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Saving AM Radio

radiofan2023 said:
That’s why there are used cars, aftermarket infotainment systems/radios, etc. and like I said, everyone should be more concerned with the automakers locking down the infotainment systems via a subscription model (like with SiriusXM), instead of caring whether or not ONE band is part of it.

Adding on to what I said earlier: if I owned or worked at an FM station right now, I’d be pissed that NAB had wasted time and goodwill with my state’s congresspeople on a bill that ended up not passing and was only focused on one band. From my understanding, the NAB is supposed to represent and lobby for all of the radio industry, not just one part of it. If they had focused on radio in general, or enshrining the ability to use aftermarket infotainment systems/radios in cars as part of HR 906 REPAIR Act, they could have actually gotten something passed.

I’m probably going to get an electric car as my next vehicle, as long as I can find a dealer willing to put the EV tax credit towards the purchase price. Whether or not it has AM radio is of 0 importance to me, and I stream an AM station every morning.
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Unless you get something very obscure, your new car will probably have CarPlay and Android Auto built-in, so no need to worry about AM. When I got my new Toyota a year ago, I briefly looked at AM just to see if it had it, but haven't touched it since. Japanese cars tend to have reasonable AM receivers because AM is still widely in use in Japan.

The concern, as others have said, is locking down features. My car has nice little features like a tire pressure checker on the dash, which gets turned on by the dealership when it goes in for service (I've seen it!) but because I don't have a certain feature pack, when I get the car back the pressures are replaced by "----". The car is measuring it and sending the info, but I'm not allowed to see it because I haven't paid. It isn't beyond the realms of possibility that some makers might choose to do that with various radio features.
 
This is why I keep my 2004 Toyota Highlander - I have AM (which I seldom use), FM, cassette, CD...
 
Miss Tuned said:
Unless you get something very obscure, your new car will probably have CarPlay and Android Auto built-in, so no need to worry about AM. When I got my new Toyota a year ago, I briefly looked at AM just to see if it had it, but haven't touched it since. Japanese cars tend to have reasonable AM receivers because AM is still widely in use in Japan.

The concern, as others have said, is locking down features. My car has nice little features like a tire pressure checker on the dash, which gets turned on by the dealership when it goes in for service (I've seen it!) but because I don't have a certain feature pack, when I get the car back the pressures are replaced by "----". The car is measuring it and sending the info, but I'm not allowed to see it because I haven't paid. It isn't beyond the realms of possibility that some makers might choose to do that with various radio features.
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You might be able to get an independent garage to turn some of those features on. VW has the same type of thing, they use a software called VAGcom/VCDS to turn certain options on and off on different models.
 
radiofan2023 said:
You might be able to get an independent garage to turn some of those features on. VW has the same type of thing, they use a software called VAGcom/VCDS to turn certain options on and off on different models.
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I have a 2014 Prius v, and it makes the most annoying beep when in reverse (I remember the salesperson at the dealer asked if we wanted the "back-up beeper" enabled, and we foolishly said yes).

Fortunately, it's not like we drive in reverse all the time, but it sure would be nice to be able to turn it off!

TheBigA said:
The bill is dead. It's dead now, and certainly dead in the next congress. Why? Because it targets companies like Tesla. Who owns Tesla? The man who now runs the government.
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*sigh* I think we're gonna have much larger problems than AM in cars....

c
 
cc333 said:
I have a 2014 Prius v, and it makes the most annoying beep when in reverse (I remember the salesperson at the dealer asked if we wanted the "back-up beeper" enabled, and we foolishly said yes).

Fortunately, it's not like we drive in reverse all the time, but it sure would be nice to be able to turn it off!


*sigh* I think we're gonna have much larger problems than AM in cars....

c
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This explains the hardware and software you need to turn it off and you can get both online:
priuschat.com

Annoying back up beeping

So I've been looking and can't find anything about disabling the backup beep on the 2016 Prius. I'm looking to buy my first Prius 4 this fall and...
priuschat.com priuschat.com
 
radiofan2023 said:
I’m probably going to get an electric car as my next vehicle, as long as I can find a dealer willing to put the EV tax credit towards the purchase price. Whether or not it has AM radio is of 0 importance to me, and I stream an AM station every morning.
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Totally agree about the streaming but, please, do yourself a favor and buy a hybrid.
 
Miss Tuned said:
Unless you get something very obscure, your new car will probably have CarPlay and Android Auto built-in, so no need to worry about AM. When I got my new Toyota a year ago, I briefly looked at AM just to see if it had it, but haven't touched it since. Japanese cars tend to have reasonable AM receivers because AM is still widely in use in Japan.

The concern, as others have said, is locking down features. My car has nice little features like a tire pressure checker on the dash, which gets turned on by the dealership when it goes in for service (I've seen it!) but because I don't have a certain feature pack, when I get the car back the pressures are replaced by "----". The car is measuring it and sending the info, but I'm not allowed to see it because I haven't paid. It isn't beyond the realms of possibility that some makers might choose to do that with various radio features.
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The most prominent manufacturers that I'm aware of who don't offer CarPlay and Android Auto are GM (on their EVs only, I think) and Tesla -- neither of which are obscure.

Tesla, of course, is also notable for having deleted AM radio from its cars, claiming that it is difficult to avoid interference from the electric motor when listening to AM. That claim is baloney, since numerous other EVs, plug-in hybrids, and hybrids -- all of which have electric motors -- seem to manage to include AM sections that sound just as good (or bad) as in any other car.
 
TexasTom said:
The most prominent manufacturers that I'm aware of who don't offer CarPlay and Android Auto are GM (on their EVs only, I think) and Tesla -- neither of which are obscure.
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My Porsche from 2023 has Apple only.
 
DavidEduardo said:
My Porsche from 2023 has Apple only.
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My 2017 Subaru has neither Apple nor Android features.

2018, as it happens, was the first year Subaru offered CarPlay. I've heard that it has numerous issues with touchscreen failure and such, so I'm probably better off without it (I had no choice anyway, since I bought the car used in 2020).

I don't mind being without CarPlay or the like, since I likely wouldn't use it anyway. I have rented a couple moving vans over the past summer, and they came with, I think, Android Auto. I can't say I liked it, as it made simply using the radio rather un-intuitive and confusing, at least in my opinion (and I am by no means technologically illiterate). I guess it's something that one gets used to with some practice, like anything.

In the meantime, I'll listen the old-fashioned way.

c
 
Miss Tuned said:
How much?! I get about 65 mpg in my Yaris.
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Worth noting that a US gallon and a British gallon are not the same. A British gallon is 4.55L, and a US gallon is 3.79L, about 20% more fuel.

65 mpg UK is still a very impressive 53 mpg US. Guessing yours is a diesel? Diesel cars are essentially banned over here due to sulfur emissions rules.
 
I like having AM,FM. cassette. CD. THAT should be the standard...
 


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