By Blair Smith · April 28, 2026

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Modern cars aren’t just fast—they’re effortlessly fast.
Count me amongst the large contingent of critics who say they're too fast!
But is speed the real issue? I'd say it's more so that we don’t feel speed the way we used to. 

NVH stands for Noise, Vibration, and Harshness, which is essentially all the sensory feedback a car gives you.
It’s the sound of the engine, the texture of the road through the wheel, and the subtle vibrations that tell you what the car is doing.

For decades, engineers worked to reduce it.
Buyers wanted quieter cabins, smoother rides, and more refinement in daily driving.

Advancements in insulation, chassis design, and suspension tuning made that possible.
Electric power steering filtered out feedback, while turbocharging and exhaust design reduced natural engine sound.

This all sounds great, right? Maybe for that Mercedes S Class, or even the Honda Accord.

BUT - and this is a big BUT- eventually, even sports cars followed the same path.
They became quieter, smoother, and more isolated than ever before.

In many cases, the experience is now engineered rather than mechanical.
Oftentimes the sound you hear isn’t even real—it’s played through speakers! 

So while performance numbers increased dramatically, the sensory connection decreased just as quickly.

Older performance cars built speed with intensity.
As you went faster, everything escalated—the noise, the vibration, the sense of effort.

You didn’t need to check the speedometer as often, because your body already knew. So did your ears. And your hands. And your feet.  
The car gave you constant feedback about how hard it was working.

Modern cars behave differently.
They remain composed, quiet, and stable even as speed climbs rapidly.

You can be moving far faster than you realize, because the usual warning signs aren’t there.
There’s no dramatic buildup, no rising tension, no clear signal that you’re approaching the limit.

That’s where the risk comes in.
When speed feels normal, it’s easy to carry too much of it on public roads.

The car still has immense capability, but the driver’s awareness hasn’t kept pace.
And when something does go wrong, it often feels sudden rather than gradual.

Some cars still preserve a sense of connection, but they're a dying breed.

This is why used sports cars appeal to me most.
Some new cars haven’t eliminated NVH—they’ve simply refined it without removing it entirely.

You can hear the engine working harder as revs climb and feel the road surface through the chassis.
The steering communicates changes in grip, rather than filtering them out completely.

There’s a natural progression to the experience.
As speed increases, so does the intensity of feedback.

These cars don’t feel harsh—they feel honest.
They give you information instead of hiding it.

I'm thinking of cars like the Lotus Emira.

The ND Miata.

The 992 GT3.

The GR86. 

Compared to old cars, they're also getting too refined. Compared to many of their peers, these cars still reward you with energy that communicates.
They engage your senses. 

That engagement creates awareness.

Awareness of machine. Awareness of the road. Awareness of what's at stake. 
And that awareness leads to better judgment when driving hard....and much more reward. 

Modern cars are objectively better in almost every measurable way.
They’re faster, more stable, and more comfortable than anything that came before.

But refinement has a side effect.
By removing NVH, we’ve removed many of the cues that drivers rely on.

Speed has become quieter, smoother, and easier to underestimate.
And that disconnect changes how people interact with performance.

So the problem isn’t that cars are too fast.
It’s that they’ve become too good at hiding just how fast they really are....that is until you see those red and blue lights flashing from behind.

— Blair Smith

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