Taylor took one last drag on his cigarette before putting the car in first gear and guiding it into the parking slot. The deep royal blue custom paint, added less than five days ago, shimmered in the afternoon sunlight as the young man threw open the driver's side door and eased out of his black bucket seats. From the front of the vehicle, Taylor pointed out the twin chrome pipes of a turbo charger that whistled under the carbon-fiber hood. The exhaust hummed loudly as the engine idled.

"I've got a lot of paychecks wrapped up in it," the proud Federal Way resident said of his project muscle car.

But Taylor doesn't drive a Mustang. His tricked out street racer is a 1992 Honda Civic.

"It's got about 200 horsepower," he said. "That's not bad for a little pop can."

For years, few images have helped define Americana more than the glimmer of chrome and the thunderous rumble of a V-8 engine. But today, that image is changing.

In the age of The Fast and the Furious, many young Americans have traded in their domestic pony cars for smaller, sleeker foreign street racers with characteristically lower profiles, brighter paint and the unmistakable buzz of unbridled exhaust.

The latter seems to attract the most attention from fans and foes of these compact cars, however.

But despite a slow rise of citizen complaint, after-market mufflers continue to grow in popularity among foreign and compact car owners.

Those who can't budget serious performance modifications under the hood can often afford to give their Honda Civic or Volkswagen Jetta an aggressive sound, said Rob Weber, who has worked for five years at his father's custom exhaust shop, Pro Exhaust, in Auburn.

"A lot of guys really want the most bang for the buck," Weber said, "and the cheapest way for them to get better power and performance is by upgrading the exhaust."

While Weber appreciates the improved gas mileage and additional 10-24 horsepower he gets with better engine flow, he wouldn't deny having a fascination with his car's high-performance sound.

He spoke from the driver's seat of his 1989 Acura, modified at Pro Exhaust with custom-built pipes and a resonator.

Enthusiasts don't use the word muffler, since the products they install don't proclaim to muffle anything, one of the Pro Exhaust customers pointed out. The metal tubular resonator, as its name suggests, works to resonate engine noise.

He revved the Acura's engine, released the clutch, and the small red car let out an authoritative buzz as Weber pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards Auburn Way. The roar of the Acura's engine carried for four blocks as the car disappeared behind the corner restaurant.

Rob's father, Wes Weber, proprietor of the family-owned shop, said that he installs more than 50 of these kits every month. He sells a basic package that starts at $250, but also said his shop has installed the cheaper imported mufflers some of his customers bring in from other dealers.

"Some guys just want the loud sound," Weber said. "They'll buy a cheaper, noisier muffler at an import store and ask us to install it."

Several retailers in Federal Way now stock after-market mufflers alongside other noise-makers like car stereos and speakers, Weber said.

That afternoon, Ryan Cipto of the Green River area, looked on as Rob Weber pried off the stock exhaust system of his late model Honda Civic. Weber installed a resonator and an enlarged chrome tip that peeked out from beneath the car's rear bumper.

Two hours and $300 later, Cipto grinned when the Pro Exhaust team fired up his four-cylinder Honda and backed the Civic off the lift.

"I like it," Cipto said, as he listened intently to the new sound pouring from the back of his vehicle.

When asked if he thought it was loud enough, he said: "It's getting there."

In general though, most Federal Way residents haven't developed a palette for that window-rattling sound, which Doug McCrimmon refers to as the flight of "a swarm of angry bumble bees."

McCrimmon, who manages the Walt's Auto Care Center on Pacific Highway South, told the Federal Way News that receives a small but steady flow of customers who want that sound in their compact cars.

Jim Harris, a muscle car enthusiast who works several blocks north at Honest Performance, said he hasn't refined his ear to handle the buzz of those small engines.

"They're pretty annoying," Harris said from behind the counter. "It's a personal preference, but it's not my cup of tea."

"My mufflers are probably louder than those Japanese cars," he added, "but I have a V-8 with a more traditional sound."

Federal Way Police field a few citizen complaints about the noise, said Traffic Officer Hanson, but law enforcement doesn't actively seek out violators. While many residents consider loud vehicles a nuisance, few have come forward to voice their concerns. (See this issue's Letters for a concerned citizen's view.)

Hanson said that a vehicle must remain under 95 decibels to stay within the limits established by the state.

"We give out tickets," Hanson said, "but it's usually in conjunction with other violations."

Because of budget and weight limitations, Federal Way traffic officers do not have electronic noise meters, Hanson said, so law enforcement adheres to what they call the "50-foot test," which allows them to issue a citation if they can hear the vehicle from beyond 50 feet.

Noise violations result in a progressive series of fines, Hanson said, from $112 for the first offense, up to $194 for the third. Hanson said the ultimate decision lies in the courts, and local judges have a reputation for throwing out many of these tickets.

Rob Weber, who lives in Federal Way, can attest to the fact that the local police have begun cracking down on noisy mufflers.

"I've been pulled over twice," Weber said, "the first time I was being a jerk and they gave me a ticket."

He contested the ticket in court and the judge let him off.

The second time, Weber said, he told the officer that he knew his car registered under 95 decibels, and he got off with a warning.

"I try my best to be a responsible driver," Weber said, "and lately the cops haven't really bothered me."

He sees a double standard though in the way law enforcement treats loud and rumbling V-8 engines compared to noisy foreign compact cars.

"My Dodge is louder than this Acura," Weber said, nudging his head in the direction of the golden hot rod once owned by his great-grandmother, "but that doesn't bother them."

"Once I was really revving the Dodge's engine at a gas station," Weber said, "and a cop pulled up behind me."

"He got out, came up to me and said 'man, that sounds good."'