The other day I listened to a woman describing how men, or a particular man in this case, would penny pinch and worry about money, yet spend a great deal of money on their car stereo. That contains a ton of issues I won’t touch right now, but let me tell you why the car stereo issue is so crucial, and needs clarification.

For me, and I believe for others, the car, stereo and all, is our psychotherapist. The feel of turning a corner and simply flooring it, right at that point in the song where the lead guitar comes in, is worth hundreds of dollars and hours spent on some guys’ couch talking about your relationship with your mother. It’s indescribable, it’s cathartic, and it’s soothing to every depth of mind and soul.

To invest in a good sub-woofer or new speakers may be likened to several months, or even years of buying aroma therapy candles, buckets of ice cream, or even sappy romantic movie rentals. To tell you the truth, I’ve done these last three extensively, and have yet to increase the low frequency output of my car’s stereo, but honestly, I believe this is true.

The stereo in my car is easily 20 times better than the cassette deck in the car I learned to drive, and it has immeasurably helped my emotional well being. My car accelerates from 0-60 in under a minute, also an upgrade from my last vehicle, also helping me cope with day to day life. The car is not merely transportation for the body, it goes much deeper than that. My car has heard more of my innermost thoughts than any single human being, and has helped me through more hard times than anyone besides Sallie Mae, god bless her money lending soul.

So yeah, some guys are only trying to impress, get a reaction, stroke their ego, but many of us are just trying to get at spiritual harmony through the only means we know how, a blissful acoustic experience every time we start the car.