I've always been a sucker for a good, throaty engine growl—which is probably why, despite my overall enthusiasm for alternative fuel technologies, I still worry that car enthusiasts will have slim pickings over the next decade, as silent electric cars and strangled-vacuum continuously-variable transmissions take over. GM is apparently aware of this problem, and as Inside Line reports, the Chevrolet Volt will have a unique sound that will not imitate a regular performance car.

Frank Weber, General Motors E-Flex vehicle line executive,said that the Volt's sound will be "highly technical" and compared it to "when on Spaceship [sic] Enterprise you hear the doors close, or use the transporter." He also said that the car will have a driver-activated pedestrian alert, and will incorporate audio-related "power feedback" technology to give "very clear and intuitive feedback from the car telling you what state it is in."