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Car Horns
17 Sep 2003 by Brad Hurley
Did you ever stop to think that someone actually has to decide what a car will sound like? There are some obvious rules--small cars must have higher-pitched horns than large cars--but beyond that a good designer will want to ensure that the tonal quality of the horn is in keeping with the vehicle’s overall character. The original Volkswagen Beetle’s horn matched the car perfectly: a nasal, round ball of a beep, exactly the sound you’d expect to come from a car shaped like that.
Most mid-sized American cars sound pretty much the same, which makes sense because well, they all look pretty much the same. There tends to be more diversity in sound among European cars and specialty vehicles. I’ve never heard the horns of some vehicles: what does a Hummer sound like? Or a Mini Cooper? I wish there were an online Car Horn Museum where you could listen to the horns of all the cars you’ve ever had; it would be quite a nostalgia trip.
36 comments so far (Post a Comment)
17 Sep 2003 | JF said...
Here's an article about Audi's Acoustics Development department.
Thomas Kriegel, Head of Acoustics for the Audi A4 model series, says "The sound of a car must meet the expectations which its design and model positioning have aroused in the customer... This means that vehicles such as the Audi S4 or the Audi TT 3.2 quattro must also have a sporty-raspy sound - they must 'sound fast". In these cases, acoustical restraint would only disappoint the customers. The A8, in contrast, has a sound that reflects comfort with a sporty undertone."
17 Sep 2003 | Darrel said...
A hummer, if my memory serves me correctly, is an air horn...just like on any of the military vehicles.
That said, it may not have actually had a horn, though...my memory is rusty.
I had no idea that there was a rule that smaller cars had to have higher pitched horns ;o)
What is the rule regarding the horns that play la cucuracha?
17 Sep 2003 | Brad Hurley said...
I had no idea that there was a rule that smaller cars had to have higher pitched horns ;o)
I think this is mainly for safety's sake. If a little car and a big car at at an intersection and one of them beeps at you, the sound lets you know immediately which car is trying to get your attention.
That said, there was a great story by the Chicago bicycling guru Eugene Sloan about using a truck horn on a bicycle: he used to ride home at night through a park on his way home from work, and one night he encountered a gang of "toughs" there. Instead of clearing a way on the path for him, they turned to face him, obviously intending to mug him. He thought quickly, and sped up, aiming straight for them, and at the last instant he gave a blast on his truck horn. The sound startled them so much that they all jumped out of the way, and he was long gone before they figured out what had happened. Of course, this was in the 1970s...today they would have just pulled out a gun and shot him, but it's still a good story.
17 Sep 2003 | Don Schenck said...
The horn on my Saab 900 is SO LAME. Makes me feel like less of a man, I tell ya.
:-)
17 Sep 2003 | p8 said...
"Did you ever stop to think that someone actually has to decide what a car will sound like?"
Some Asian car manufacturer wondererd why their cars wouldn't sell in the US. It turned out that the sound of closing the door made the car sound cheap. So they redesigned the door to give it a more solid sound.
17 Sep 2003 | Michael Spina said...
My Miata's horn was pretty appropriate for the car (meep meep!). I replaced it with dual electric horns which made the car sound like a big Buick or something, but it lost it's character.
17 Sep 2003 | Jay said...
For me, the most recognizable horn is that of a Volvo.
17 Sep 2003 | Stefanie Noble said...
The new MINI's horn is actually quite large-sounding for such a small car. (I own one)
17 Sep 2003 | Sam Sherwood said...
I'm fairly certain it's the same horn you'd hear from a BMW, just stuffed into the Cooper (I'm a fellow owner). It's a solid horn sound, that's for certain - I used it my first day on the road!
17 Sep 2003 | me said...
I will never forget the horn of the 01 Ford Explorer that ran a red light slammed into the side of my car and breaking my pelvis, 3 ribs and right forearm. Yeah, thanks for the head's up lady!
17 Sep 2003 | ~bc said...
The horn on my Saab 900 is SO...
Classy, Don, is the word you were looking for.
