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Honda's Musical Road makes your tires sing

When you talk about car audio, you're usually discussing amplifiers, audio sources, and speakers. The harmonic qualities of your vehicle's tires usually don't come into play. That is, unless you're talking about Honda's Civic Musical Road in Lancaster, Ca

Antuan Goodwin Reviews Editor / Cars
Antuan Goodwin gained his automotive knowledge the old fashioned way, by turning wrenches in a driveway and picking up speeding tickets. From drivetrain tech and electrification to car audio installs and cabin tech, if it's on wheels, Antuan is knowledgeable.
Expertise Reviewing cars and car technology since 2008 focusing on electrification, driver assistance and infotainment Credentials
  • North American Car, Truck and SUV of the Year (NACTOY) Awards Juror
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Antuan Goodwin
2 min read

When you talk about car audio, you're usually discussing amplifiers, audio sources, and speakers. The harmonic qualities of your vehicle's tires usually don't come into play. That is, unless you're talking about Honda's Civic Musical Road in Lancaster, Calif.

The road was modified as part of an advertisement for Honda's Civic and is the latest in a series of musical roads around the world. Grooves were cut in the road in such a way that, when driven over at a certain speed, they cause the vehicle's tires to vibrate and play music. The song we're supposed to hear is a section of "The William Tell Overture," most commonly known as the theme song of The Lone Ranger and as chase music in Bugs Bunny cartoons.

The video above illustrates that it's a very poor rendition of "The William Tell Overture," but Honda insists the road was tuned to the tires and wheelbase of the Honda Civic, which may or may not explain why the song is so out of tune. If our ear for music is right, it also sounds like drivers need to be going much faster than the posted 55mph speed limit to get the octave and tempo right.

The road is due to be paved over Tuesday, due to complaints from neighboring homeowners who have to listen to the song being played so badly and repetitively by the many tourists the musical road has attracted.

Drivers interested in other singing roads should check out South Korea's Anyang Singing Road or Japan's Melody Road. We, on the other hand, will just stick to listening to our music through the vehicle's speakers.