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What?

ICE cars are noisy if you design them to be noisy. I remember Toyota's first or second hybrid car was almost completely silent.

It caused other problems, primarily the issue that they could sneak up on unaware pedestrians like myself.

Unless I am missing something. The only noisy cars I face these days are performance cars, some trucks, and that one ahole in a sports bike.

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Hybrid cars are not the same as ICE. In general, hybrids accelerate at low speed using only the electrical motor, which produce little noise. Only at higher speed (or when the battery is low I guess?) is the ICE started.

Since at higher speed, tire and wind noise drown ICE noise, you don't hear them and they feel nearly as quiet as electric cars.

ICE-only cars are definitely noisy. Though maybe you are used to that noise and it doesn't register (like a lot of people, me included), but they are definitely loud enough that a place without any car feels "quiet" (even if it's otherwise busy).

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