New cars are losing AM radio (maybe not, revised 05/23/2023)

Cars have radios?

I haven't listened to a car radio in over a decade. Dump my music collection as mp3's to a usb flash drive.

The new car does have something called hd radio for fm. Not sure if it has am.

I’m like you in that I put all my personal music to a USB device. If I’m not listening to that I’m using Sirius. But I have many friends that do use radio, usually FM, once their trial subscription runs out. I keep my subscription up because I also use Sirius in home and connected from an old iPad via bluetooth to my stereo.

having a conversation with a friend today. When I was 19-22, I carried my guitar everywhere I went. I would start playing all by myself, and ladies would start to gather around, then guys with guitars also would show up, and the group would get larger and larger.

I don't even see the above at concerts today. In my time every few cars was yet another group of people jamming.

Because all of the above is on one's phone.

My buddy and I said it's not the same, but I'm sure the phone people say it's better.

AM radio has a feel to it. I listened on the way to work as late as 2015 probably. It's how I found out that I'm supposed to declare anything I bought online or out of state on my state income tax--AM radio told me. It's also how I found out about the impending gas tax that would make NJ go from one of the cheapest to one of the more expensive states.

A guy in the office said he was converting thousands of 12" singles to a digital catalog, and that vinyl has a warm feeling.

I get it, times have changed. For better, for worse. But it didn't snow in LA when I was younger.

We are now a Tesla family. As cities are far apart in New Mexico (both of them) and FM range is limited, this really means if I get out on the road I'm out of radio range.

I have read claims that most electric vehicles are being offered without AM radios because it is hard to deal successfully with interference their power trains generate. Maybe they are just happy to have a reason to omit a cost item fewer and fewer people care about.

Personally I'm much more annoyed at the disappearance of car CD players, but in that I am in a tiny and shrinking minority.

I can't remember the last time I tried to listen to AM radio.

I'll hate a future date when I find that my new car loses the CD player. I take CDs with me for road trips but for normal driving around home, it's all WPR (NPR) listening, preferably from transmitters with two or more HDRadio channels.

When I renew my WPR membership, I always stress that HDRadio needs to be kept. I'm not sure how many folks have the ability and desire to listen in a vehicle or in the home do I do worry.

I had a 76 mile one way commute through the mountains. Due to it's better propagation, I was able to listen to the same AM station the whole way. When listening to FM, I had to switch to 3 different stations.

I suppose I would be forced to listen to Sirius/FM radio if I were still working. Sirius is ok but I miss the "flavor" of local broadcasting.

Nothing to do with car radios but when I was in college in Ohio, I used to be able to receive WABC 770 AM in New York. It made me a little less homesick the first year. Couldn't do that with FM.

It's a bit sad to see the popularity of AM radio fade away.

Well of course, AM radio is going away, how can they sell subscription radio like Sirius where they probaby get a cut of the fee.

How many people still have a TV that can get local stations without having cable? Oh yeah, free TV is gone also.

Remember when FM radio came on the scene WITHOUT commercials? I do, hows that working now?

Anyhow, I still have a old AM only radio in the basement that I listen to baseball games on every-now-and-then. Good memories. Used to listen to ball games on the drive home from work.

Haven't been able to to get a CD player in my new cars for the last couple of times. Converted all my CD's to digital and they are on a USB stick in the car. Don't listen to radio of any sorts, hate commericals and the talking heads chattering between songs, most of which I don't care for.

I live in a windy area and when I purchased my home in 1973 I installed a TV antenna from the rafter inside the attic. The antenna was wired to bedrooms and the family room. I also have two relatively modern TV's, a 5-year old Sony and a 3-year old Samsung that are connected to cable (Verizon) and the antenna. On both of those TV's I can select either source. In times when cable is down, "over the air" comes in handy. There are also sub-channels, for instance channel 10 out of Philadelphia has multiple sub-channels, 10.1 being the base channel and the subs 10.2 through 10.4. Each have differing content.

I probably get about 50 channels "over the air." To get then you need to hook up the antenna, and have the TV tuner do a scan.

For many years I drove to Mexico through the USA and listen to AM radio and got a kick out of listening to, I ll be nice and call them rural folks, where they had things for sale or trade. I just found it interesting to hear local folk talk in Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas. In Michigan and Ohio I didn’t hear that so much.

