This new series focuses on the engine sounds that enchant car fans. The first article gets down to the basics, explaining the relationship between engine mechanisms and sound.
Noisy cars that smell of gasoline
On May 28 three carmakers—Subaru, Mazda, and Toyota—announced that they are developing new engines for the electrification era.
The companies’ leaders spoke passionately about the important role that engines will play as a choice on the path to achieving a carbon-neutral society.
A few months earlier, on January 12, Chairman Akio Toyoda (aka Morizo) made the following remarks when he took the stage at Tokyo Auto Salon as “just an ordinary guy who loves cars”:
Morizo
We have been working on hydrogen-engine initiatives since three years ago, out of the belief that battery electric vehicles do not represent the only way to achieve carbon neutrality.
Last year, we tried liquid hydrogen and drove at Le Mans running it. Why put so much effort into this area?
It's because we can't build the future unless we do it with our colleagues.
Many of our 5.5 million (auto industry) colleagues make engine parts.
These people support Japan and have the skills to make the Japan of tomorrow strong.
We must never lose these people.
However, I’ve heard of people working with engines who cannot even borrow money from the bank these days.
That must not happen, and I want to do something about it.
Therefore, I made a request to Toyota.
Engines still have a role to play as a practical means of achieving carbon neutrality!
So, let's refine engine technology! Let's start such a project!
President Koji Sato and other members of management agreed with my proposal, and a project to promote engine development anew was set in motion within Toyota.
Engines in this day and age? It might sound like we are going backward, but that's not at all the case.
We need to do this to move toward the future.
To all those who have made engines up until now, let's continue to make engines!
Similarly, Akio made a big stir at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show with this candid response when asked about his taste in cars: “I like cars that smell of gasoline, get poor mileage, and make a lot of noise—cars that show their wild side.
Engines captivate Morizo and his fellow car lovers, and part of this appeal lies in the sound.
Just as everyone has their preferred genres of music, tastes in engine sounds also vary from person to person.
The high-pitched scream of a V-type multi-cylinder racing machine.
The buzz of a low-displacement inline engine.
The deep rumble of an American V8 or the stutter of a boxer engine.
Or maybe you prefer more of a burbling sound or the fluttering whistle of a turbocharger turbine?
For some, the faint purr of a luxury car hints at the power waiting to be unleashed beneath the hood.
These engine sounds stir the hearts of car enthusiasts. Here, we delve into the reasons why.