Sounds tend to anchor pretty strongly in people’s memory, I think only smells have a tighter bond. The cut of the gears could be a factor here, but the (lack)

Sounds tend to anchor pretty strongly in people’s memory, I think only smells have a tighter bond. The cut of the gears could be a factor here, but the (lack) of sound insulation could be it too. Cars have aimed for a “refined” feel for decades, with minimization of unwanted noise being part of that. There are many words one could use to describe the LLV, but “refined” probably isn’t one of them.