Over-the-air TV is alive (if not alive and well) in the front range of CO. Near me the antennas are on Cheyenne Mt. at about 9,700 feet above sea level with some on 300 foot towers. The town is at about 6,000 feet so we sorta have the equivalent of TV (and other radio) on 4,000 foot towers. I presume that there is really good coverage way out to the east in the plains.

In my case it is somewhat difficult. While I am 2.3 miles from the antennas some of them are set back from the front edge of the mountain and I don’t have a line-of-sight connection. I presume that the antennas have real gain for coverage out east so there is less radiation downwards.

HD radio isn’t FM only. It is AM too but I have no idea of how much it is utilized. HD AM’s fidelity is supposed to be equivalent to native FM on VHF. I really want an HD radio but I’m too cheap. My hearing is poor so hi-fi is wasted on me. What I desire is the programming. E.g. when my babies lived in Miami I found that the only classical music station was HD. My Ford F-350 doesn’t use a standard radio panel apeture (DIN etc.). A $150 or $200 radio would make me happy but it costs nearly $400 for the dashboard replacement parts for the installation. Grumble!

Many years ago, probably 35-40 years, I did the same as you by placing a TV antenna in my attic space. I used that for many years and the antenna is still in the attic, but I no longer use it.

More recently, 2013, I purchased a Mohu Leaf, a flat plastic antenna about the size and shape of a letter size sheet of paper with a cord that attaches to the antenna screw post at the rear of the TV. The Mohu Leaf works far better than the attic TV antenna ever did.

I've never paid a red cent for TV reception in my life and at age 82, I'm not about to begin. I live in the metro Atlanta area and I can get more than 60 free TV channels, e.g., 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 etc, on up the line.

It works for me and the Mohu Leaf cost at the time was $34 times 2 as I have one antenna for the TV in my office and a second for my TV in my living room.

We use the amplified Mohu Leaf downstairs and it was satisfactory for years. Then the local NBC station changed towers (further back on the mountain) and we can't get it any longer. The amplified rabbit ears upstairs is finicky on that station but works. If the cats jostle it I usually need to spend >10 minutes fussing with it.

2024 Ford Mustang Drops AM Radio From Infotainment

https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/23/03/09/2346247/20...

Re OTA, here in Chicago, PRIL, there's quite a few ota channels.

https://i.imgur.com/CbPGi3a.png

The tuner card resides on a pc that's on during most times. Content is accessible to anyone on the network.

Sadly, in terms of content, most of it is garbage. The same can be said for netflix/cable.

I have the tuner software set to record the nightly propaganda...err news, and motorweek.

There is an antenna farm in Sugarland,TX (Houston suburb) that broadcast many channels and all are free, just need an antenna. Some at work get their TV that way, I prefer to stream. Got rid of my cable internet and now am using Verizon 5G home internet and it works great and is much cheaper. I am fortunate it is offered in my location.

They weren't consistent enough for where I live.

before I retired I relied on traffic and weather together on the eights..did better than garwmim's

I also have my music on a flash drive, but my two Chev Trax's still have AM, but I never listen to it.
I got frustrated trying to find stations that I liked every hour or so during a trip to Florida. First time I tried it on a subsequent trip, I got frustrated by the wide range of volume levels, that every song had.
Thanks to a few good POI Factory members, I was told about a program called MP3 Gain, that can batch adjust the volume levels of all the music to a single level. Problem solved.

MP3 Gain: https://sourceforge.net/projects/mp3gain/

I still like to listne to AM radio when I am in the car, especially for traffic and weather updates.

My wife's last car had a CD player that would rip the music to a local drive. She could play a CD if she wanted to but she just stuck them all into the slot one at a time and ripped them to the car. When she sold it she had around 1,400 songs stored in the car's drive. That was a pretty short lived thing as everybody went to using their phones or a flash drive.

I like Sirius XM radio but I always think it sounds a bit odd when I say I use Satellite Radio to listen to Classic Vinyl.

As mentioned above, many AM stations (not all) have added their service on to HD Radio so those AM stations are now on FM but I can't see all of them moving. Time will tell.

For the tip. We ended up getting the $99 for 3 year deal on my wife's ($127 with tax and fees but still $3.53/mo. out the door) so I can stream in the shower, at the gym, etc.

I'm going to check out that channel.

