How come reving engines has not died yet?

[roadman65]

As you all know that every generation likes to show off their autos to others so they accelerate fast from a dead stop at traffic lights or when they pull out of driveways and side roads.  It all started in the 50's when young men at the time wanted to impress the girls, by souping up their already nice looking T Birds and Bel Airs and of course making sure that the chicks would notice them for sure by peeling out or accelerating fast.

Then the hippies copied that and decided to do that with their Camaros, Mustangs, and GTOs, except to show off not only for the ladies but for themselves to feel superior to other motorists out there.

Since then high school kids and college aged adults as well as some middle aged men who are afraid of getting old from every era has been doing it, and to me personally I feel like letting them know "Hey dude, you are not impressing anyone peeling out each time you move your vehicle or pass others, its been played out!"  However, saying that would be like telling some person who loves to blast their radios so loud that it can be heard from 500 feet away with both your windows and theirs all closed to  just turn off that damned shit!  You know they are not going to and some may tell you to screw yourself, so why bother.

However being I have heard it all my life and probably girls and other people are no longer impressed with the act, it has gotten to be older than bell bottoms.  Yet every person with an insecurity issue still continues to do it, why have they not yet figure out that its not cool anymore and that its far from being new!  My guess is instinct as every new generation thinks they know more than the generation before them, and it just repeats itself over and over.

What are your thoughts on this?

[NE2]

I don't have a clue.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_coal

[GCrites]

^that's not a monster truck in the picture

[AlexandriaVA]

There's a neighbor who has a loud annoying mustang and I want to destroy it. If you rev or.have a loud engine in a densely populated area, then you're antisocial. Rural is okay

[Max Rockatansky]

Over the past 10 years I've owned a Mustang GT, Camaro SS and now a Challenger RT/Scat Pack.  The Mustang was my only regular driver and I treated it as such...the Camaro and Challenger are second cars.  So basically whenever I drove the Camaro or Challenger it was an event...hence immature hijinks ensuing.  I wouldn't be doing silly things like trying to melt tires or not give two-$$@%s about fuel economy if I had to drive either with regularity....but that's what the Focus and Sonic are for..

But in regards to the Challenger it has a really tall 1st gear and it's very easy to spin the wheels without trying to at a stop light.  I've found that 2nd gear is much better for getting around in a town where I have to stop a lot, the acceleration is way more controllable.  What's probably hurting me more than anything is that my car came with 245s on all four wheels and they are 440 treadwear.  That much power really needs 275s in the rear and 220TW to put that kind of power to the ground properly....oh well, might as well get my money's worth.

So yes...day to day stupid as all hell, give me something comfortable and economical for daily driving.

[kphoger]

I'm coming to the realization that a lot of the people I think are showing off actually aren't necessarily trying to, buy rather they're driving vehicles with loud engines that are difficult to accelerate gently from a stop. Some cars simply make more noise when you step on the gas.

My current vehicle reminds me of the sound a bus makes, and it has taken some time to develop the foot finesse required to start gently from a stop. Most people wouldn't care, so they wouldn't try. I only do because I try to maximize gas mileage with this one.

Since buying this vehicle, I've started looking at the ones that start off loudly, and I've noticed a lot of them are large truck-based vehicles or have less than ideal exhaust systems.

[triplemultiplex]

What are your thoughts on this?

Loud motors = "I'm self conscious about the size of my penis and/or my ability/opportunity to use it."

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm coming to the realization that a lot of the people I think are showing off actually aren't necessarily trying to, buy rather they're driving vehicles with loud engines that are difficult to accelerate gently from a stop. Some cars simply make more noise when you step on the gas.

My current vehicle reminds me of the sound a bus makes, and it has taken some time to develop the foot finesse required to start gently from a stop. Most people wouldn't care, so they wouldn't try. I only do because I try to maximize gas mileage with this one.

Since buying this vehicle, I've started looking at the ones that start off loudly, and I've noticed a lot of them are large truck-based vehicles or have less than ideal exhaust systems.

A lot of newer vehicles have active exhaust systems which make them sound pretty good right out of the factory.  Also 300hp and 300ftlbs of torque are common place even in a lot of mundane vehicles these days....and they have 6 to 8 gears usually.  Basically we're talking a bunch of everyday vehicles that are running around with more performance than top end models back in the mid-80s.  For the most part I've found them much easier to control than the older stuff was but that has a lot to do with torque management, gearing and better tires.

[Takumi]

I have a sticky throttle. It randomly will stick closed when I'm sitting for a bit, at a light, for example. To get it unstuck, I have to stomp on the pedal, which means I have to either rev the car to ~2000 RPM or let it stall (manual) and hit the pedal when the car is off. I usually stall it for obvious reasons.

[8.Lug]

Wow that first post doesn't make any sense at all. First of all, street racing isn't about the girls(considering the vast majority of girls think it's stupid). It's about competition. Everyone wants to be the best at something, whether it's running a mile, throwing a ball or racing a car. To say racing is pointless is the same as saying competition is pointless. Competition is what made America the most powerful nation on the planet.

