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Jul 07

Sunday Commentary: Fake Exhaust Noise, two Ford Coupes, and the Week in Review

Another Sunday, another time to look back, forward, and to do a little ranting. I keep hearing more and more about how we should do more opinion as well as our typical landslide of photos and news. I’m leary, cars can be as polarizing as politics and I like to avoid drama, but what the hay let’s give it a go. So this week I’ll talk about fake exhaust noise. Now I’m not talking about your neighborhood ricer with one of those fake turbo sounds things under the hood. I’m talking about BMW. You know, BMW “the ultimate driving machine.” Yeah right.

First before I get too worked up let’s take a quick look at what can only be described as one bad ass hot rod.
orange hot rod

Now I know you traditionalist types won’t approve of the engine choice but I don’t mind. I think the hot rod is great, well done paint, great color, and it looks fast just sitting there. That’s the whole point anyway right? Let’s take a closer look at that engine.


hot rod engine

The weekly rant
BMW and their fake engine noise
It is no secret that BMW has been quieting down its car’s exhaust for some time now. In fact everyone is doing it in the name of not bugging your neighbors and more stringent sound regulations. You know if the govt is going to spy on us at least let us have loud exhausts. I digress. So all cars, particularly of the luxury variety are now quieter. This is the result of the keep up with the Jones’ syndrome or what I like to call the suburban douchebag syndrome. They are the same people who come out here to the country and buy an acre of land then go back to their city friends and call it a farm. I digress again, this is why I don’t rant much. So people who want sports cars like the M5, 911, or any number of newer luxury type cars want the look, prestige, and sometimes the performance these cars give you but none of the things that make them really cool. Namely a bad ass exhaust note. So BMW’s solution for the rest of us who would want those type of cars with the exhaust note is not a dual mode exhaust ala the Corvette but to pump fake exhaust noise into the cabin via the stereo. Yep, that shiny new M5 you just bought has fake exhaust noise. You may not be a poser, but you are driving the ultimate poser machine.

Now I’m probably being harsh and over generalizing a lot here. In fact I’ve met a lot of nice suburban people who have moved out to the country, and some of the biggest car guys I know drive BMWs. There is nothing wrong with them and the M5 is quite the ride but there is just something a bit wrong about having fake exhaust noise. Now BMW is not the only culprit as Porsche does this as well and as time marches on we will surely find out others doing the same. For me I prefer the AMG Mercedes take on all this which is if you want more exhaust noise add more right foot. That’s how we do it here at IG. Being friendly with the neighbors is over rated anyway. The car guy friends you’ll meet by having a real exhaust are way cooler then the podiatrist next door anyway.

All of this fake exhaust technological mumbo who ha is why we here at IG have sworn off new cars anyway. Not that we don’t love EFI an the occasional dose of stability control to make us look like driving gods but it seems to me we are nearing a tipping point in the car world. One where it is much less about the driving experience and more about the car driving for you. That will be a shame when we get there because while we like to look at pretty shiny cars, we love to drive them more and I suspect you guys do too. so what do you think about fake exhaust noise? Let us know in the comments section below.


The week in review
This week’s big news is we are now on our new server. We just simply out grew the old one. We certainly think our good buddy Jeremy for doing the hosting this first 18 months or so of IG and he was a big help in getting moved over to the new one. It was our own Renowrench though that really took the helm in getting everything switched over and he did so in blazing fast time. I suppose a raise is in order as he is taking over some of the IT duties. The fact that we outgrew our server is a good thing, yes there have been some hiccups and surely the down time has turned a few away but all that means we grew a bit faster then we expect and that is awesome. Hopefully you guys are really loving our daily dose of hot rods, muscle cars, and other assorted pieces of iron we throw at you daily. So let me take this time to thank everyone who visits our site and I hope you continue to do so as we continue to grow, expand our coverage, and do what we love to do, which is to bring you all that is cool in the car world.
thunder road dodge challenger and muscle cars

The Deuce and a Half
deuce and a half
We did something a bit different this week, we road tested a deuce and a half army truck. That was fun and interesting. Quite an experience actually as it is the complete opposite of every car I have ever road tested before in that the last thing on the mind of the designer was the driver. I’m a bit surprised I survived actually.

Buick Powered Ford Hot Rod
We have been in a big hot rod mood lately. Well i have anyway and I hope you have too. There are just so many fine examples out there that I try to bring them all to you when I can. This one was Buick powered, which surprised me a bit. There was a time long before I was born when GM had actual distinctive brands that made their own engines. I have to think that was a great and exciting time instead of now where everything is homogenized.
hot rod suspension

F1 Recap
As always we try and bring racing coverage to IG when we can. Our own Renowrench has done a hell of a job with the F1 coverage this year and this weeks recap of the British GM was no exception. The race was wild with tire troubles and break downs. So for the stunning photos and recap only the way Reno can head on over to the British GP recap.

Daniel Ricciardo - Action

© Red Bull Media House

I will wrap up this edition of the Sunday Commentary by showing you another beautiful Ford coupe.
Ford-coupe
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Until next time. Keep it shiny side up!