Stop, hey – what’s that sound? It isn’t your engine

One of my old reporter buddies recently sent me a link to a Washington Post article about how more and more car manufacturers are relying on built-in sound systems, either mechanical or electronic, to make their engines sound better, more like a beefed up V-8.

Really?

My friend cleverly titled his post: “Vroom, I say Vroom.” Nicely played, James.

We used to make fun of cars that couldn’t keep up, but sounded strong, by challenging them to a “sonic drag race.” We would sit there and rack off our loud pipes and laugh hysterically — no moving violations for us.

Looking back, I realize how ridiculous it was to be playing noise games with our cars. And that’s pretty much how this business of phony engine soundtracks strikes me today. I think our kids’ generation coined a word for such fakers: “posers.”

What do you think? Am I just being old and crotchety (again) or does this seem like a pointless waste of time and resources?

Would you feel better if your 40 mpg inline four sounded like a hopped up big block on race gas, or would you be willing to admit that it’s actually kind of nice to motor down the road quietly in your late model ride with your favorite tunes wafting from your digital sound system?

Drop me an email on how you feel about this burning issue at: mberry@wichitaeagle.com. If we get enough good responses, I’ll post some of them in a follow-up column.

Meantime, I say, “Vroom … Vroom!”

This story was originally published February 6, 2015 at 3:31 PM with the headline "Stop, hey – what’s that sound? It isn’t your engine."