Ford reverses course and will keep AM radio 🎙️

[burger_time]

Ahhh yes! I can listen to my alternator through my speakers again!

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[FischAutoTechGarten]

Ahhh yes! I can listen to my alternator through my speakers again!

It's like an audible RPM gauge. My first car, a 77 Honda Civic 5spd w/ only AM radio did that out of the single speaker by the driver's footwell. Of course I had the visual tachometer, but the audio reaffirmation everytime I shifted gears was appreciated...

 

[fossil]

Who are these 80 million people? I haven't listened to AM radio in 45 years. I haven't listened to FM radio in years either.

much ado about AM radio in full EV cars. the areas that need AM radios probably have few charging stations as well.

 

[commadorebob]

More than half of the Atlanta Braves affiliates are AM stations. And that's just one team in one sport. AM is great for baseball because AM is a lower-cost medium meaning you aren't as concerned with pulling more profitable content off the air to play the game.

The fact that Ford will be able to turn it on with a software update should tell you all you need to know about how much it is actually costing Ford to implement.

 

[mspmms]

https://apnews.com/article/am-radio-ford-cars-congress-bill-aec6e6405d33ff95cff3dd31bef617db

Ford decides to keep AM radio on 2024 models, will restore AM on two electric vehicles from 2023

May 23, 2023

DETROIT (AP) — Owners of new Ford vehicles will be able to tune in to AM radio in their cars, trucks and SUVs after all.

CEO Jim Farley wrote in social media postings Tuesday that the company is reversing a decision to scrub the band after speaking with government policy leaders who are concerned about keeping emergency alerts that often are sounded on AM stations.

“We’ve decided to include it on all 2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles,” Farley wrote on Twitter and LinkedIn. “For any owners of Ford’s EVs without AM broadcast capability, we’ll offer a software update” to restore it, Farley wrote.

The move comes after a bipartisan group of federal lawmakers introduced a bill Wednesday calling on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require AM in new vehicles at no additional cost.

Sponsors of the “AM for Every Vehicle Act” cited public safety concerns, noting AM’s historic role in transmitting vital information during emergencies, such as natural disasters, especially to rural areas.

Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., one of the bill’s sponsors, has said eight of 20 major automakers including Ford, BMW and Tesla have pulled the band from new vehicles.

“Ford’s reversal reflects an overdue realization about the importance of AM radio, but too many automakers are still going the wrong direction,” Markey said in a written statement Tuesday. He said Congress should still pass the bill to keep access to the band.

Ford removed AM from the 2023 Mustang Mach-e and F-150 Lightning electric pickups after data collected from vehicles showed that less than 5% of customers listened to it, spokesman Alan Hall said. Electrical interference and reducing cost and manufacturing complexity also played a role.

The company also took it out of the 2024 gasoline-powered Mustang, but will add it back in before any of the muscle cars are delivered, Hall said.

The EVs will get an online software update to put AM back into the vehicles, and Ford will keep including it in future vehicles as it looks at innovative ways to deliver emergency alerts, Hall said.

Ford and others also suggested that internet radio or other communication tools could replace AM radio. But Markey and others pointed to situations where drivers might not have internet access.

The Federal Communications Commission and National Association of Broadcasters praised the legislation, which is also backed by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., Rep. Tom Kean, Jr., R-N.J., Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., among others.

But the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a U.S. trade group that represents major automakers including Ford and BMW, criticized the bill, calling the AM radio mandate unnecessary.

The trade group pointed to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Integrated Public Alerts and Warning System, which can distribute safety warnings across AM, FM, internet-based and satellite radios — as well as over cellular networks.

The alliance said the bill gives preference to a technology that’s competing with other communications options.

Messages were left Tuesday seeking comment from BMW and Tesla.

According to the National Association of Broadcasters and Nielsen data, more than 80 million people in the U.S. listen to AM radio every month.

Spoiler: Yeahhhh!

[/ATTACH]

 

[Michigan Bill]

I sometimes tune into the local AM radio station for news.

Same here.

 

[WellKnownHermit]

Such BS AM radio needs to die. I don't know a single person who listens to AM anymore, so this just seems like big government forcing their hand, threatening companies unless they change course .

Why do you think they are 'forcing their hand'? What is their end goal in keeping AM radio alive if "no one" actually uses it? Have you ever eaten food? Most US farmers in the midwest rely on the AM band for market reports and weather reports. FM doesn't have the same reach as AM, and there are hundreds of miles of country that can't get an FM signal. I bet it would cost more to install a few hundred more FM towers and broadcast stations than to just keep AM in existing radios.

Not sure how true this is, I haven't listened to AM for about 15 years, so this could be wrong. But I've heard it's gone downhill, like full on conservative wackjobs extremist radio show hosts levels of downhill. If that's the case, I want nothing to do with it.

Have you heard of this new thing now, called the Internet? It has far more "full on conservative wackjobs " than AM radio does. Maybe we should keep AM and get rid of the Internet?

It doesn't cost that much more to program AM radio functions into a car, but it still costs more period. I don't want to pay more for a car just to have features I'll never use.

The manufacturers spent money to make a radio without AM instead of keeping what they already had. Sure, they probably saved a quarter by removing AM radio.

 

[Fitzovich]

Who are these 80 million people? I haven't listened to AM radio in 45 years. I haven't listened to FM radio in years either.

I completely agree.

 

[Subsailortrainman]

Does AM band radio really cost much to put in vehicles?

Evidently it costs nothing if they can bring it back with a software update.

 

[atomguy245]

So Ford is adding AM radio back as a software update. So the hardware is in the vehicles. Ford is so cheap they are taking free stuff out of their vehicles now

 

[FriarPop]

Does AM band radio really cost much to put in vehicles?

No, it was a political move, conservative radio is on AM.

 

[Ragtime Billy Peaches]

Such BS AM radio needs to die. I don't know a single person who listens to AM anymore, so this just seems like big government forcing their hand, threatening companies unless they cha ge course .

Not sure how true this is, I haven't listened to AM for about 15 years, so this could be wrong. But I've heard it's gone downhill, like full on conservative wackjobs extremist radio show hosts levels of downhill. If that's the case, I want nothing to do with it.

It doesn't cost that much more to program AM radio functions into a car, but it still costs more period. I don't want to pay more for a car just to have features I'll never use.

Maybe if you listened to AM radio you would know it's not Conservative Wack Jobs shoving Big Government down our throats. Quite the opposite.

 

[cavemold]

From traffic standpoint this good idea

 

[Ragtime Billy Peaches]

No, it was a political move, conservative radio is on AM.

Sen Ed Markey, DEMOCRAT one of the bill sponsors.

 

[mspmms]

Why do you think they are 'forcing their hand'? What is their end goal in keeping AM radio alive if "no one" actually uses it? Have you ever eaten food? Most US farmers in the midwest rely on the AM band for market reports and weather reports. FM doesn't have the same reach as AM, and there are hundreds of miles of country that can't get an FM signal. I bet it would cost more to install a few hundred more FM towers and broadcast stations than to just keep AM in existing radios.

I have relatives farming in Kansas and this is absolutely true.

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