Do you care about car audio?


I like nice cars and I appreciate the fact that I've been fortunate enough to lease and drive some very nice ones.  I would never drive a luxury car out of warranty, but that's not my point.  My point is, as much as I love audio, I never really had any urge to upgrade my car audio system.  Whatever came with the car was totally satisfactory to me.  Right now, my car came with a somewhat upgraded Meridian stereo, but it is not the full-blown surround/subwoofer deal.  It sounds fine and I've never wanted more than a standard decent car radio had to offer.  
Do you people have any enthusiasm for upgraded car audio as opposed to stock?  Then again, truth be told, I've never listened to the fancy car setups and I might be tempted if I thought it was that much more enjoyable.  Who knows. 
chayro
Quad 8 Track.
6x9 coax speakers with horns, in the rear.
4 inch coax in the front doors. 
Riders on the storm, whats not to love ?.
OP, I had always felt the same as you; whatever was stock was good enough and usually not all that bad. Until one year ago when we bought the new 2020 Subaru Outback Onyx edition. Fantastic suv with incredible performance in snow and icy conditions and rough terrain. A tremendous amount of technology is used in the vehicle to the point that it is annoying at times with its excess of electronic “smart” features. I did not even bother testing the audio system on the assumption that it would be more than “good enough”. Big mistake. It is the worst sounding car audio system that I have ever heard. Tinny and harsh sounding; almost unbearable to listen to.  Go figure. To add insult to injury, the “upgraded” audio system is not retrofittable. Live and learn.
If money is not a constraint, Emphatically yes. Just on a different scale. We all know that improving sound in any system is an exponential adventure. That said, I love home theater as well. After you blow $100K on Pass Labs, Focal Maestros, an elaborate streaming system, ASC tubetraps, etc... what's $8K on a great car stereo or $50K on an amazing 15.4 atmos home theater system. I get more enjoyment out of the $8K car stereo than I would trying to improve the $100K 2ch setup. Trying to improve that rig would take $30K or more to notice a difference. 

 I enjoy good sound everywhere. My AMG had Burmester... complete crap. My RAM TRX had HK.. also crap. I have heard the Ford B&O... same thing, crap.

Give me some Focal KRX3s, Audison BitOne processors, decent amps, JL Audio 10w6v3 subs... game changer while waiting in traffic or just driving to work. I swap every factory system out.

I get the comment about listening to the engine and sometimes I do enjoy the sound sound of a blown 702hp hemi in the TRX. Other times, I want a great sound (for a car environment).
Typically I only buy nice sports cars (Audi, BMW, Porsche, Maserati), I keep the factory radio and upgrade the amp and mid/tweeter,  sound deaden the doors and rear deck. A lot of bang for the buck if you know what to buy. I like Alpine and Pioneer.