Dumb Exhaust

Leah and I finally made a decision on a vehicle. It has been extremely stressful these past couple of weeks, and there has been much prayer, much sadness, much trouble but there has been much Grace. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. ~Hebrews 4:16~ We took two big steps in the opposite direction of what we had intended to have for a vehicle. It was so hard, but we prayed so much. We were concerned about making payments again and for an extended amount of time. We finally decided on this 1995 Honda Civic. I have a friend who has had the same car, only a sedan. Same year, same model everything except for the number of doors. He said it has been an excellent car and has never failed him. The ratings were tremendous and it will do anywhere from 38 - 41 mpg. So we got it. It's going to save us some bucks over the long haul and was much cheaper than the alternative. Let's get to the title though. When I spoke to the guy about the car he told me the car had a stainless steel exhaust from the cat (catalytic converter) the rest of the way back. Super deal right? Until we got there and started it up and realized the muffler was one of those stereotyping mufflers. It didn't bother me too much there, but today when I drove it home and couldn't hear myself think the whole way I said "this thing (the muffler... if you can call it that) has got to go!" Take a look at the exhaust below. Pay close attention to the end where the "muffler" is. That is the exact same thing we had on this car. They are referred to as a "coffee can" and it's usually derogatory. Not to mention, Lake Placid cops love loud exhausts and love to write tickets for them. So I went right to Advanced Auto today bought a muffler. It was more than I wanted to pay, but I figured a couple of tickets could add up real quick. My boss had offered me his garage to use if I ever needed to do car work in the snow. So I asked and was able to go right over and put it on. Much better, and from what I understand better for the engine too. If you have a V8 and want to put a nice sounding exhaust on - such as a Corvette or nice V8 truck - that's one thing. Or if you have purchased a Cummins Turbo Charged straight six and put it in a late 80's model pick up or a late 90's model Suburban a noisy exhaust is totally acceptable because said vehicles will destroy the competition. A 1995 Honda Civic on the other hand with a noisy exhaust will just get left in the dust.