Electric vehicles (EVs) don't make a lot of noise. There's no internal combustion engine combusting away. Once you get going at 20 m.p.h. or so, there's tire and wind noise to let pedestrians and cyclists know you're coming, but under that speed... Because of the lack of noise, pedestrians are about 20% more likely to be hit by an EV than they are by a gas-guzzling auto that those of us on foot can hear coming.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a rule requiring EVs and hybrids to make some noise, but implementation was delayed because of covid, and I'm not sure when it clicks in.
Until then, I guess it's caveat jaywalker.
Another thing that EVs don't have is the smell of gas. And this is something that drivers actually miss. According to a Ford survey, 70% would "miss the smell of petrol to some degree" after transitioning to an EV.
Looks like I'm not the only one who likes the smell of gasoline.
When I was a kid, I liked nothing better than accompanying my father to the Texaco station when he needed to take whatever Ford he was driving and "fill 'er up."
I liked everything about gas stations: the snappy Army-brown Ike jacket and cap worn by Walter Marchessault, the proprietor of "our" gas station; the annual toys for sale around Christmas, even if they were always "boy toys" (trucks, tankers, stations themselves); the bell that dinged each time the gallon mark was hit; the rack of maps; the air pumps; the rainbow gas slicks on the pavement...
There were even a couple of gas stations I fantasized about living in.
One was the Esso station in Webster Square, a grand affair with its exotic red dome. The other was a station out on Route 9 - brand unknown - that had an apartment over the station. The apartment extended out over the pumps, supported by a couple of stone pillars.
Few things caught my imagination more than that upstairs apartment. I really wanted to live there.
And one of the main reasons I wanted to live there was, of course, so that I'd be able to smell gasoline each and every day. My idea of bliss!
Anyway, Ford, being the marketers that they are, are doing something about the lack of gasoline smell.
Over the weekend, Ford unveiled a petrol fragrance for future [Mustang] Mach-E GT owners at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The Fragrance is called Mach-Eau. (Source: Teslerati)
And it even comes in an adorable little bottle that looks like a gas pump. Be still my gas-sniffing heart! Or nostrils.
“Judging by our survey findings, the sensory appeal of petrol cars is still something drivers are reluctant to give up. The Mach Eau fragrance is designed to give them a hint of that fuel-fragrance they still crave. It should linger long enough for the GT’s performance to make any other doubts vaporize too,” said Jay Ward, Ford of Europe Product Communications.
Not sure whether you actually dab it behind your ears or on your wrists, or just plunk it in the drink holder, open it up, and let some fumes escape, but Ford put a lot of thought into it. And that thought wasn't to come up with something that actually replicated the smell of gas. (Darn.)
The legacy automaker clarified that the Mach-Eau does not completely smell like petrol or gas but was actually designed to be pleasing to the nose. Ford’s fragrance has smokey accords with aspects of rubber and an ‘animal element’ that is supposed to be a nod to the Mustang heritage.
Hmm. Don't know about the smell of burning rubber. Or the animal element. But I'll take Ford's word that it'll be "pleasing to the nose." Even if it doesn't smell like gas. Which it absolutely should.
Ford worked with fragrance consultancy Olfiction on the Mach-Eau. Pia Long, an Associate in the British Society of Perfumers, worked directly with the fragrance. She studied the chemicals emitted from car interiors, engines, and petrol while designing the unique scent.
You can order a Ford Mustang Mach-E GT, but there's no info yet on how one can get one's hands (and nose) on the Mach-Eau.
Maybe it'll be an add on feature, an accessory. (Who could resist? Not me!) Maybe it'll come with the car, a nice surprise when you pop open the glove box. Maybe they'll actually sell it. (No plans as of now.)
Almost, but not quite, makes me want to get a car. Almost.
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