Who Wants a Loud Car?

Since Henry Ford created an assembly line for mass-producing automobiles, making them affordable to the middle class, marketing researchers have been trying to determine how best to match the features of the vehicles with the possible characteristics of the consumer. Sport utility vehicles are portrayed in the media as ideal options for outgoing and active people, for example, while minivans are shown with families on vacation or engaging in outings and pickup trucks are shown driving over dirt roads in rural areas.

Less understood is how the driver’s characteristics are associated with customizations of their vehicles. Bumper stickers typically serve the purpose of explicitly stating what the driver’s opinions are or where they have been. Customizing paint and lights may also reflect a desire for individualization.

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Another type of customization involves the modification of exhaust systems to make vehicles louder. As these exhaust modifications are both a disturbance to people and animals and are illegal in some jurisdictions—for example, Edmonton in Alberta, Canada, recently announced that the initial fine of $250 for a loud vehicle would be increased to $1,000 for the first offence and $2,000 for repeated offences—understanding who wants their vehicle to be loud is an interesting research question.

Recently, I conducted a pilot study to assess the demographic and personality characteristics that predict an individual’s desire to make their vehicle louder by customizing their muffler or exhaust system. Undergraduate business students (529, with 52 percent of the sample men) were asked if they viewed their car as an extension of themself; whether loud cars were “cool”; and whether they would make their vehicle louder by modifying the muffler system.

Also completed was a self-report personality scale measuring the “Dark Tetrad,” which includes everyday sadism, psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism. These scales were chosen because standard personality measures tend to assess more positive dimensions.

Based on the definitions of the Dark Tetrad scales, I predicted that those who want their cars louder might be trying to get others to notice them—and therefore narcissism, or excessive self-regard, may be a good predictor of the desire for a loud car. Everyday sadism reflects an enjoyment of watching others be harmed or in pain—and as the loud exhaust systems may scare or startle others, I predicted that everyday sadism would positively predict those who would modify their vehicles to make them louder.

Psychopathy reflects an impulse to be cruel to others. I predicted that this callous characteristic would relate to louder vehicles, as the disturbance they cause others seems to be a clear indicator of indifference to how others feel. I did not predict that Machiavellianism, which is characteristic of someone who is strategic and manipulative in their interactions with others, would be strongly predictive of who would modify their vehicles to make them louder.

Interestingly, I found that those who endorsed the car items more strongly were typically younger men who scored higher on the four Dark Tetrad scales. When the total of the three pilot car items was analyzed, the scale total was predicted by men who scored higher in both everyday sadism and psychopathy. As predicted, Machiavellianism was not a strong predictor.

Contrary to my hypothesis, narcissism was not a significant predictor when the other personality dimensions were included. This finding suggests that people may not, in fact, be making their vehicles louder to draw attention to themselves or to say, “Look at me!”

The results are concerning in that they suggest that individuals who make their vehicles loud may be doing so to deliberately hurt others by disturbing them and that these individuals may be motivated by the negative state that they cause others. Although the study is a pilot study and requires replication, the results are perhaps especially concerning because some media outlets are reporting that the frequency of vehicles with loud exhaust systems has been increasing.