Here’s Something All Americans Can Agree On: AM Radio Shouldn’t Disappear from Cars

Here's Something All Americans Can Agree On: AM Radio Shouldn't Disappear from Cars
Jimbo,
Bmw's Vlatko Kalinic Demonstrates A Gesture Control Feature To Control The Radio Volume In A 2016 Bmw 750i Sedan During The 2016 Ces Trade Show In Las Vegas
BMW's Vlatko Kalinic demonstrates a gesture control feature to control the radio volume in a 2016 BMW 750i sedan during the 2016 CES trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada January 7, 2016. Germans love the latest wave of touch-free car controls, which respond to the flick of a wrist or the swipe of a hand, as it means no messy fingerprints on their spotless dashboards. Italians, known for an extravagant hand gesture or two, are not so sure. Germany's BMW demonstrated a 7 Series car that recognizes five simple gestures, from a finger twirl to the right to raise the music volume and a hand swipe to decline an incoming call. Picture taken January 7, 2016. REUTERS/Steve Marcus

It’s hard to get politicians to agree on anything these days, but there’s one issue with strong bipartisan support:  Keeping AM radio in new cars.

 

 

For a few years, automakers have been trying to phase out AM radio . . . possibly for space, but mostly to be cheap.  An AM radio adds less than ONE-TENTH of 1% to the cost of building the typical new car, but it adds up when you’re making millions of them.

 

 

Also:  Some companies, like Tesla, Volkswagen, and Volvo have been nixing AM radios from electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, because EV motors can affect the sound . . . making it really staticky.

 

 

But legislation is working its way through Congress that would require all new cars to have an AM radio.  Backers say it’s “critical to guaranteeing all Americans still have a way to access emergency information, among other things.”

 

 

Congress has been kicking around radio-related bills for years, but right now, experts say there’s “overwhelming” support from both sides of the aisle.  It has already passed in the House, and it’s expected to cruise through the Senate by the end of the year.

 

 

AM radio is still used by more than 4,000 stations across the country.  That includes sports and talk radio, as well as religious programming . . . and foreign language news, sports, and music.

 

 

82 million Americans listen to AM radio regularly.

 

 

(CNN / Archive / Car and Driver)

Related