SPEAKERS AND SUBS? HELL NO!

We’ve seen some pretty outstanding advances in car audio over the years. But what’s coming next should be especially cool.Magna International, the Canadian auto parts manufacturer, has something called AcoustiVision which turns the rear window of a car into a sub-woofer. No big enclosure is needed, so you’ll be able to reclaim your truck or hatch. They’re still working on it, but they hope to have it available in the next four years. Read more about it here. Then there’s AVG Group, another Canadian company, which has figured out how to eliminate all speakers in a car. Using tiny transducers, various surfaces of the car—the dash, the roof, the door panels, the floor—are turned into sound-projecting membranes. Those who have heard it say it works great—just as good as some high-end audio systems. And here’s the kicker (no pun intended): all the sounds are projected inward, so you can crank it up and no one on the outside of the car can hear the music. Check out this video on what Toyota is doing.