In today's news that will make you feel old, a slew of car manufacturers — including Ford, Tesla, Volkswagen and BMW — will phase out AM radio frequency from their upcoming models.
A report by The Washington Post points to both reduced listenership of the medium and the rise of electric vehicles as reasons behind the move. As electric engines seem to disrupt AM signals, BMW, Mazda, Polestar, Rivian, Tesla, Volkswagen and Volvo have already pulled the feature from their electric models.
Ford is moving even faster than the manufacturers listed above, aiming to rid both their electric and gas-fuelled models of AM radio, starting with their 2024 Mustang. This call was backed by data that claims AM radio makes for less than 5 percent of in-car listening.
Of course, this is bad news for local AM radio stations, many of which offer talk radio, extreme weather alerts and political updates.
Though many assume that radio listeners are an aging population, a study by Edison Research says Gen-Z listeners still tune into both AM and FM radio. Hey, if they can bring back the warm crackle of vinyl, who's to say they aren't nostalgic for fuzzy sports radio.
A report by The Washington Post points to both reduced listenership of the medium and the rise of electric vehicles as reasons behind the move. As electric engines seem to disrupt AM signals, BMW, Mazda, Polestar, Rivian, Tesla, Volkswagen and Volvo have already pulled the feature from their electric models.
Ford is moving even faster than the manufacturers listed above, aiming to rid both their electric and gas-fuelled models of AM radio, starting with their 2024 Mustang. This call was backed by data that claims AM radio makes for less than 5 percent of in-car listening.
Of course, this is bad news for local AM radio stations, many of which offer talk radio, extreme weather alerts and political updates.
Though many assume that radio listeners are an aging population, a study by Edison Research says Gen-Z listeners still tune into both AM and FM radio. Hey, if they can bring back the warm crackle of vinyl, who's to say they aren't nostalgic for fuzzy sports radio.
