Hybrid plan 'will curb road noise'

12th June 2007

It brings the location data from a sat-nav system together with the near-silent running of hybrid cars' electric motors.

The plan - devised by tractor manufacturer John Deere - is for the eco-friendly models to use their navigation information to work out when they are on a residential road which has been officially designated as too noisy. The system would turn off the petrol engine so the vehicle runs only off its electric motors. Then, once the car has left the zone, the engine takes over again.