‘Toyota Tacoma. Chevy Tahoe:’ Car Salesman Can Tell the Make And Model By the Sound Of The Hood Closing. Then He Proves It

"Sounded an awful lot like a Ford."

Car Salesman Can Tell The Make And Model By The Sound Of The Hood Closing. Then He Demonstrates

Photo by: Mike’s Car Store

Mustafa Gatollari

By: Mustafa Gatollari

Jul 4, 2025 at 9:00pm ET

Add Motor1.com as a preferred source in Google

Comment

You’ve probably seen auto-savants correctly guess a car’s make and model by hearing its engine noise. But what about its hood?

An auto salesman named Mike, who runs Mike’s Car Store (@mikescarstore), demonstrated this unique ability in a viral Facebook Reel. His clip begins with him standing in front of the camera with a blindfold over his eyes. He’s in front of a Toyota Tacoma with his left arm holding open the vehicle’s hood.

Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily.

back

Subscribe For more info, read our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use.

Next, he allows the hood to fall down onto the truck’s engine bay, securing it shut with a loud clack. He guesses: “Toyota Tacoma.”

Following this, Mike stands before a Chevrolet. He drops the hood, culminating in a thunk that sounds a bit more muted than its predecessor.

“Chevy Tahoe,” Mike correctly surmises.

Then his video positions Mike in front of a Jeep.

“Jeep Renegade,” he says after the hood closes.

The final test in the clip isn’t a vehicle, however.

In the final segment, Mike holds up the plastic cover of a green dumpster for a second before dropping it. He then shares a running joke about the make and model.

“Tesla Cybertruck,” he quips, holding his finger up to the camera.

Under the Hood

‘Help Me Find Stacey:’ Man Uses Girlfriend’s Mercedes-Benz. Then She Finds a Delta Airline Name Tag in It

While many get excited over a vehicle’s zero to 60 speed or the features its infotainment system packs, some components are overlooked. Perhaps they’re considered more mundane, or they’ve been a fixture in vehicles so long that people take them for granted.

Hood pistons, which are responsible for ensuring auto techs and drivers can easily service their vehicle’s innards, are arguably in the latter category.

Autotherside writes, “Car hood pistons are essential…. They provide a smooth experience when accessing the engine bay.” The function of these pistons is to “support the hood’s weight and keep it securely open.”

Autotherside notes that earlier vehicles weren’t even designed with these parts. To work on your car, you needed to prop the hood open yourself.

Long gone are the days of using a stick or board to prop the hood open while you check the spark plugs.

Today, car hood pistons often feature gas-powered or hydraulic damper designs.

Typically, the dampers either use fluid or hydraulic pressure to assist their opening and closing mechanisms.

The type of damper used in a car hood piston can determine how quickly a hood cascades back down to the engine bay. Consequently, this can affect the type of noise a hood makes when it shuts on a vehicle.

While Mike’s video appears to be a lighthearted dig on the Cybertruck, becoming acquainted with different manufacturers' parts can make it possible. If you’ve listened to enough hoods closing, you may be able to ascertain the make and model by sound alone.

The Most Loathed Vehicle In America?

Several who replied to his video echoed Mike’s sentiments about the Tesla Cybertruck. The Cybertruck has been the subject of much ridicule.

One lumped it in with another vehicle Mike featured in his video.

“Cybertruck and Jeep Renegade are close to the same thing,” they wrote.

Others likened the Cybertruck’s design to a trash receptacle.

“I mean the Cybertruck looks like a dumpster,” the user wrote.

“Cybertruck is a trash can anyways so it fits,” someone else replied.

Yet another said they aren’t a fan of the vehicle’s aesthetics, either, writing, “A Cybertruck is a Pontiac Aztek on PS2 graphics.”

A few people joked that the last entry in his video was a vehicle from another United States automaker.

“That Tesla sounded an awful lot like a Ford,” one person said.

What do you think?

View

Comments

“That was a Ford and you know it,” another remarked.

Motor1 has reached out to Mike’s Car Store via email for comment. We’ll be sure to update this if he responds.