Analysis of Auditory Impression of Getting into a Car

In recent years, it has been important for companies to provide additional values that differentiate them from other companies. For the automobile industry, there is no exception. Therefore, we aim to make drivers feel pleasure and excitement during driving by making sounds of cars comfortable. Many researches focus on the engine sound during driving because of its importance for impression of a car. However, getting into a car is the first contact with the excitement at the car, so that the excitement can be included in it. In this research, we investigate the feeling of excitement at the initial sounds when getting into a car. Sounds that accompany getting into the car involve "open the door", "close the door", and "start the engine". We conduct an auditory experiment using a semantic differential method to clarify the feeling from the sound before driving. We present some pictures of a car simultaneously with stimulus sounds to give the expectation of sounds. Then, we carry out factor analysis to investigate the relationship between the factor scores and sound characteristics. As a result, it is suggested that the engine start sound influences the overall evaluation.