If you have driven a pure electric or hybrid car you will know the problem.

You can be ready to move off from a parked position and people standing around the vehicle do not get out of the way. And it's simply because the traditional cue, engine noise, is absent.

Now, as a growing band of advanced plug-in hybrid and battery-powered models -- cars that use their batteries most, if not all the time -- nears production, the problem is gaining more attention.

Auto industry safety experts are already considering how to make these super-quiet vehicles audible to pedestrians, bicyclists and children. One possible answer is to broadcast sound from the vehicle through external speakers.

It's an intriguing concept. Automakers may choose a sound for you, but imagine if you could pick from a selection of pre-recorded or synthesized engine notes. You could make your humble electric car roar like a Corvette at full throttle or fool pedestrians into thinking that an exotic Ferrari is coming down the road.

The possibilities, as they say, are endless.

In fact, when you think about it, allowing consumers to customize their electric car sound could produce an unwanted cacophony of ersatz engine noises. I can imagine government regulators wrestling with the issue in years to come. The one sound I hope is outlawed is that maddening beep, beep, beep you hear from construction and delivery vehicles.

On the subject of customizing vehicles, there is another area that is worth revisiting.

Years ago, there was talk from automakers about developing car interiors that could be easily customized by the buyer. Different-colored interior door panels could be an option, for example. Some automakers, mostly at ultra-luxury end of the market, dabble in this area, allowing buyers to specify unique exterior colors or have the leather seat trim match that of their home furniture, for instance.

At the other end of the market, in terms of size, if not necessarily price, the Smart brand allows buyers to mix and match different-colored exterior body panels. These are made of plastic and can be swapped out by the dealer for a complete change of color at any point if the owner so desires.

It's this "change of clothes" concept that I believe should be applied to the interior of a car or truck. Currently, most vehicles offer a very limited choice of interior color schemes -- usually black, tan or gray -- and once you make your selection, that's what you are stuck with for the life of the car.

Automakers shy away from variations and multiple options -- particularly on smaller, economy cars -- because they complicate the manufacturing process and add cost.

But there's an argument to be made that younger buyers would respond well to the idea of swappable interior door panels or dashboard trim. There are relatively easily modifiable components such as changeable interior lighting colors that automakers already offer on entry-level models.

But much more could be done to accommodate the coming generation of buyers, for whom standing out from the crowd is a key consideration.