Cruising Will Never be the Same

[sailingshoes72]

I think Chuck Berry had the right idea!

 

[adorshki]

Thought I asked you not to play those vids of me at the office anymore. I'm still recovering from the trauma of that sub-basement office.

 

[Stagefright]

I'll never forget the local AM broadcast I was listening to when hurricane Fran came to town. The host was trying his best to interview an author when all heck broke loose. The host grew more annoyed as the hours went by and callers were interrupting his interview with news of trees, puppies, and small children flying down the street. The host finally had a melt down and started screaming at callers. I wish I could get a tape of that broadcast. I thought it was great entertainment.

Fords excuse for deleting AM has something to do with EV interference.

 

[West R Lee]

I didn't think there was AM radio worth listening to since WLS in the late 60's and 70's?

West

 

[DrumBob]

My 2011 Outback has a 6 CD changer! I love it! It is in fact why I bought that particular Outback off the lot!

walrus

My old Outbacks all had a six-disc changer, but I was told they had problems with it, so they went to a single disc. OK by me.

 

[adorshki]

My beloved T-bird SC had the premium sound system: cassette and CD , and 4-way speaker fade and EQ, with a factory subwoofer under the rear sill.

And I heard the Grateful Dead on the AM one day while scanning and said "What's this? It's genuine vintage Dead! ( "The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)"). Followed by a conservative Rush Limbaugh type who actually sold me on the personal freedom and responsibility pitch. (This was around '07, with an election coming up).

I'm thinking, after all, that's what we really wanted in the '60's, right? In short order I realized they sure as hell had their target market zeroed in, nonetheless, I appreciated the alternative viewpoint in light of my increasing dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs.

Meanwhile over on the classic rock station Dennis Erectus is making prank phone calls live on the air.

And farm reports matter to a guy way out on the high lonesome in a 20-year old pickup at 4 AM, maybe even beyond cellular reach in weather too bad for "digital" reception.

I noted that article said Ford got their data from the drivers whose vehicles were digitally equipped, only about 25% of the total fleet out there. So even if 80% of those drivers don't use AM that doesn't necessarily mean the same ratio applies in the non-digitally equipped fleet.

As Kurt Vonnegut said: "So it goes."

 

[Guildedagain]

AM radio is like stepping back in time here, sermons.

 

[fronobulax]

AM radio slipped out of my life decades ago when FM stations started playing songs with a duration greater than 3 minutes. AM remained when there was a sporting event that I was interested in and could not get on FM and on those rare occasions when I was driving in a place that was so isolated that there was no useable FM signal and I was not even going to see if there was enough of a cell signal to pay to stream something because I am cheap and my cell plan has limits on usage.

There are enough features on new cars that I am not enthusiastic about that the presence of absence of an AM radio will not be a factor in my buying decision. Ford et. al. are probably right in thinking they can eliminate the feature with no significant consequences.

 

[Westerly Wood]

I think one day I will get into Ham radios.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

For me it ended when car radios went digital and you couldn't nudge the dial between the lines anymore to snag weaker signals.

 

[GAD]

I think one day I will get into Ham radios.

Ham Radio can be fun in a car but the most commonly used ham radios for mobile use are VHF/UHF which is line-of-site so you need to belong to a repeater club in your local area unless you're goal is to talk with other people in your group which I've found to be a rarity.

You can put HF into a car but people with HF in their car are even fewer and more far between, but then that's why they like HF in their car.

 

[adorshki]

There are enough features on new cars that I am not enthusiastic about that the presence of absence of an AM radio will not be a factor in my buying decision. Ford et. al. are probably right in thinking they can eliminate the feature with no significant consequences.

Yes, truth to tell, AM's biggest significance to me is actually the memories of '60's top 40, the very 3-minute tunes you mention.

A magnificent melange of musical styles, gag-worthy to me as some of 'em were. But what a great era to grow up, when you listened not just for your favorite current hits but the next big one you just had to go out and buy.

Even Kerouac devoted a page to the glories of the megastations which could be heard even out on the high plains late at night, the soundtrack for part of *1947's On The Road.

So much variety. Has huge sentimental value for me. Even had a local jazz station with Salsa Sundays, and a soul station which actually premiered Tower of Power to the airwaves. And of course classical and PBS exotic cultural fare. Like a restaurant district for your ears.

Musical dim sum. Just keep bringin' the cart around, xie xie!

All for free on the radio in your car.

*(not a typo, he composed it in the late '40's but it wasn't published 'til '57)

 

[dwasifar]

Why? What is the benefit to not having it?

It's incompatible with the radio noise generated by the motors of electric cars.

 

[spoox]

Well, I really have no choice:

 

[JohnW63]

So, electric cars have no good noise suppression, so, why bother? But, if not all the cars you make are electric, why state that it will go in none of their cars? They don't want to stock two part numbers?

 

[lungimsam]

I gotta figure out how to get my cd collection on my iPhone and then just turn on the songs and let them play in that random mode.

 

[JohnW63]

I guess I'm not really in the market for anything new, so I won't worry about it. I'm hoping to make a 65 Volvo my daily driver. I do hope to find some sort of a/c unit to bolt on to it. It gets HOT in the summer in a desert. I saw they installed one on Wheeler Dealers. It wasn't cheap though. Needed a custom bracket made.

Oh and it has the stock Volvo AM radio.

 

[fronobulax]

So, electric cars have no good noise suppression, so, why bother? But, if not all the cars you make are electric, why state that it will go in none of their cars? They don't want to stock two part numbers?

It depends upon what futurists you follow, believe and act on. But there are influential people who believe there will be no gas powered vehicles made or sold in the USA at some point in the future - 2030 or 2040 perhaps? People who believe that and want to make money are focusing on electric powered vehicles now in hopes they can gain an advantage over the competition that started later. So there are decision makers who believe the day will come when they only make electric vehicles and dropping AM radio is one thing they expect they will have to do anyway and doing so now can save a few cents per vehicle.

Given the trend towards screens in vehicles and the cost benefits of using existing components I can also imagine it is cheaper to abandon AM in vehicles than to find hardware and software that will integrate AM into such systems.

That said at the moment it seems that only makers of EV have problems with AM radio. I can't find stories about stations going off the air in large numbers or new regulations strangling AM radio or a new broadcast standard (digital?) that is going to make existing receivers obsolete. However not being cars may be an existential threat since some portion of the AM "listening hours" is in cars and when that does away so does advertising revenue.

 

[walrus]

So they are getting rid of AM radio, but keeping the stupid "Check Engine" light?

walrus

 

[RBSinTo]

So they are getting rid of AM radio, but keeping the stupid "Check Engine" light?

walrus

walrus,
Whenever that "check engine" light comes on, I lift the hood and check, and so far, the engine is always there, right where it's supposed to be.
Shouldn't the light come on if the engine is missing?
I'm confused.
RBSinTo