Hacker News Reader

Comment by adxl | Hacker News Reader

The biggest culprits are Dodge and Ford for putting out massively overpowered 5, 6 and even 700 horse powered super vehicles with exhaust that can be set up to make excessive volumes of noise bypassing or even removing mufflers to make the car even more ridiculous. This may be a southern phenom since I live in Atlanta many of my neighbors have been complaining about late night road racing and other stupid crap like 100s of ATVs running the streets in gangs. Check it out https://youtu.be/xlJAySvoH9M and https://www.cbs46.com/news/caught-on-camera-swarm-of-atv-dir.... I’ve seen this in person and it’s very scary when you’re pinned in a car with these morons running by.

View on HN

Harley style motorcycles take the cake though, "loud pipes" are such a thing in that part of motorcycle culture. I don't understand the aesthetic of trying to annoy everyone to such a degree, and I don't understand why it's not prosecuted at all.

If you’re buying that kind of vehicle you want to be seen and HEARD. It’s a conscious decision by both buyer and manufacturer.

It's primary reason is image. That's why it's mostly Harley-Davidson, not Indian motorcycles, that roar past. Not that Indian can't be loud, but the former has a reputation that's exacerbated by owners riding at high RPM or modifying the exhaust system.

More to the point, do you believe an exhaust system quiet enough to be legal is still immediately noticeable over highway-speed road and wind noise, sound-deadening, climate-control fans running flat out, and any media playing at any volume?

Absolutely. I can hear those hogs from the other side of the freeway sometimes. The "being heard" part applies mostly in quieter streets, to turn heads.

Some guy on a harley rides by every few days and triggers a car alarm in my neighborhood. I'm sure it gives him a bit of a thrill. Same with those guys who modded their cars.

Err, ok, so Dodge and Ford, and probably Chevrolet (can’t forget that Camaro), and Jaguar (who has become famous for their exhaust sounds in recent years), and Honda - that Type R is quite loud, let’s not forget BMW’s M series, and AMG, and, well, everyone.

It seems almost like the problem is that people like buying loud cars, rather than your assertion that 2 manufacturers are at fault for everything.

And something something ATVs (how does illegal ATV use equate to Ford’s complicity in loud cities?)…

This is not dodge and ford. People modify their cars to make them louder.

Why do people do this?

"overpowered" is a relative term.

Overpowered for full-range use in the city at night or while passing on a freeway, or overpowered for enjoyment of a hobby in the intended usage setting. You can be right and wrong at the same time here.

I realize this sounds like a BS "guns don't kill people, people do" argument, but in this case the actual problematic outcomes usually really do boil down to the person operating the vehicle and their level or maturity and respect.

It's not limited to Fords and Dodges. Hondas and Toyotas can be quite obnoxiously loud, also. About the ATV thing, there's a 2013 documentary in Baltimore, MD called "12 O'Clock Boys" [0].

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_O'Clock_Boys

This is pretty common in New York City too so it’s boy just a southern thing.

You must be using a very creative definition of "biggest culprits"

Those flagship super powerful sedans, trucks and SUVs you are complaining about are a drop in the bucket compared to bog standard commuter sedans, hatches and crossovers.

with any luck Tesla will put them out of business or force them to adapt their business model, and this time no bailouts. surging oil and gas prices will hurt too.

I can't wait to see full RGB "Gaming" electric car everywhere.

Sounds like the actual problem is in how and where people are using those high powered engines, not the engine themselves. Those noises are actually part of the fun of ownership and a welcome symphony of sound among like-minded people in setting designed for it.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com