2024 Ford Mustang Drops AM Radio From Infotainment

[Kelly A]

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)

Makes sense: White, Male, Retiree's=AM Right Wing Talk Radio-Listener.

 

[michael hagerty]

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)

Next question would be to have your son ask the sales guys how good a prospect for a new car purchase these people are. How many of them have already bought their last new Ford?

 

[michael hagerty]

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.

Totally agree. Went through the CVT replacement in my wife's 2013 Nissan. Not a fan. Honda's done some remarkable work getting theirs to emulate actual gear shifts, but it's smoke and mirrors and still a CVT.

 

[fordranger797]

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 hope to pick up another new manual car in the next few years or so. Perhaps a new WRX from Subaru, or an 86 or Corolla hatchback from Toyota. There’s also Mazda, which has really won me over as of late. Toyota, Subaru, and Mazda seem to be make some decent products, and I’ll probably get over the annoying infotainment interface after a while.

My favourite car I’ve owned was my 2004 Honda Accord Coupe with a manual transmission. That was a fantastically fun car to have, and it’s too bad that Honda pulled the plug on manual transmissions in the accord. I’d argue that the Accord coupe was the perfect mixture of sporty and sensible.

Honda seems to be moving toward electrifying the Accord for the next generation. Usually I’d complain, but I’m fine with that. If it is going to be a boring appliance, it may as well just be electric. Plus, I’m not a fan of how Honda was building some of their latest vehicles anyway.

 

[Mikey Radio]

.........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.

But touch screens and GUIs (graphic user interfaces), not knobs and switches, is the way many technologies have been operated for several years now. It allows a ton of functions that would have required a huge, clunky control panel with multiple switches and knobs, to be reduced to a few touch selections on a smaller screen. For younger folks, it's all they've known on many devices. For those working in the live concert and entertainment fields, many of the knobs and switches and tactile buttons on things like pro lighting control and audio mixing consoles are long gone in favor of touch controls and screens for many functions. In the world of audio, for instance, huge analog mixers and several racks of outboard equipment can be reduced into a single surface the size of a more traditional 16 or 24 channel mixer. That's thanks in large part to touch surface controls which allow the operator to perform a multitude of functions.

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.

@michael can speak to this moreso than I, but my guess is that car manufacturers wouldn't have carte blanche to remove some controls and move them to a touch panel, because things like turn signals controls most likely need to meet certain regulations or standards.

 

[awsherrill]

That's hell on a clutch.

Some years ago I drove an engineering vehicle with a stick, as a daily driver. I got into the habit of shifting into neutral at traffic lights, because I had heard somewhere that it would ease wear and tear on the clutch plate and everything else down there.

Totally agree. Went through the CVT replacement in my wife's 2013 Nissan. Not a fan. Honda's done some remarkable work getting theirs to emulate actual gear shifts, but it's smoke and mirrors and still a CVT.

Stolen from another broadcast engineer: CVT = Buzzy Belt Box

 

[radiofan2023]

The downside of touch screens is the sensitivity decreases in cold weather, when it’s cold inside the car.

 

[SCPirate]

Makes sense: White, Male, Retiree's=AM Right Wing Talk Radio-Listener.

Well, around here, besides news & sports talk, there is still music on AM - Bluegrass & Gospel!

 

[vchimpanzee]

This is his phone:

More like this, but brown.

http://clipart-library.com/images/pT58gGn6c.jpg

 

[vchimpanzee]

That is my main connection, but cell service here, even with an outside antenna, is terrible.

Ironically, I've been able to see the cell tower out my window for close to 30 years.

 

[Kelly A]

Ironically, I've been able to see the cell tower out my window for close to 30 years.

Probably a different carrier than Cricket.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

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.

Maybe they don't want seniors buying a Mustang. Having somr old geezer buying a Mustang ruins the image og a young hip var.

 

[michael hagerty]

I hope to pick up another new manual car in the next few years or so. Perhaps a new WRX from Subaru, or an 86 or Corolla hatchback from Toyota. There’s also Mazda, which has really won me over as of late. Toyota, Subaru, and Mazda seem to be make some decent products, and I’ll probably get over the annoying infotainment interface after a while.

My favourite car I’ve owned was my 2004 Honda Accord Coupe with a manual transmission. That was a fantastically fun car to have, and it’s too bad that Honda pulled the plug on manual transmissions in the accord. I’d argue that the Accord coupe was the perfect mixture of sporty and sensible.

Honda seems to be moving toward electrifying the Accord for the next generation. Usually I’d complain, but I’m fine with that. If it is going to be a boring appliance, it may as well just be electric. Plus, I’m not a fan of how Honda was building some of their latest vehicles anyway.

