One of the most annoying trends that have only gotten worse as electronics have become cheaper is installing an exaggerated sound system in your normal-sized car. There are numerous videos on YouTube of bass-boosted systems, loud enough to shatter windows and make women’s hair stand on end, making the rounds and becoming viral sensations. There is little to no use for these such systems though, unless one has the desire to eventually deafen themselves.
Nowadays, any kid with a few hundred bucks can buy a vicious sound system that is overqualified for even the loudest of situations. These kids, usually driving a car that costs less than many adults make per month, subsequently drive these cars around neighborhoods at night and wake up the poor residents to music that is just as foul and disturbing as the sound systems look in their automobiles. Luckily, there are laws against these things, and any teenager caught playing music at a volume higher than a rock concert will quickly regret it when they get pulled over and fined.
Fart Exhaust
You knew we were going to cover these abominations at some point, so let's get it out of the way. Supercars and muscle cars that have a high amount of horsepower sound just incredible. You can take them and replace the exhaust with a straight pipe and you'll get an even more aggressive sound. On the other hand, taking your 2008 BMW 1-Series or 2009 Subaru Impreza and putting a big, fat exhaust tip on it to make it sound like someone put a laxative in your engine, is one of the worst crimes you can ever do to a car.
First of all, putting a large exhaust on a basic car is like putting a megaphone on a baby cat to make it sound like a lion. News flash - it won't. Secondly, even if your car does sound a bit better (despite being loud and annoying), it's still immediately visible to anyone with sight to notice that it's not accelerating in proportion to the sound that's produced by the exhaust. Instead of buying one of these, why not just save the money and invest in improving your vehicle's horsepower? There is not a single person in the world who woke up thinking "I just love the beautiful sound of a straight piped Fiesta in the morning." Do yourself and the environment a favor, don’t buy fart-tip exhausts.
Homemade Pickup Sedans
There's a reason why car manufacturers spend literally hundreds of millions of dollars just for developing new cars that they're working on. It takes work, a lot of work, and is usually done by a huge team of very talented engineers with a vast record of successful projects and the backing of an international multi-billion dollar company. When you sit in your garage and try to make a pickup truck out of your Corvette, the results will probably disappoint, more often than not.
The reason that it’s not a good idea to mess with your car to that extent is that you're probably not a car engineer, and even if you are, you don't have the resources, experience, and backing that a career car engineer has. So try to avoid turning your sedan into a pickup truck, it doesn't really work and it looks absolutely atrocious. If you really need a pickup truck, they can be bought for quite cheap in the United States due to their high demand.
Tiny Cars
One of the most entertaining trends that have hit the streets, as a result, the new smart cars that hit the roads in the last decades, is what is often referred to as "short cars" or "smushed cars". This image is no optical illusion, rather it's an example of someone who's jealous of the wonderful ability that smart cars have of being able to fit into almost any parking spot, oftentimes in a perpendicular fashion.
This image is just one example of a guy who turned his Corvette into a mini car. These are very badly designed cars as they literally took a regular working car and mashed their features into a smaller structure. if you’re so interested in having a short car, it’s best to just buy a mini.
You Just Went Full Black, Everybody Knows You Never Go Full Black
A relatively new fad that began in recent years is the decision to paint your car entirely in black. We don't just mean making the car mostly appear black, rather completely darkening any part of the car (except the headlights) to make it literally as dark as possible. Beyond being slightly less safe at night, this trend serves nobody as it doesn't contribute in any way to you looking "cool" or "edgy".
Your car is just a car, and unless you own a luxury sports car or a vehicle that would demand attention just by its quality and build, there's no reason to try and bolster its look using darker colors. This trend appears at its worst when van owners decide to paint their large and boxy cars black, as this mostly serves to frighten people and usually doesn't bring any wanted visions to mind. We’re not saying that cars need to be light and colorful, but we are asking for some consideration and restraint when it comes to your choice of external design.