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2024 Ford Mustang Drops AM Radio From Infotainment
- Thread starter davideduardo
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We kept one for alarm system backup.
You should get a new alarm service. The new systems use cell service.
I have a feeling that a significant majority of the Mustang customer base won't even notice AM is missing.
I recently test drove a 2023 Subaru, and practically every function of the thing is in a touch screen.
As nice as it is, I have to say that I like my older cars better, because they have buttons. Not "fake" touch screen buttons, but actual, tactile push buttons!
I like buttons!!
It's bad enough that phones have become little more than boring, buttonless slabs of glass, but car dashes too?
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As nice as it is, I have to say that I like my older cars better, because they have buttons. Not "fake" touch screen buttons, but actual, tactile push buttons!
I like buttons!!
It's bad enough that phones have become little more than boring, buttonless slabs of glass, but car dashes too?
c
.........Or tactile control switches that can be turned manually on and off, without an LED display that is difficult to see in bright sunshine or shows digital "bars" to indicate whether the feature is on or off.
Having read through this discussion, I think it is only a matter of a few years before radios are removed in all new cars. And, I'm worried that the turn signals, wipers, and lights will be removed from the steering column stalks ( which will be eliminated to save money) and will be added to the touch screen. That means that the drivers have to take their eyes off the road to navigate the touch screens and adjust the LED display.
I do, however, realize that technological change is the only "constant" in today's society, so I'm sure the changes are coming sooner or later. -- D.
I did too for the same reason but it's VOIP so it may not help me in an emergency.
Here's an article about touch screens in cars:
Buttons beat touchscreens in cars, and now there’s data to prove it
Swedish publication Vi Bilägare quantified the problem with new tests.
That is my main connection, but cell service here, even with an outside antenna, is terrible. We have to use Internet connections to use the cellular in the house, and have to walk around the yard to get signals outdoors. And during the various neighborhood events like Coachella, the service, even with signal, is unavailable. It's a NIMBY issue and the various HOAs in the area won't allow cellular antenna sites... and if they did, there is no available location.
Probably not. But, like the Lexus Sports model (that is an oxymoron) those cares are most often driven by seniors who just might like something still on AM.
The median age of a new Mustang buyer is 52.
The new 2024 model relies less on nostalgia than the Mustangs built since 2005.
Ford does a whopping amount of research into its customer base. It's almost certainly aware of and comfortable with the percentage of buyers who'll be unhappy with the move.
You can do the math on this one better than anyone else, David. Looking back at sales figures for the Ford Mustang and the bump that happens every time a new generation is introduced, they'll likely sell 90,000 2024 Mustangs. What we don't know---because Ford won't say---is how many of those are to rental fleets.
So---your universe is (let's just use )90,000 people living in North America. 70% of them are male, 30% female. Their median age is 52. Median household income is (and we have to use a three-year-old figure here---the most recent Ford has shared). $107,839.
How many of them are likely to ever listen to AM radio? How many are likely to be occasional listeners? How many are likely to be frequent listeners?
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Perry Michael Simon's "The Letter" this week at AllAccess is about this very topic:
Want It, Need It, Gotta Have It by Perry Michael Simon
Want It, Need It, Gotta Have It by Perry Michael Simon
While I would have preferred to have AM and FM in the new Mustang, I respect Ford’s dedication to the manual transmission. Personally, I find the experience of driving an automatic car to be extremely boring and have exclusively had manual transmission vehicles.
It's curious that Ford removed the AM band from their radios. It costs virtually nothing to include AM.
It was a foolish decision.
It was a foolish decision.
Depends where you live. During the decades I lived in Puerto Rico, nearly nobody bought passenger vehicles with "stick shift" as the traffic there is so bad that it is incessant stop and go, often at less than 10 miles an hour... even in some areas on the weekend. That can be tedious with a manual transmission.
Enjoy 'em while you can. The current breed of automatics return higher mpg and quicker acceleration than manuals. The computer makes better (more-informed) choices about when to shift for both economy and performance and adapts to your throttle input so it can ace both.
I've only bought two automatic-transmission cars in my life---my first car and one for my first wife. The rest have been manuals, so I'm with you on the driving experience part, but the fact is, the automatics are better than we are now.
I'd be curious as to the logic of that move. I suspect the designers are well under the age of the buyers and think that "everyone streams everything".
And costly. That's hell on a clutch.
I'm guessing that it has more to do with the tiny receiving antenna that is not too effective for AM (or even FM) frequencies.
And when you have 7 and 8 speed automatic transmissions, you just can't get the same economy with a fewer-speed manual... or your left leg gets really tired.
When in Ecuador, the diplomats would bring their automatic transmission cars... and find nobody knew how to fix them and, when they left, nobody wanted to buy them!
For a long time, driving in mountainous areas almost required a manual shift.
That's likely the case, plus the need to include AM controls in whatever user interface, whether that's a virtual or hard button. The modern shark fin antennas already contain GPS, FM, PCS/OnStar for GM vehicles, and SXM antennas inside. Trying to stick a ferrite stick coil AM antenna is just one more thing that could increase cost to make the shark fin physically larger.
My son, a service technician at a Ford dealership in SC, said:
"... interestingly enough, I actually get a significant number of cars in the shop that have the radios tuned to AM when they come in. Not a huge amount, but enough to be considered significant."
This is close to the mountains, near a couple of big lakes, and there is a lot of money in the area. Lots of well-off retirees.... (not including me, unfortunately)
"... interestingly enough, I actually get a significant number of cars in the shop that have the radios tuned to AM when they come in. Not a huge amount, but enough to be considered significant."
This is close to the mountains, near a couple of big lakes, and there is a lot of money in the area. Lots of well-off retirees.... (not including me, unfortunately)
I'm not a fan of CVT (Constant Velocity) transmissions being designed in smaller cars. I get the advantages; essentially endless ratio adjustment depending on speed and engine load, but the reliability over time and miles isn't even close to a manual or automatic transmission. They're essentially disposable transmissions that are not-rebuildable.
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