Also, hippies don't drive Camaros, Mustangs, GTO's or any performance car for that matter, let alone supe them up. But the best part is your hypocrisy with the name calling and calling them insecure while you babble with your old-person get-off-my-lawn wish-I-was-young-again crap. So who's insecure? Someone just wishes they had the reflexes to drive a car on the edge of control.

[Max Rockatansky]

Wow that first post doesn't make any sense at all. First of all, street racing isn't about the girls(considering the vast majority of girls think it's stupid). It's about competition. Everyone wants to be the best at something, whether it's running a mile, throwing a ball or racing a car. To say racing is pointless is the same as saying competition is pointless. Competition is what made America the most powerful nation on the planet.

Also, hippies don't drive Camaros, Mustangs, GTO's or any performance car for that matter, let alone supe them up. But the best part is your hypocrisy with the name calling and calling them insecure while you babble with your old-person get-off-my-lawn wish-I-was-young-again crap. So who's insecure? Someone just wishes they had the reflexes to drive a car on the edge of control.

Street racing at the end of day is still illegal.  Completion aside it's pretty %{€^ing stupid to be blowing down some Interstate at 120 MPH through the middle of traffic.  Save it for the track or go enjoy your car on some sort of mountain road.  In my past life I had to respond to a lot of kids and sometimes adults who thought they knew what they were doing and ate it big time trying to race....granted those were the days when people didn't even have the 04-06 GTO available.   I thought this issue was largely settled in the public eye with things like the Paul Walker accident. There is a substantial difference in my view from outright street races and something like revving your engine at a stop light so you can beat the guy next to you to the lane merge.  At least that's what I think the OP was trying to say, I know that I wasn't talking about street racing in my responses. 

[8.Lug]

Illegal/immoral/annoying - it's all arbitrary.

But I do have to say OP, if it seems to be a fairly regular occurrence that the car next to you is peeling away from the light to pass you - ever think of maybe doing the speed limit for once? It's pretty clear to me they're trying to get rid of your slow ass. Just a thought. But no - the problem couldn't be you - it's all those damn hippies!

[renegade]

I ride a Harley.  I'll bet I'd piss all of you off.

The best part is, I wouldn't care.

[spooky]

Wow that first post doesn't make any sense at all.

That's kinda his thing.

[seicer]

This is probably one of the worst stereotyping posts I've read on here in a while -_- I'd hate to see what the original poster thinks of Asians and Civics (my first vehicle)!

[Rothman]

This is probably one of the worst stereotyping posts I've read on here in a while -_- I'd hate to see what the original poster thinks of Asians and Civics (my first vehicle)!

You drove an Asian?

[SteveG1988]

This is probably one of the worst stereotyping posts I've read on here in a while -_- I'd hate to see what the original poster thinks of Asians and Civics (my first vehicle)!

You drove an Asian?

I think he meant Assan.

[Max Rockatansky]

This is probably one of the worst stereotyping posts I've read on here in a while -_- I'd hate to see what the original poster thinks of Asians and Civics (my first vehicle)!

You drove an Asian?

I think he meant Assan.

I'm fairly certain the poster was referring to four cylinder Japanese and Korean cars like the Corolla, Civic, Sentra and many others that were available in the 80s/90s.  Basically those kind of cars, especially the performance variants got stereotyped as "Asian" or other slang like; Ricers, Ricer Burners, Rice Rockets, ect until the term "Tuner" came in vogue.  Ironically the domestic automakers started offering four cylinder performance cars like the SRT4 (I still call it a Neon), Cobalt SS and the Focus ST of recent years which pretty much led to the modern term.  Before it was much more domestic car guy vs asian car guy vs european car guy. 

But in regards to the Asian four cylinder cars I'm glad one trend did stop; the fart cannon exhaust.  I'm not sure why anyone ever thought those sounded good.

[noelbotevera]

I really can't blame it on family cars, because either the driver didn't mean it or didn't try to accelerate that quickly. Motorcycles and sports cars are a new realm. Whenever they do that, it reminds me of the Realistic Fish Head from Spongebob describing that oyster's cry.

[jeffandnicole]

While the OP does have a certain 'Get off my lawn' tone to his words, he's basically correct.  It's a generation thing.  In the 50's, chances are the guys had the cars, and the girls were following in their mom's footsteps by helping around the house, and thus didn't need cars.  Besides, their guy friends would roll up and pick them up anyway, and take them wherever...you know, the drive in theatre, the malt shop, downtown where all the shops were located, etc.  These girls weren't going to the mall; they weren't eating at Applebees, etc.

Today, these kids have grown up sitting in the back seat until they were 15 with their seatbelts and 37 airbags surrounding them.   When it's time for them to get their own car, mom, stepdad, dad and stepmom all want one thing: safety.  It's not about impressing anyone anymore.  Besides, unless they're texted a picture of the car they're in to see the factory installed radio 4 inches away, they're not going to notice it.

