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- Hacker News
- Reading the article, it's hard to believe that Stellantis didn't know that American pickup truck drivers love loud engines from endless market research, prior to introducing the V6 version of the Ram "which sounds like a Honda" according to someone quoted in TFA.
I mean, every car manufacturer engineers the sound of the freaking doors closing. How can they not appreciate the importance of engine sound?
by ilamont - Because they are the logical dutchby sgt
- You mean the Chrysler-Fiat "Global Large Engine" Turbo I-6.
The short answer is, Stellantis mgmt. takes the US market for granted, and is indifferent to what it wants, and is actively contemptuous of its US dealer and customer base.
This has been a continuous problem for mass-market European brands in the US.
by linksnapzz - Bit of a dishonest statement, "They don't want to give it up". As if it's a given that everybody has to drive electric in the future. But the WSJ is filled with what Washington wants I guess.by BurnGpuBurn
- Why can't there be speaker systems in electric cars to give the driver the V-8 experience?by fortran77
- Some cars do that (and let you choose between V8 vs spaceship sounds). Even though it's optional a lot of people mocked the featureby Rebelgecko
- They can and do. Since at least the 10s automakers have been using tricks like pumping the engine sound into the main cabin or using speakers playing an audio file. The speakers usually toggle when the car is in "sports mode" or not. Car enthusiasts typically don't like it because they know they're being lied to. Average drivers don't even notice it because we all grew up with "car goes fast, cat gets loud." Automakers started doing this to make inline 4s sound growlier and also because most of the time you want your car to be as silent as possible. Obviously as EVs appeared around the same time, they did the same thing with EVs (eg the BMW i8 is a notable example).by CoolestBeans
- The GR86/BRZ added those in 2022+ but didn’t offer a way to control loudness, using a small board attached to both the canbus and the audio system. It is, in online enthusiast communities, disliked for providing ‘fake’ horsepower and for being ‘too’ loud. So: they can, but if the manufacturer gets it wrong, then it’s much worse.
This solution also misses that for many folks in the U.S., imposing the emissions of a V-8 engine upon their environment is not just about how it sounds in-cabin, it’s about marking territory, and V-8 engines are quite good at that. You would need a subwoofer to broadcast it properly and you would likely run into amplified sound laws in many regions that are not applicable to engine noise.
by altairprime - by Ir0nMan
- by fortran77
- Funny my son has a '79 Thunderbird with a 5.8ℓ engine which sounds great... but I can smoke it in a drag race with my Honda Fit.by PaulHoule
- Damn they're both ugly cars!
Quiz: when did the t-bird turn into a t-turd?
Ans. 1958 and yet again in 1969:
https://zicmoto.com/history-of-the-ford-thunderbird/?gad_sou...
In contrast, here's a true sports car: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MG_T-type#/media/File:MG_TA_si...
by giardini - I have a pilots license and most of the engines are from the 70's, and they're huge and heavy and high displacement and hardly make any power. Engines have come a long way since then.by dlcarrier
- This is true; but OTOH, no self-respecting pimp would ever be caught dead outside a club waiting for his girls in a Fit.by linksnapzz
- I didn't buy my V8 Tundra because of how it sounds. I bought it knowing that it will last me a long time with basic maintenance. While I may be lucky to get high teens in terms of MPG, I haven't seen much better from the likes of the newer twin-turbo V6. It wouldn't be practical to be a daily but I only drive around 5K miles a year.by squiguy7
- Very similar experience. Bought a v8 GMC for RVing and while turbo v6s can handle similar payloads, the turbos themselves break very often. The v8 sound and feel is a nice extra benefit.
- At a certain price for gasoline and diesel, sustained, I'm sure they will change their mind.
US Fuel Prices Will Stay Painfully High for a While - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2026-08-13/us-fue... - August 13th, 2026
Americans Have Never Paid This Much for Fuel So Late in The Year - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-12/americans... - August 12th, 2026
US Sees Iran War Oil Supply Disruptions Lasting Through 2027 - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-11/us-sees-i... - August 11th, 2026
US refineries are already at maximum utilization (~96% as of this comment).
https://web.archive.org/web/20260813174516/https://thevaultr...
https://web.archive.org/web/20260813174447/https://www.eia.g...
by toomuchtodo - > At a certain price for gasoline and diesel, sustained, I'm sure they will change their mind.
I'm not. My first car was a used late-70s Ford V6, which got 15mpg on a good day. The car was made 5 years after the first Middle East oil shock, and clearly Detroit was still making boats for millions of people who wanted them.
by ilamont