if it works, and the idea sounds ludicrous in concept, but you just never know. The Active Noise Control system is constantly operational when the car is running and apparently has no effect on the stereo or audio system in the car.
