Some years ago two men got together in hopes of marketing a battery-operated car for $600. The delivery date was never met because of problems of low speeds, limited driving range, high cost, and the great weight of the batteries. The two men were Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. Today, more than half a century later, quiet substitutes for the internal combustion engine are still little more than promises, except that the types of substitutes have increased and the development and application show some signs of progress. Rushing to meet that 1915 delivery date, Ford now claims a breakthrough with the development of a battery that promises to meet the need for an efficient, low-cost, compact urban/suburban electric vehicle requiring only an overnight charge. Time will tell.
Engineers are going even further back in history to re-examine the Stanley Steamer. General Motors is testing a thermal engine for the Army, one reported to be extremely quiet, quiet enough for front line use. Lear Jet has been working on a virtually pollution-free steam engine for motor vehicles. HEW's National Air Pollution Control Administration is subsidizing the design of a 100-hp steam-powered system to propel a six-passenger car at 75 mph.
Some hope for quieting larger vehicles may exist in the $300,000 grant awarded by the Department of Transportation to the Dallas Transit System to test buses driven by a non-polluting Freon-powered external combustion engine. In 1968 I rode in an experimental bus being developed at GM. Operated by a gas-turbine engine, it emitted a very low over-all noise level. If the distinct and unpleasant whine which is characteristic of these engines can be eliminated, the end result could be a comparative ear-kiss. This bus, the RTX, could be ready for production in 1972 if somebody came up with at least 3,000 orders. It is estimated that the bus will cost twice the $28,000 now paid for GM's anti-social diesel buses. In the meantime, New York City is checking out experimental battery-operated buses.
To go from the sublime, there are experimental electric and fuel-cell motorcycles. Union Carbide claims its prototype fuelcell motorbike at 25 mph allows the spectator to hear no more than the low hum of the chain drive.
All of these vehicles ride on rubber tires. Since tire noise impedes effective motor vehicle legislation, it is promising that the National Bureau of Standards is looking into the problem of tire noise. This is somewhat more reassuring than the news that the Rubber Manufacturers Association is cooperating with GM and the Society of Automotive Engineers to develop a tire noise testing procedure. The cooperation of the Rubber Manufacturers Association has gone further than the donating of one tire for needed research: the RMA has furnished several dozen.