If you are reading the title to this, you’re probably asking yourself, what? Ringtones for your car? And before you declare me to be a crazy person let me explain.

We are currently in a period in time when concerns for the environment and our dependence on foreign oil are at an all-time high. To combat this, the government and other institutions have been pushing for clean energy — as have the automakers, and with that I present, exhibit A: the Toyota Prius.

I mention the Prius because it’s been the best-selling hybrid so far. And in case you don’t know how it works, it’s a type of hybrid car that has both a gas and an electric engine. Having both in theory means good gas milage in the city because it’s running its electric motor, and that it can also go a decent speed on the interstate because the gas engine will be able to give it more power. However, while in the city, a lot of the time you are running on your electric engine only. This causes a problem: It’s deadly silent. This causes problems not only for people crossing the street who are accustomed to the “looking and listening” rule, but also increased the safety risk for children as well as for the blind who absolutely depend on a vehicle’s sound for when they cross streets.

In Japan, they have come up with the solution to this. Toyota has begun to manufacture cars with a small speaker inside of it. This speaker amplifies the sound of an electric engine and varies in volume as the car increases and decreases in speed. This is a very logical solution I think would be a success for when they bring it over to the United States. So, solution found, right? Not quite.

I’m not sure of how things are in Japan, but in the U.S. we do things somewhat differently. We incorporate our cars into our lives more so than any other nation. We practically live out of our cars and not only that, we make our cars represent who we are. Sometimes as a status symbol, sometimes we use our cars to personify ourselves so that others can see. And this where the ringtones come in.

Why settle for the sound of an electric motor when you can have whatever you want being played at a loud volume as you cruise through your neighborhood, similar to your phone ringtone. Yes, some might settle for the sound of a louder engine, to make your somewhat-quiet Prius sound like a muscle car, but why stop there? Why not cruise around with your car sounding like a TIE fighter or some epic theme music that you could pull up in? This could change everything.

Now, to all the nay-sayers, if you think this might be annoying, I raise the point: Have you heard the cars going by your street? You know, those cars with the missing muffler, or the guy with the loud compensation truck, not to mention the obnoxious few who have decided to put extra loud speakers in their cars so you can hear their “music” as they drive around. I say we should spice it up a bit, give everyone the loud speaker, and just see what happens.