November 1, 2017
Noise Free America: A Coalition to Promote QuietFor immediate release
Contact:
Larry Deal
[email protected]
Ted Rueter
877-664-7366
[email protected]
Chapel Hill: The Ford Motor Company has won this month’s Noisy Dozen award from Noise Free America: A Coalition to Promote Quiet for manufacturing the Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang, which has a “high performance exhaust mode with different settings for different volume levels.”
Patrick Rall of Torque News explains that “Ford has equipped the new Shelby GT350 Mustang with an exhaust system that turns up the volume with the push of a button, so the driver decides when he or she wants the Mustang to rumble or roar.” Rall continues, “If you decide you want to deafen everyone around your new Shelby GT350R when destroying a Corvette on a road course, a quick push of the button will let the engine roar like no other stock cars sold in this country.” He concludes: “In this louder mode, the 5.2L flat plane V8 absolutely screams, offering a roar unlike any American production car that I can think of—at least a factory-stock form.”
Larry Deal, a member of Noise Free America: A Coalition to Promote Quiet, stated that “Ford making cars that are equipped with noise making exhaust systems that are user- adjustable is an example of a car that is factory-equipped with a loud exhaust. That not only causes unnecessary noise pollution; it raises problems enforcing state muffler laws that require highway vehicles to be equipped with factory-equivalent mufflers. Cars that are factory-equipped with exhaust systems that cause the cars to emit aggressive growling, rumbling and loud exhaust noise would be considered legal under those laws. This subverts the enforcement of those state laws.’
Deal also noted that “Ford and other car manufacturers offering ‘muscle’ cars like the Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang are marketing and endorsing exhaust noise pollution and encouraging their customers to inflict that noise on the public while they gratify themselves when revving those noise making ‘muscle’ cars to show off those factory- equipped aggressive growling, rumbling and loud exhaust noise emissions. Ford is marketing a noise-polluting product.”
Ted Rueter, director of Noise Free America: A Coalition to Promote Quiet, called on Ford to “stop equipping their so-called ‘muscle’ cars with noisemaking exhaust systems and not enable their customers to adjust their vehicle’s exhaust noise emissions at the flip of a switch. The Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang is loud and nasty no matter how that switch is set. All highway cars should be quiet, at idle and under load, including the Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang.”
Noise Free America: A Coalition to Promote Quiet is a national citizens’ organization devoted to noise reduction. The Ford Motor Company also won the Noisy Dozen award in September 2005 for “introducing a 1,000-watt 10-speaker stereo system with two subwoofers as standard equipment in its 2006 Ford Mustang. Ford is now marketing noise and thuggery.”