Wait… You Actually WANT Your Car to Sound Like That?

I live on a street in Poughkeepsie that is just off Rte 9, which means it’s a pretty heavily traveled road. And I happen to live on a corner that has a 4 way stop. Si I see and hear a lot of cars each day. And I’ve noticed a trend that I don’t love. Really loud cars.

At first I just thought it was bad mufflers. I remember turning to my boyfriend one day and commenting on how weird it is that there are so many cars in bad condition. He looked at me and laughed. That’s when I learned that many people with loud cars actually want them to sound that way. They go out of their way to make their cars sound that way. Really? Ugh. It’s so annoying. I can’t even stand to hear your car for a few seconds, how you ride around for hours at a time in it escapes me.

I can almost understand it if you have a souped up mustang or something, but just yesterday I saw a kid driving a little SUV that looked like a soccer mom type car. The fact that it was loud surely didn't make it seem cooler. At least not to me. And because the cars are so loud, they have to turn up the already too loud music. So I get to hear the car and the annoying bass. Is this even legal? I know the New York legislature passed the SLEEP Act ( (Stop Loud and Excessive Exhaust Pollution) back in June, but is it actually in effect yet? If it is, you sure wouldn’t know it in my neighborhood.

I remember a day many years ago when I had no choice but to drive a loud car. I didn’t have the money to fix the exhaust. I was embarrassed to drive around. I’m pretty sure it was annoying=g to the neighbors, and I know it made my ride unpleasant. Yet you say you want your car to sound that way?

I’m curious as to why you would want your car to be so loud. Does it go better or faster? Does it make the car cooler to you? I’m not being judgmental, I really would like to know. And maybe I’m a wee bit judgmental, but maybe you can change my mind by sharing your thoughts and reasons for loud cars.