Some guys will still rev engines, but there's more of a "This is what I like" mentality to it, vs a "Hey, see me now" mentality to it.  Besides, gone are the days of pulling up to a stoplight and trying to race the hotrod next to you, because chances are they have one of those Asian vehicles.  Now it's more like "3 miles of traffic jams approaching the red light so I'm not going to stop unless I absolutely have to!"

[Max Rockatansky]

Today, these kids have grown up sitting in the back seat until they were 15 with their seatbelts and 37 airbags surrounding them.   When it's time for them to get their own car, mom, stepdad, dad and stepmom all want one thing: safety.  It's not about impressing anyone anymore.  Besides, unless they're texted a picture of the car they're in to see the factory installed radio 4 inches away, they're not going to notice it.

Are you sure it's just 15 for the average youth?  It seems like there are more and young people who don't even get a license well into college these days.  Seems like the generation growing up now is mostly interested in technology stuff rather than cars.  I'm to understand that living in the urban core as opposed to suburbia has become a thing again for a lot younger people...amazing how the mentality on some things change in a couple decades.

That's not to say there aren't younger folks interested in cars.  It just seems the larger populace of them is swinging to a different direction.  Then again that could just be a consequence of "getting old" as we used to phrase it in the 80s when parents used terms like "brain rot" to abstain us from things like MTV, the Simpsons, Michael Jackson music videos and Nintendo.

[noelbotevera]

Today, these kids have grown up sitting in the back seat until they were 15 with their seatbelts and 37 airbags surrounding them.   When it's time for them to get their own car, mom, stepdad, dad and stepmom all want one thing: safety.  It's not about impressing anyone anymore.  Besides, unless they're texted a picture of the car they're in to see the factory installed radio 4 inches away, they're not going to notice it.

Are you sure it's just 15 for the average youth?  It seems like there are more and young people who don't even get a license well into college these days.  Seems like the generation growing up now is mostly interested in technology stuff rather than cars.  I'm to understand that living in the urban core as opposed to suburbia has become a thing again for a lot younger people...amazing how the mentality on some things change in a couple decades.

That's not to say there aren't younger folks interested in cars.  It just seems the larger populace of them is swinging to a different direction.  Then again that could just be a consequence of "getting old" as we used to phrase it in the 80s when parents used terms like "brain rot" to abstain us from things like MTV, the Simpsons, Michael Jackson music videos and Nintendo.

This is the newer generation here talking, and you're right. Although I'm the odd one out (I've been riding in the front seat since I was 9, and have been riding shotgun most of the time ever since), some people haven't been getting licenses. My sister is 20 and only has her permit, and she didn't even try after she left for her 3rd year of college. I'm interesting in getting technological degrees in college, but as a kid and even now, I still have an interest in cars. Living in exurbs rather than suburbs though is more...interesting, (Chambersburg is more of an exurb of Washington D.C.) and also, living in suburbs is cheaper than in the urban core. Take San Francisco and the surrounding area (more than 30+ miles) as an example.

But really, things have changed within the last five years. Not just twenty. I'm still into outdated memes such as Nyan Cat for example. I almost never use them, thankfully. It's clear at this point we're headed in a different direction, and that's the wrong direction.

[thenetwork]

I guess if I had to rank them as far as which noise would you tolerate more on a summer evening with the windows open, my choices would be:

MOST TOLERANT -> LEAST TOLERANT:

Loud Car Engines (Hot Rods/Muscle Cars)
Loud Car Mufflers (Those small Toyota-like cars with the big pipe mufflers)
Crotch Rockets
Loud Radios playing rap/bass/scratch... "music" (???).

[slorydn1]

As the proud owner of 2 Mustang GT's I can tell you that both are factory stock, and really aren't loud at all unless you are really aggressive with the loud pedal.

Grey one is mine, blue one is the wife's:










I'm confused as to what the OP was talking about: The revving of the engine with the clutch in on a manual (or neutral with an auto), or is he talking about leaving the stoplight like the Space Shuttle out of Kennedy? I really haven't noticed the former happening much as of late, I certainly don't do that myself. If it's the latter, well, in my case its not to show off because I could give a rat's behind about what others think about that, it's the fact that I paid for 420 horsepower and I like to experience it every now and then.

I don't street race, in fact many a Prius driver has been able to run home and tell their buddies that they torched a Mustang because I just don't do that.  But if traffic's light I have been known to launch it every now and then. My wife drives hers the same way-slow most of the time until she feels the need for a burst.

[formulanone]

On public roads, directly away from residences, during daylight hours...this is pretty much a "who cares" scenario. I'd imagine it attracts teenage boys much more than the ladies, most of whom do not care what type of vehicle you drive.

Not that many people do this to intentionally annoy others; I find those who idle a vehicle for extended periods in front of entrances far more of an annoyance.