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Comment by shocks | Hacker News Reader

I just can’t fall in love with EVs. They don’t seem to have the same ‘soul’ as ICEs, which feel beautiful from an engineering perspective.

I would happily have an EV daily, but I’ll always want an ICE exotic of some kind for weekend fun.

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Unfortunately, some brands started adding fake noise engines through speakers due to NVH being too good: you just won't hear the engine. It's funny how modern BMW I6 cylinder powered cars are making V8 noises through speakers - consider it as a free engine upgrade lol :)

I test drove a petrol BMW X5 (something like a 4 litre V8, IIRC) a couple of years back, and even it piped fake engine noise through the speakers, a kind of "growling" rumble.

It sounded so fake it was ridiculous. I almost felt embarrassed, even though I knew nobody outside could hear it!

IIRC even the high end V8-fitted cars like the M5 had fake engine noises pumped through the speakers too.

I think I know what you mean.

Putting aside emissions, modern engines are a remarkable achievement, that's for sure. I'm relatively mechanically inclined, and I still can't help but to marvel at this machinery that can (albeit, rather inefficiently...) transfer chemical energy to movement. It's just a neat piece of machinery.

...Don't even get me started on the Wankel engine on the Mazda RX-*s!

If hackernews was around in the early 1900s, a similar comment would have appeared, but replace ICE cars with horses.

And, indeed, a lot of people still ride horses for fun. But it's fairly rare as a bona fide mode of transportation.

It sounds like others in this thread are predicting something similar for ICEs.

Nah, horses -> cars was dramatic transition, while ICE -> EV is not. Some (younger) people won’t even notice it, if done properly. No way you can create a horse replica that will be so realistic, people ride it as a horse!

They're simply a different class. Just like a car will never replace my love for motorcycles, an EV will never replace my love for a screaming turbo ICE in a clapped-out chassis. They're neat, and I'll probably buy one at some point, but it's just not the same.

Ha, I can relate. Motorcycle guy also.

I can’t relate. There was a biker that went on a joy ride here at 6AM, entering each drive and roaring his stupid bike. I’ve never felt so ready to run someone over.

Loving a petrol engine is surely some form of Stockholm syndrome.

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