BTW, we picked up a new (to us) 9-3 a few weeks back, so we're back in Saabs!
17 Sep 2003 | Benjy said...
For some reason, my '02 Jetta's horn is higher than my boss's '00 Jetta. And I've got the turbo, so I should have the more manly-sounding horn... or does mine have the "sporty-raspy" sound the Audi engineer discussed?
17 Sep 2003 | Don Schenck said...
~bc's gonna be pushing that way cool "stealth mode" Black Panel button tonight. You know what I'm talkin' 'bout!
:-)
17 Sep 2003 | Brad Hurley said...
For some reason, my '02 Jetta's horn is higher than my boss's '00 Jetta.
Volkswagen is raising the pitch with each model year. By 2015, only dogs and mosquitoes will be able to hear the Jetta's horn.
17 Sep 2003 | ML said...
I assume at some point in the future people will be able to download/choose their own car horn sound. Scary.
17 Sep 2003 | ek said...
ML, you just let the cat out of the bag. The next time I hear some lame ass 50 cent song coming out of a car as a honk I'll know who to blame. ;-)
Speaking of acoustic tuning, the new BMW Z4's interior is built around an acoustic tunnel that...
...delivers enhanced engine intake noise directly from the intake manifold into the cockpit, making the driver feel more connected to the cars lightning performance
The funny thing is that it's only included on the higher end 3.0 liter model. I wonder if that was purely a marketing decision or it's just that the 2.5 liter engine doesn't sound as nice?
Oh well, whatever the case, I think the car has unfortunate looks, but I'm sure the 3.0 version sounds wonderful from the inside.
17 Sep 2003 | Sam Sherwood said...
I must be the only person alive who loves the new Z4 look.
That's the funny difference between Mercedes and BMW, tho'. BMW likes to leak engine noise into the cabin, while Mercedes tries to block out everything.
Do they actually include an acoustic tunnel in the 3 liter? That's crazy... and incredibly neat.
17 Sep 2003 | Gabe said...
Make that the second person. I like that car more and more time I see it.
And for the record the 2.5L sounds almost identical to the 3.0L. I assume the 3.0L Z4 just has a well placed hole somewhere in the engine compartment :)
17 Sep 2003 | Darrel said...
Hey Sam...come here...we had a casting problem with the engine wall here. They all have a big hole in them. Should we dump them and recast them?
Umm...no...let me run this by marketing...I bet they can make this into sellable 'feature'. ;o)
17 Sep 2003 | Noworryz said...
Well it turns out that the Hummer horn is really wimpy and so there is quite an aftermarket for more powerful horns.
With the new horn installed, the sound is something like "BIGCARBIGCARBIGCARsmallpenisBIGCARBIGCARBIGCAR."
17 Sep 2003 | Paperhead said...
17 Sep 2003 | Brad Hurley said...
Actually, they do have some car horns in there, including the VW bug...that's great!
Years ago I got the idea of proposing a story on car horns for National Public Radio, but quickly realized that they'd probably get sued if they aired it, because all the car horns coming over the radio during rush hour would distract people and cause accidents.
17 Sep 2003 | One of several Steves said...
Sam, you're far from alone in liking the Z4. I didn't like it much in pictures at first, but seeing it in person all over the place here in Southern California, I love the thing. Loved it the first moment I saw it in person. Love it enough that I look at a Z3 and think, man, what a dull little car that thing is.
17 Sep 2003 | JF said...
Years ago I got the idea of proposing a story on car horns for National Public Radio, but quickly realized that they'd probably get sued if they aired it, because all the car horns coming over the radio during rush hour would distract people and cause accidents.
Reminds me of this Curb Your Enthusiasm episode.
18 Sep 2003 | cj said...
I have a Nissan truck and I've actually become horn shy because the horn is very unmanly sounding. I'm embarrased to use it. In fact, most times people I have honked at can't hear it (on cell phone) and I've literally resorted to getting out of the truck and walking up to there car and saying, "yo, the light is green."
