Annoying sounds from cars at stop light

" So now we have speaker the size of a car door pumping out bad bass. "
There are more than likely, good size sub woofers in the trunk.

What is with the subs driven to total overload such that they are buzzing and vibrating? Perhaps the thicker skulls of their owners require a higher volume. Glad I don't have to put up with that racket.

My guess is that it is the vehicle that is vibrating due the large about of air being displaced by the subs. I have seen closed doors pulsating in and out with the beat of the music. It pretty much, eventually, turns ones car into a rattle bucket over time. Maybe they play it loud to cover up all the rattles, squeaks and other noises.

kalali asked: " dill, are you saying you need to be 28 feet away in order to “fully” hear a 40Hz tone?"

Yes and no, you can divide those wavelengths into halves, quarters, etc. for excellent results in designing a listening space. A 40Hz tone would sound very good in a 14ft. long room, but the best in a larger room. A 20Hz tone is 58ft. long so one could get very good results with a 24ft. room. All this is really not a big deal for home use, I just wanted to use this as an example on why we hear more bass from the car near us, than they do inside the car. A vehicle is the worst place to to have a sound system, sound quality wise.

dill 

You are correct about very low bass notes having very long waves. Not sure those 6" speakers in the door or even a 12" sub in the trunk are pumping out 30Hz bass loud enough that I can hear it from my car in open air.