The Toyota 86 is about as much fun as you can have fully clothed for less than thirty grand. It'd be a great choice.

They're ALL electrifying. It's T-minus 11 years, 9 months and 14 days to multiple states and countries ending the sale of most internal combustion vehicles. And most, if not all, automakers, are going to beat that deadline.

 

[michael hagerty]

But touch screens and GUIs (graphic user interfaces), not knobs and switches, is the way many technologies have been operated for several years now. It allows a ton of functions that would have required a huge, clunky control panel with multiple switches and knobs, to be reduced to a few touch selections on a smaller screen. For younger folks, it's all they've known on many devices. For those working in the live concert and entertainment fields, many of the knobs and switches and tactile buttons on things like pro lighting control and audio mixing consoles are long gone in favor of touch controls and screens for many functions. In the world of audio, for instance, huge analog mixers and several racks of outboard equipment can be reduced into a single surface the size of a more traditional 16 or 24 channel mixer. That's thanks in large part to touch surface controls which allow the operator to perform a multitude of functions.

All true, but not necessarily all optimal in a moving vehicle. The environment for a device matters.

@michael can speak to this moreso than I, but my guess is that car manufacturers wouldn't have carte blanche to remove some controls and move them to a touch panel, because things like turn signals controls most likely need to meet certain regulations or standards.

I'd have guessed the same thing until I found out that there is no similar regulation for gear shifts. Manufacturers have lost their minds the last few years re-inventing the automatic transmission gear selector. Off the top of my head, in addition to the traditional "PRNDL", rarely on the column, usually in the console, we now have:

A narrow stalk on the console (Mercedes-Benz, some BMWs):



A tiny switch on the center console you move with your thumb and forefinger (VW, some other BMWs):



A knob on the dashboard to the right of the steering wheel (RAM trucks):



A knob on the center console (Jaguar, Hyundai's EVs):



And the one that had me sitting in my driveway for two solid minutes before my brain registered it, a horizontal set of buttons below the center screen (Lincoln):



....and I'm sure I'm leaving out one or two other non-standard designs.

I just gotta think that for anyone not yet totally familiar with their car (purchaser in the first week, person who's rented or borrowed it, or gotten it as a service loaner---not to mention hapless journalist), in an emergency situation where you need to pick a gear and move fast (someone backing into you, about to hit you from behind, oncoming train)----those few seconds of trying to figure out where they put the gear shift could be crucial.

Anyway, in as big a search as I have time for this afternoon, I cannot find any regulation regarding the design or placement of turn signal stalks. Doesn't mean it doesn't exist---but the gear shift thing doesn't make me especially confident.

 

[michael hagerty]

The downside of touch screens is the sensitivity decreases in cold weather, when it’s cold inside the car.

Yep. And if you're wearing gloves, as many people do in winter. Although they make techy gloves that do (supposedly) activate touch screens...

 

[michael hagerty]

Maybe they don't want seniors buying a Mustang. Having somr old geezer buying a Mustang ruins the image og a young hip var.

All they want to do is sell cars, Mike.

As the (sorta) father of the Mustang himself, Lee Iacocca, said:

"You can sell an old man a young man's car, but you'll never sell a young man an old man's car."

 

[vchimpanzee]

Probably a different carrier than Cricket.

I think anyone can use the tower, and while they keep changing companies, AT&T was in charge of the tower at one time. Maybe they still are. I haven't looked at the sign lately.

 

[fordranger797]

The Toyota 86 is about as much fun as you can have fully clothed for less than thirty grand. It'd be a great choice.

They're ALL electrifying. It's T-minus 11 years, 9 months and 14 days to multiple states and countries ending the sale of most internal combustion vehicles. And most, if not all, automakers, are going to beat that deadline.

It will be my first choice if I need a car, but fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), my 2004 Honda Accord sedan will probably outlive me.

 

[CTListener]

Assuming that gasoline-powered cars will still be built and sold until, or nearly until, the transition year arrives, one will still be able to drive such a vehicle indefinitely, right? Or will garages be told to stop servicing them at some point?

 

[michael hagerty]

Assuming that gasoline-powered cars will still be built and sold until, or nearly until, the transition year arrives, one will still be able to drive such a vehicle indefinitely, right? Or will garages be told to stop servicing them at some point?

No one is discussing cessation of service, or of selling used internal combustion vehicles. And given that California and other jurisdictions have included a carve-out for plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), which by nature include a gasoline engine, service will be essential.