‘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."

Photo by: Mike’s Car Store

By: Mustafa Gatollari

Jul 4, 2025 at 9:00pm ET

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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.

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.

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

Under the Hood

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.