These days car engines are very similar with respect to noise; water cooled, CAT and high noise reduction. All you get is brrrrrrrr. So it has become more difficult to distinguish characteristic noises of cars.
I think that Renaults sounds different, or is it just in my mind?
They do, it's the sound of impending doom and failure.
"Johannes" wrote >
All individual cars sound different, my dog can tell my car from all others, and recognises the cars of everyone we know, ignoring identical makes/models even with the same engines.
The message from Johannes contains these words:
Oh, yes, the wife's Clio makes a very distinctive sound. Sort of "dunk" whenever you turn the key. The sodding starter motor, replaced with a genuine Renault spare last year, has died again.
As a pedestrian, I find it uncanny how often I can pick out a horizontally opposed engine in the passing traffic.
John
Some cars are more obvious than others.
The Prius I borrowed in California, that was seriously stealthy about the city. More often than not it was near-silent because it was running on electrics. You can sneak up on people in it... :)
The Accord we have has "generic engine note mark three" sound under around
4,500 rpm. Then it has "quieter VTEC revvy" sound above this.
Dunno about that but the 1.3 litre engine used in Skodas, from the Felicia and earlier have a very distinct sound, sort of a cross between a steam engine and a bag of spanners.
I quite like it!
the classic old vw beetle, lovely sound!!
mind?
You can hear Kas and Fiestas coming at 300 yards. It's the sound of a thousand nails and ball bearings in a cement mixer.
Some of them.
In the case of the Ka, it's the sound of the metal roof scraping across the tarmac...
yup, that sound of the old kent/hcs/endura pushrodders. I think of a old tin of nails lol
lol doh :-)
Ones that have done any amount of mileage and serviced as per Ford's recommendations...
DervMan ( snipped-for-privacy@ntlworld.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :
The ones that are running...
Thing is, I'm sure Ford say to get them serviced more often if used in town a lot. Something that the vast majority of people ignore.
-- Called Pete? Join The Pete Collective NOW at
ROFL! I think there's two here who've done that!
KA's make a very distinctive noise.
All modern fords seem to sound like Diesels.
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Johannes saying something like:
I certainly used to differentiate - Minis/Moggies/Escrots/ all sounded distinct. As you say, a lot of them sound the same now, but that's partly age-induced deafness and partly the dreadful blanket of blandness that's taken over the automotive world.
I've not noticed Renaults being particularly different.
Volvo/Saab/BMW/Mercedes are all quite easy to distinguish - along with Astons and Porsches.
I can usually tell a Ford - but not identify which model - Focus/Mondeo sound too similar.
Vx cars - god knows - they all sound the same.
As for french cars - yes renault sound different. You can usually tell a Pug - as it's silent and broken down ;-)
I'm sad aren't I ;-)
Cheers Dan.
On 08-Jan-06 19:20:20, Grimly Curmudgeon said
I always remember the sound of the Hilman Imp as being particuarly distinctive.
But when I watch the WRC the only vehicle that sounds gutsy to my ears is the Citroen.
All the best, Angus Manwaring. (for e-mail remove ANTISPEM)
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