If you love the throaty gargle of that BMW M3 or Merc C 63 AMG, best you buy a current model and hold onto it.
Legislators in Europe are seeking to make cars quieter in order to protect public health and a draft law was approved by the European Parliament on Wednesday.
The proposal, which still needs to be negotiated with EU member states, sets out new limits to the noise a standard car and more powerful vehicles can make, phasing in reductions six and eight years after the law is implemented.
The draft also includes plans for hybrid and electric vehicles to be fitted with noise generators, in order to warn pedestrians of their approach.
“Persistent exposure to high levels of traffic noise can prove physically draining, disrupt organ functions and contribute to cardiovascular and other diseases,” the parliament wrote in a statement.
However, the proposal includes no reduction for the most powerful heavy lorries.
The Green alliance in the European Parliament criticized the outcome of the vote, arguing that noise targets should have been lowered further.
“This vote may be a victory for the noisy car industry, with the din of its intense lobby still echoing around parliament, but it is clearly a loss for public health and the environment,” said Greens' spokeswoman Satu Hassi.
“The overall result will lead to no meaningful improvement in EU rules on vehicle noise,” she added. -IOL & Sapa-dpa