To some, the regular car horn is a little too aggressive. That’s why courtesy horns exist. Does one belong in your Jeep, though?
As you all well know, there are a lot of mods you can make to your Jeep. Wheels, tires, body armor, power adders, and more. According to the PowerNation TV video above, one mod that people can make to their vehicles is a courtesy horn.
You don’t have to drive through the suburbs or the city long until you find yourself behind someone at a red light who fails to notice it changing to green. It’s possible they’re not looking up because they dropped something or are switching radio stations, but these days, it’s more likely that they’re not paying attention because they have their eyes glued to their phone. Those memes on Instagram aren’t going to chuckle at themselves, you know. What do you do to get them moving? You lean on your horn, right?
Well, to some people, that might be a little rude. Apparently, there’s at least one person out there who prefers to use a courtesy horn, which has a lighter, less aggressive tone than a regular horn, to get their point across. As the clip shows, that requires retrofitting the wiring and the buttons for the soft reminder.
Isn’t a regular horn enough, though? It was designed to warn and notify people of things, it already comes standard in every vehicle, and the best part is it’s free. Why go through the trouble and expense of adding something just to spare some distracted stranger’s feelings, who might not even be offended by a regular horn, anyway?
What do you all think? Is the courtesy horn a good idea? Would you want one in your Jeep?
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