The other car occasionally gets the "antenna" message flashing, what a royal PITA as they no longer make a splitter with the curry and green FAKRA connectors. But that one is free so what can one do, easiest fix is a $19 new antenna and a $9 curry FAKRA to SMB male adapter cable, and living with the flashing message (people on the forum said if you don't it split with a green connector, "antenna" doesn't go a way but the XM works. Apparently my car is so old that green terrestrial connection was never even used).

the small triangle-shaped vent window.

Anybody like spare tires?

Sirius XM allows you to stream its content to one device (beyond the car) at no charge. So I stream the content to an old but serviceable iPad and connect the iPad to my home stereo. One stereo, quite old, uses a cable connection from the iPad headphone jack. Another stereo can pair to the iPad using Bluetooth.

I would feel VERY uncomfortable without a spare tire. Hard to believe they are eliminating them.

AM radio added to an FM radio is pennies. It is basically a single chip. You can buy it on AliExpress for $0.14 + shipping. So, maybe it would cost $1-$2 to MFG into the radio. So, how much does that cost the auto mfg? I guess if it doesn't work in an EV then it eliminates any complaints = THAT could be costly.

I do, especially in the trucks I was driving, nothing like a little fresh air when you're sitting on top of the motor.

I do, and I still have a full size tire hanging on the back of my Wrangler Those emergency tires they include in some cars are a joke.

I finally used the donut spare on our 2006 Prius last year. I was exiting my 2-month followup from kneecap repair surgery, so was not minded to do the job myself and relied on USAA road assistance coverage.

The first contractor who got the job called to say he was on the way and asked what was up. On learning it was the original donut, he claimed federal regulations would forbid him from installing that old a tire and cancelled the call.

After another hour's wait in the dimming light, the second contractor showed up and changed the tire. He did not think to check the pressure, and I did not think to request it. As it was late we took the seven mile drive home instead of going to a repair shop. On getting home the tire looked a bit low, and was moderately warm. It turned out to have 17 psi left from the original 60 psi.

Although I had tended to the four "real tires" most months, I had never checked the donut. Looking around user forums, it appears that somewhere in the 10 to 20 psi range was a pretty common finding for donuts in the back of decade-plus old Prius cars.

It was not so common for tow truck operators to refuse them, but not unknown.

Public service message: If your car has a donut spare, and you have not checked the pressure in the last year, check, and put it up to 60 psi. For extra credit--report here what the pressure was and how long it had been since last pumped up.

Good idea to check the spare several times a year. I do so in the spring and fall when temps change the most. It's positioned in such a way the the valve is easily accessible to my gauge/fitting.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-Digital-Tire-Inflator-and-...

Donuts like regular tires have an age limit. Most new tires typically last up to 10 years although some manufacturers or dealers feel 6 years is a better number and site safety. You can tell its age by looking for a 4-digit number on the sidewall. The last two digits indicate the year the tire was manufactured and the first two digits the week it was manufactured in that year. So a number like 1519 indicates a tire made in the 15th week of 2019.

In your case, since you said it was the “original donut” on a 2006 Prius it was likely 16 to 17 years old, perhaps even a bit more. I don’t know about any Federal laws, but if the tech had mounted the tire and you suffered a blowout and perhaps some consequential damage, he/she would have some responsibility. IMO, understandably the person chose not to mount the tire.

As mentioned I have a full size spare. I include it when I rotate tires, so I do a 5 tire rotation to keep the spare in the same shape as the other tires. This way it won't rot sitting in the sun on the back and the pressure is regularly checked. I hear you can get something like 10% more use of your tires doing this as well.

Hopefully they'll leave PM radio, for the drive home from work.

2006 car was mfg'd 9/05. I bought it 10/16. Prolly one of the best purchases I've made, no issues lol

It has a factory full sized alloy in the trunk. the unscrupulous dealer took it out, armor all'd it, and mounted it on the car to take the pics for online--I never woulda thought of that. Can still see the yellow and red dots and the factory tire if it's still made (it was in 2016) is super expensive like $250 each. So they wanted to imply the car had new factory tires.

Anyway I keep it as a relic because I don't want to scratch the brand new 2005 rim lol It even has grease pencil markings from the factory

p.s. I don't abide by the 6 or 10 year rule. My garage queen has 7 year old Pilot Super Sports, it sure would be odd throwing them away and replacing them when they have maybe 5k on them.

Can also damage the drivetrain in some AWD vehicles and those with limited slip differentials when driven at highway speeds.

It's best to read the manual for their proper use.