18 Sep 2003 | Sam Sherwood said...
Phew ... I guess the nay-sayers are just a bit more vocal than those who enjoy the Z4. At the moment, I consider my Mini to be my gateway drug into the Z4. At $32,000 for the 2.5L (I think), that wouldn't make for a bad lease at all.
My '91 Honda Civic had a horn that sounded just like its engine -- high strung and Japanese. It was loud as hell, but left me with a cheap feeling after every use.
The real problem with horns nowadays is the practice you have to go through to get a decent "Goodbye" double-tap. It's near impossible with button horns.
18 Sep 2003 | Paperhead said...
18 Sep 2003 | ~bc said...
~bc's gonna be pushing that way cool "stealth mode" Black Panel button tonight. You know what I'm talkin' 'bout!
I do, indeed. However, the only thing I don't like (although it is neat) is that all the gauges actually switch off, instead of simply going dark. I'm too interested in the turbo gauge (its a great tool to see what the engine is really up to) to use the switch. I could monitor it with ambient light, if the needle itself didn't go limp when in NightPanel mode. You can get awesome milage by simply adjusting the throttle to use the turbo less. And its always there when you need it. Of course, I have less control since ~a didn't know how to drive stick. We're in the city now, and that's not a good place to learn. She also changes the radio so much, I don't think she could deal without a radio display. I wonder if that illuminates if we change the channel never tried yet. Of course, I commute on the T, so she drives it 90% of the time, I don't know when I'll get to try.
[For those not in the know, NightPanel on a Saab switches all lights off in side the car (with exception to speedometer) to reduce eye strain during night driving. Gauges come to life if they need your attention.]
18 Sep 2003 | Don Schenck said...
I love to drive home on winter evenings with the panel blacked out and both front and rear fog lights on. I feel like I'm in a fighter jet.
Of course, my wife's car has a "head up" display, which is very cool (and a good safety feature, to boot).
18 Sep 2003 | mikes said...
i was standing in the shower this morning, hypnogogic, when visions of a massive car and "La Cucaracha" blasting from the horn came to me ... a project ... a calling ...
what was the name of the car Homer invented? if it was the Homer im feeling silly.
seriously, I love the horn on my chevy. push and lean. hold for more than 5 seconds for maximum effect.
18 Sep 2003 | Ro said...
I've often wondered why we're stuck with only one sound. The car horn traditionally sounds alarming. Besides a sharp warning of imminent danger, there are a few other reasons why we'd want our cars to be audible: giving a pedestrian the go-ahead, alerting an inattentive driver that the light has changed, or just plain saying 'hi'.
This got me wondering about how you could position these alternative horns so that they'd be accessible-yet-not-confusing when you really needed them. I was thinking that a good solution would be to have a pressure sensitive mechanism to trigger the most appropriate sound. Light tapping, 'meep meep'. Laying it on, 'AARRUUGGAAHH!'
Does anyone own a car with a similar feature?
19 Sep 2003 | JAP4N said...
heh.. i have a MG Metro.. and have installed an extra horn (these horns are standard Mini electronic horns).. one of the horns is broken, and sounds like a shreeking dinosaur.. the other sounds like a normal "meeeeep' - together they sound.. well.. humorous..
i think it matches the car cos it looks kinda funny.
19 Sep 2003 | Paperhead said...
The old Jensen interceptor used to have a town and a country horn.
20 Nov 2003 | Mikkel Torst said...
I gotta say, I am very impressed with the new Honda Element, and the Honda Civic. On the page I linked above, it lists the car price which is fair, and some links to good reviews. The Element is new, but a really cool car, and the Civic has won countless awards over the years. I think Honda is one of the best auto makers on the planet.
17 Jan 2004 | Timothy said...
For example, if you see an AIM window peeking out from behind your browser and you click on it, that window will come to the front, but the main application window will not. The Mail.app/Activity Viewer is another example. The Aqua system of layers works well in many instances, but not in all. Thank goodness that the Dock is always there to come to the rescue. I know that clicking on an application icon in the Dock will always result in not only the application coming to the front, but also any non-minimized windows associated with it. And if the application is active but no windows are open, clicking on the Dock icon should create a new window in that application.
