Years ago, my wife and I went to the Rod-Run in Pigeon Forge to buy a muscle car. I had a trailer and 25k in cash. Needless to say, I was serious. There must have been 3,000 cars at the show. Before Elaine and I  started looking at 9am, she said to me, “now honey, don’t buy the first car you see. Take your time and get the one you want.” Well, the first car I seriously looked at was a 72 Chevelle SS that was completely done and show quality. I moved on to see the rest of the cars. Around 3pm that afternoon Elaine went from, “don’t buy the first car you see” to “would you make you mind!”

We went back to the first car, and I ask the owner if he would start the car and let me drive it. When he started the car there were probably 10 guys including me standing there and a group of wives. All 10 men, stopped, turned and were totally engrossed at the sound of the car. The wives never even stopped talking. It was as though nothing had happened. All us guys were standing there big eyed like a frog in a hailstorm.  

My point is to a guy, the sound of the vehicle may not be everything, but trust me, it is important. I have a hybrid SUV that shuts off when you stop at a light. Mine is a real hybrid so there is no little button to push to keep the car running, so it goes quiet when you are stopped. Of all the things that took the most getting used to, that was it. As the world moves into the all electric car market, we will all probably have one eventually. My recommendation would be to add an actual engine sound and they would sell a lot more. There is just something off when a Tesla pulls up and you didn’t hear it coming. Guys like a deep rumble because it makes them feel young again. Therefore, my perfect all electric car would have the same sound as a 70 429 Boss Mustang with a ¾ cam lope. KT