Sounding off on Horns

[MadBill]

We're not alone in our concerns!Car Horns Need Robust Trumpet Sound, Not GM's Wimpy WhineThe Detroit NewsBy Mike HudsonAugust 6, 2003DETROIT--While driving I-75 the other day, I happened upon a burly truckdriver who merged his big rig onto my lane with no warning, forcing meleftward nearly into the wall.In the past, near-death experiences led me to pound my horn and uttercomments about the driver's mother and her mustache. But this was a new day."Meep! Meep!" Out of the way, s'il vous plait!Was it karma? Was it inner tranquility? Was it Tai-chi or Feng-shui? No.It was my new car and its -- ummhmm -- "European"-style horn. In short, my car speaks French.Is the badge on my hood not a Pontiac arrow? Does my Gen-X targeted Vibe not bleed "Fuel for the Soul" as the ads say?My car responds: "Meeeep!" Translation: "I get beat up at school."Now, I'm used to driving small- and medium-sized cars. The horns aren't as powerful as those on the full-size pickups of the world. But if you're driving a Big Three product, I assumed you could count on some attitude from your horn.So I called General Motors Corp. and demanded to speak to their top horn executive. Wouldn't you know it, the guy actually exists.His name is Stan Kozlowicz, a GM senior project engineer; aka The Horn Guru. As soon as I mentioned the Vibe, he knew what I was calling about."You see it's got a disc horn and it sounds kind of ... tinny," Kozlowiczsaid.So why did you put it in my car, Stan? Excusez-moi, je suis un Americain!The weakness and subsequent whimpiness of my horn results from a cultural difference and a supplier choice at GM. The Vibe shares a rather large share of parts with the Toyota Matrix and is related to the Toyota Corolla, which is built in the same plant as the Vibe out in California.Now when GM sat down with Toyota to design the car, they decided to use the Toyota horn to make production easier. The auto cultures outside the United States tend to gravitate toward the "tinny" -- as Kozlowicz would say, or the "pathetic," as I would say -- horns."Typically in the U.S., we like to have a robust trumpet horn -- about 90 percent of our vehicles have the trumpet," he said. "It's a cultural thing. It's a way of saying to another driver, 'You've done something I don't like, get out of my way.'"It's not unusual to get complaints about the disc horns when we put them in. We're trying to come up with something that's acceptable to everyone."Until then, I guess I can just be polite, like the rest of world. But if mycar has to speak French, maybe it could say something to prove I'mAmerican.Vibe, can you say, "L'europe? Nous ne les avons pas battu dans la GuerreCivile?" (Translation: Europe? Didn't we beat you in the Civil War?)"Meep!"Close enough

[joatmon]

That's funny, a Vibe horn says "I get beat up at school"

[micheles_bad_vibe]

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[MadBill]

Take some advice, micheles. I've been to California, I've seen the bumper stickers about "waiting while I reload". Please, please, get your Vibe an ear-spitting horn, before you snap and find yourself venting with the aid of a 45 instead!

[micheles_bad_vibe]

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[meathead333]

quote: *i don't really have a shotgun*maybe you should....

[ragingfish]

My favorite line: "So I called General Motors Corp. and demanded to speak to their top horn executive. Wouldn't you know it, the guy actually exists."

[scherry2]

I was thinking about "borrowing" some horns from work that go on the 1/2 ton GMC trucks, I wonder if they would work or would I have to change the relay??? they would be nice and loud!

[ragingfish]

Dude, that'd be f*in sweet!

[Jethro]

Excellent article!I wonder if Mike Hudson is here on GenVibe??Hopefully GM will LISTEN now and find a real horn for this car. Let Toyota keep their tinny piece of crap for the Matrix if they want but give us a nice dual tone horn like every Pontiac deserves!

[ragingfish]

I dunno man...now that I've heard the power and beauty of my Hellas, I would probably even change out a more typical Pontiac horn...

[Jethro]

quote:"horn wimpy... watch for shotgun"MEEP! MEEP!??MEEP! MEEP!??Click-click. KABOOM!Can you hear me NOW? Good!

[ragingfish]

Hehehe...reminds me of that cartoon someone posted...http://laacz.lv/f/swf/madness.swf

[Merzbow]

So where can I buy a horn?

[Jethro]

quote:Hehehe...reminds me of that cartoon someone posted...http://laacz.lv/f/swf/madness.swfThat's hilarious! Well worth the wait even for an Amish (on dial-up) guy like myself!

