Ford Takes on Sound Quality

Engineering a quiet car is not a new endeavor. Lexus seemed to perfect the nearly silent cabin years ago, but now companies like Ford are looking at chimes and the sound the door makes when it closes, too. For the new Taurus, Ford designers worked on the rickety-sounding door of the previous Five Hundred. Now the company says the Taurus has a vault-like sound when the door is shut.

For the 2009 Ford Flex, the company is adding a symphonic door chime when the door is opened. Ford says all of this details are because customers are attuned to sound as well as exterior design. That may be true, but if Ford doesn’t make sure it has stunning cars, no one will get close enough to hear them.

Fine-Tuning A Brand’s Signature Sound (BusinessWeek)