Mazda's new CX-6e electric SUV comes with a feature that could take road rage to an unusual new level: it can speak to other drivers on your behalf, including using some rather colorful language.The Chinese-built electric vehicle is fitted with an "External Announcement" function, allowing occupants to broadcast messages outside the car. Instead of relying on a horn or simply gesturing at another road user, the system gives drivers the option of communicating through the vehicle itself.The feature also includes a selection of pre-recorded phrases, meaning drivers do not have to say anything themselves. Among the messages is a relatively polite warning along the lines of "hey buddy, I'm here," but the system also allows less restrained responses for situations involving other motorists, according to a report by Australian news site News.com.au.Drivers can type their own announcements into the car's 26.45-inch touchscreen and save them as shortcuts. When news.com.au tested the feature, it found no limit on what the car would say, curse words included. In other words, the CX-6e doesn't ship with swear words, but it will say whatever you type into it. That distinction matters, because it suggests the strong language is a side effect of an unfiltered custom-message tool rather than a feature Mazda built in.The CX-6e is an electric SUV developed for markets outside the United States, and its unusual communication function adds another talking point to a vehicle already built around a range of technology, but its flexibility gives drivers plenty of room to use it in ways that are considerably more confrontational.What begins as a system for announcing a vehicle's arrival or warning distracted road users can therefore become a means of directing insults at people outside the car. That raises an obvious question about the feature: how much practical use does it actually have?There are legitimate situations where being able to communicate with pedestrians, cyclists or other motorists could be useful, but using a vehicle as a loudspeaker to vent frustration is a very different proposition.The fact that custom announcements can contain offensive language does not mean every CX-6e owner will use the feature that way. The system also provides more straightforward messages that are intended for ordinary communication.The CX-6e therefore demonstrates a less conventional direction for automotive technology. Rather than limiting external communication to the traditional horn, Mazda has given the electric SUV a system that can deliver spoken messages to people outside the vehicle. Whether that proves genuinely useful or simply gives frustrated drivers a new way to make themselves heard will depend largely on how the technology is used.
