The End of Car Ownership: 2026 cars and beyond

[KrustyKruser]

What is it??!?!!

1975 AMC pacer i bet.

 

[Mike95060]

@TheRobSJ where do you draw the line buddy?

Google says this is real….

 

[Mike95060]

Can you imagine your car throwing a code because the exhaust speaker isn’t bumping properly?! It’s probably part of the emissions equipment too. Does the car start and run like normal if/when I blow out the exhaust sound system? Good lawd what nonsense.

 

[buellistic]

I don't ever want to see a Speaker...Check engine light!

 

[CrazyCooter]

What is it??!?!!

What is what?

 

[augustiron]

The pre 75 car you got

 

[NATEWA]

YOU CAN PRY MY 1998 T-100 FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS!

I’m with you! 97 4runner.

 

[Holeshot]

I'm not so sure paying $20K+ for a standard Cherokee (to roll miles on) is a good buy....

 

[TheRobSJ]

@TheRobSJ where do you draw the line buddy?

Google says this is real….

View attachment 593487

Gee I wonder where I’ve seen something like that? Oh I remember!

This is a $3M “hypercar” that makes about 1900hp and is so brain meltingly fast, it should honestly be illegal to let just anyone who can afford it actually buy. There’s a loose wire harness hanging in front of it, but yup there’s your “exhaust” sound to let everyone nearby know you’ve got some kind of power. Though it’s actual engine makes zero noise since it is an EV.

Bells and whistles like this? Nah. I could live without fake engine noise. Whether it’s pumped into the cabin through the speakers (many new cars do this), or outside the car for others to hear…I think it’s dumb. Now I’m all for making obnoxious noise but it should be natural. Hearing a straight piped V12 Lambo ripping through a few gears is just a glorious thing whether I’m the one driving it or hearing someone else driving one. Unfortunately, the arms race of trying to get cars to be more powerful, still pass emissions, and get better fuel mileage has had many manufacturers downsizing engines and relying on turbocharging. And nothing kills exhaust note more than turbos. Europeans get an extra attenuation in the form of Gasoline Particulate Filters on their exhaust systems. And Diesel Particulate Filters are already in use here in the US on diesel powered vehicles. So I’m not surprised to see that speaker box on that diesel Audi example there. Turbo, GPF, muffler…by the time you get to the tailpipe you hardly can tell the engine is even running at all.

It’s an unfortunate way things are going in the industry. Many vehicles are getting a lot of the emotion taken out the driving experience by killing the engine noise. The silly fake noise generators are the manufacturers best attempt to try to put the emotion back in the experience. Unfortunately it is widely considered a lame gimmick.

 

[augustiron]

AI auto drivers (future drivers) have no emotions

 

[Abacinator]

Can you imagine your car throwing a code because the exhaust speaker isn’t bumping properly?! It’s probably part of the emissions equipment too. Does the car start and run like normal if/when I blow out the exhaust sound system? Good lawd what nonsense.
View attachment 593488

My friend got a call from Toyota after he disabled the noise emitter on his new Prius

 

[berth]

My friend got a call from Toyota after he disabled the noise emitter on his new Prius

As I understand it, these EV noise emitters are a requirement, but I don't know if the burden is transferred to the owner to maintain it, rather than the manufacturer requirement to provide it.

Always hearing the Tesla hum around here.

 

[GAJ]

Same. I bought a 2013 Jetta in 2020 with the intention to drive it into the ground. I still love that car 5+ years later.

Excellent.

My 200k mile Miata has never had a major component fail.

Not even the stock exhaust system which was made out of stainless.

 

[Rtmac]

Always hearing the Tesla hum around here.

Some of low speed "anti-sneak" sounds they make are like fingernails on a chalkboard!

 

[bluegixxer600]

Killdozer is always an option

Just make sure it's a pre electronics dozer. I work for a heavy equipment dealer and all of the machines built in the last few years have a suite of electronics that include tracking, geo fencing, remote datalogging, remote disable along with monthly subscriptions for features such as grade control, high flow hydraulics, etc.
Some new machines come with features on for a 750 hour trial period, then the feature disables itself. Want auto-articulation turned back on? That will be $1200 please.

 

[two wheel tramp]

Excellent.

My 200k mile Miata has never had a major component fail.

Not even the stock exhaust system which was made out of stainless.

Oh I’m in the middle of a planned maintenance DPF repair now and it’s expensive af but worth it.

 

[budman]

Today my mostly analog Caddy asked if I needed to contact On Star because my subscription timed out 15 years ago. Just because I adjusted the mirror. Cars these days

 

[Rtmac]

Right before I retired (so 2020ish), I had to pickup a customers car (can't remember what it was) and drive it back to the shop... I spent the entire drive trying to figure out how to turn the fucking radio off!

 

[Blankpage]

If it wasn’t for RDX and MDX, Acura would have probably been dissolved a few years ago. The problem is that the takedown models are just too good and the premium model is not premium enough. TLX is just a fancy Accord that had a base price $10k more than the Accord. Same can be said for the current Integra to the Civic.

Unless you just had to have an exclusive feature that the TLX had(like the SH-AWD drivetrain, fancy stereo, etc), most buyers didn’t see $10k worth of reason to get it over the Accord.

And to think…20 years ago the Acura TL was the very best selling luxury sedan in the country. The brand needs some help.

I’d always take a TLX over an Accord, an RDX over a CRV, an MDX over a Pilot.
The Honda’s are nice but the Acuras nicer.

 

[GAJ]

I’d always take a TLX over an Accord, an RDX over a CRV, an MDX over a Pilot.
The Honda’s are nice but the Acuras nicer.

We owned an RSX S and then a TSX with manual tranny back in the day and they were both great cars.

Acura is doing so poorly the local long term Acura dealer turned into a Mazda dealer.