The cost of an AM radio would have to include electrical noise suppression for all the motor controls etc.

I haven't listened to AM radio in many years but I still want the option.

What you need to look for is the spider crack on the tire along the rim. That's a sign they are rotted. Sun and age cause the oils in the tire to evaporate, causing them to dry out. I've had to get rid of tires with good tread because of the cracks, saving a few bucks in the short run isn't worth a blow-out at highway speeds.

https://thepalmbeachgarage.com/tire-dry-rot/

Grew up replacing tires that looked worn. I think that's old school and tire mfgs claim not the case today. With the Michelin Premier LTX, it was "good when new, good when worn." Problem is, physically, looked shot at anywhere from 18-25k miles, on a 60k tire. I think it's bogus, but who am I and the other thousands on the internet.

Michelin did cave and upped the tread from 8.5/32" to 10/32". Tires used to be 11 and some 12. It's like the 52 oz half gallon of orange juice.

So now, more than ever, prematurely replacing a tire is wasting money.

Anyway, our brand new '11 GM came with Michelin Latitudes. They were all cracked in 2 years, as bad as any pics you can find on the web. Michelin had a recall. Took the car to the dealer, still had a full warranty. Dealer said Michelin says your tires are fine and the particular lot is not covered by the recall.

https://www.michelin.ca/en/auto/why-michelin/safety-recalls/...

Again, the fox is the last person I'd want to buy a new hen house from. So I can't say one way or the other, but cost is always gonna matter to me. Go down to W Phila there are tons of used tire shops that would love a set of Pilot Super Sports with 5k on them, regardless that they were mfg in 2016. I bet they'd sell for $100+ each....

p.s. can you imagine GM putting an S rated tire on a brand new 2011 vehicle? Again, I wonder why I love the 2023 Tahoe so much when the car co. has demonstrated so much bad faith over so many decades lol

I'm not talking about treadwear or a general look, this photo shows what I'm talking about, once this starts to happen the tire is done.

https://www.rv.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Tire-cracks.jp...

I have tires on my jeep wrangler that are over 10 years and other that some tread wear they still have good sidewalls with no cracks. I have them checked every year and do a lot of towing this vehicle. But it is inside the garage all the time without the sun bearing down on them.

Way over 70 thousand miles on them.

how the Michelin Latitudes looked on our car at 2 years old, there was a recall, and ours were not included. I was not about to toss 2 y.o. tires at nearly $200 each, so we took them from 20k to 53k. At 53 I said that's good enough and there was tread left. Decided to let that theoretical 7k go. Unfortunately my budget is finite and I have to make the best decision that I can.

This is not to be confused with the Premier LTX which looked worn. They told us as well as early as 25k that the tires need attention. We took those to only 43k. This disposable $200 tire is a myth to me, they need to provide some mileage. Others maybe they have the $200 each and feel comfortable tossing them based on what they heard.

The trailer was about 10 years old and saw probably less than 1000 miles a year. We wanted to be safe. No fun when a blow out happens.

Never experienced one and hopefully never will. Even if cost were no object, I try to make informed decisions. There are times the internet leads us astray lol

What sort of level sets sometimes, are businesses. Since they are out for profit, they don't tend to waste money, but at the same time, they don't throw caution to the wind either. What would Costco do? lol

We're derailed now off of the AM radio. I actually listened to it yesterday. Would the world have been thrown out of orbit if I had been unable to? No. Was it useful? Yes.

I see a fair amount of "tune your radio to AM xxxx.

And the poor taxpayers will foot the bill to have those signs replaced when most cars don't have AM anymore.

from slashdot:

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/23/04/03/0027207/am-radio-to...

... " "In essence, EV motors generate a lot of electromagnetic interference that affects the frequencies of AM radio and make it difficult to get a clear signal," " ...

I listen to traffic and weather forecasts on AM radio. They can't take it away. I still miss my CD slot.

We do, too. AM radio has a viable function, but new technology is phasing it out. In time, someone may create an AM converter that connects to a USB port. I can remember back in the day having an FM converter!!! So if AM radio is phased out of car, what happens to that market share of broadcasts and advertising?

In my area the best station for frequent traffic and weather updates was/is an AM station. KYW 1060 AM, they must have seen this coming because back in 2021 they started broadcasting on FM too at 103.9 FM. The FM signal is hugely superior to the AM in that it's clearer and can be heard further away from the main area.