Definitely go for a good-LOOKING stereo in a 405 because these cars
are so freakin' noisy at 100+ km/h that you won't be HEARING much
music.
I used to think my Renault 5 was quite noisy inside, but when I got
the 405 I realised there wasn't much to choose between them in the
noise department. And the R5 is an econobox. Also, as my 405 has
aged, the noise has worsened (shrunken seals I guess) although it's
always been a VERY noisy car.
To see how noisy it is, take a BMW 3 series, new Volvo or Mercedes C
class for a test drive - they're quieter at 140 km/h than the 405 is
at 60 km/h. Even my 1966 404 Coupé is significantly quieter at speed
than my 405.
I guess what I'm saying is that in a noisy car, a better stereo is an
investment with a very low rate of return. So you won't enjoy the
improved sound much, unless you mostly drive in traffic jams. If
that's the case, you'll also benefit from impressing the homeboys
with your heart-rhythm-upsetting bass at stoplights. But even at
idle your 405's stereo will have competition: the various squeaks
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri 19 Jan 2001 - 07:28:29 UTC