汽车彩铃： "Car Ringtones"

According to a recent podcast from one of my favorite websites, Chinesepod.com, a new fad in Shanghai is having "ringtones" for your car. In other words, just like your cell phone can now play songs whenever an event happens, such as a call, message, or alarm, your car can now play a song whenever a driver is turning or driving in reverse. While my experience with Chinese traffic says that these kinds of sounds are not altogether gratuitous- any warning a driver can get about another driver is a helpful one- this seems like it could quickly get out of hand. Traffic in large Chinese cities is very dense, and as a result is already loud and obnoxious, and these so called ringtones can only amplify that. Although I am kind of excited to see this for myself, I hope this fad goes the way of the pet rock. I, too, was briefly proud that my phone could play Wu-Tang when someone called, but before I got my $1.99 worth I had already reverted to vibrate. Ringtones simply get annoying. If Chinese drivers are as inconsiderate with their ringtones as they are with their driving, it may be a long, headache-filled semester.