[ragingfish]

quote:So where can I buy a horn?Depends on what you're in the market for.If you want a REAL horn, quality built, go Hella, IMHO. You can get the ones most people have, at any of these retailers:It's manufactuer #85315 or #85115Also, the following net retailers have them: California Car Cover Company Susquehanna MotorSports autosupermart.com Off Road Warehouse 4x4 Connection Griot's Garage I personally recommend Griot's Garage. I paid more up front, but they have a lifetime guarantee. If anything ever goes wrong. they'll repair them, replace them, or refund your money. Good deal!You could always look on ebay too!

[Robert G]

Thanks for the recommendations. I am looking to replace the horn as well. But I want to just find a single horn which will be easy to install. Can you suggest a single horn? Should it be a low note?

[ragingfish]

Well, it's hard to say man. There's no wonderful single note...to get a true, loud, quality sound, you need a minimum of two notes, possibly even three...

[Vibe]

What a great article and it really got my dander up!!! I have complaimed about that "fagot" horn from day one and one would have thought that GM Pontiac would of taken the hint by now.I about got into an accident today when this van pulled out infront of me and he couldn't hear the horn because he didn't even flinch when I sat on it. Oh yes we can change our horns but why should we have to?And please don't tell me that GM must use Toyota's design because I work for GM and that is pure BS. They have the right to upgrade or change if their name will be on it.Please post that GM engineers name and phone number and lets all call him and voice our thoughts on the Vibes horn.------If not then IM me because I sure want to give him an earfull.Thank you for your post ---now my blood is boiling. That's how strongly I feel about a horn that I am ASHAME to use. James ( Vibe)

[Big_Red]

My in-laws love the Vibe, until I blew the horn one day....and now they all laugh at the Vibe....The horn has got to go!!!!!

[taupecat]

Last week, some idiot decided at the last second he wanted to get onto the freeway from the left lane, thereby cutting me off (he was on a cell phone, of course, but that's a gripe for a different thread). In my anger, I slammed down on the horn.I swear he giggled.

[Geo]

quote:Hehehe...reminds me of that cartoon someone posted...http://laacz.lv/f/swf/madness.swfYou're welcome for posting that I love my Hellas ... they just look so cool and sound great.But trumpet horns that would blow out the rear window of the car ahead of me ... THAT is what I would really want

[ArcsVibe]

At first I thought "what a bunch of whiners crying over a horn?" let me tell you that I ate crow for that! I was trying to get my friends' attention at his garage and honked, what came out..meep, meep! I was so embarrassed I wanted to hide under my seat! I ran out today to my local auto parts store and bought a 132 decibel horn ( you need one if you drive in Quebec! )Moral of the story is " never doubt a fellow Viber!!! "

[meathead333]

quote: I ran out today to my local auto parts store and bought a 132 decibel horn ( you need one if you drive in Quebec! )anyone know the decibel of the hella's?

[ragingfish]

I believe it's 113 per disc, but I won't swear to it...

[Celtic_Curse]

Where would you get one in Canada, or is it strictly through the web?

[scherry2]

well I picked up my 2 horns today. they are for a 2004 GMC pickup, I'm installing them tomorrow. I hooked them up with some wire and had my son hit the horn button. all I can say is WOW are they loud. wait till the Ohio meet next weekend.

[scherry2]

put the horns in behind the grille they look stock but sound far from it, they are loud!!!! hooked them up to the stock wiring.

[AKLGT]

how much did those horns run you? I haven't decided on if I want to replace my stock or not. although last weekend a guy tried to run me off the road and I laid on the the pathetic horn. it was rather pathetic.

[meathead333]

on the net they run any where from $70-$85 plus shipping i believe, for the hellas.

[scherry2]

they were cheap I have to leave it at that. really, any automotive horn will work, you just have to find the ones you like.and stock horns can't be that expensive.

[Sub-Vibe-R]

quote:Where would you get one in Canada, or is it strictly through the web?Try Canadian Tire, or got one from a salvaged car.

[ArcsVibe]

Go to any auto parts store and ask for a generic horn. My horn only cost about 27$CAN, and it took about 5-10 minutes to install.Trust me it is a worthwhile investment.

[MadBill]

quote:Where would you get one in Canada, or is it strictly through the web?I picked up a pair of "Highway Blasters" from CTC the week after I got my Vibe in Dec.. I think they were ~ $30 each. Nice tone and VERY loud!