You may have noticed that your new car is not equipped with the AM radio? Or perhaps this subtlety escaped you considering that you never listen to any type of radio? Never mind, several car manufacturers recently announced that they would remove AM radio from their new vehicles, which raised the ire of many enthusiasts of this type of radio, and even some politicians who defend its relevance.
On the one hand, car manufacturers argue that the installation of the AM receiver is no longer necessary, given the possibility of listening to the content broadcast on it via an online platform with a mobile phone and the variety of other content sources, such as FM radio, digital radio or satellite radio.
On the other hand, some defend AM radio because of the fact that it is of certain use in emergency situations. Installing an AM radio broadcast station is significantly simpler than installing an FM radio, but modern vehicles still need to be able to receive the signal that is being broadcast.
Among those supporting the continuation of AM radio are US Senator Ed Markey and US Congressmen Josh Gottheimer, Bob Latta and Greg Pence. They collected more than a hundred signatures and sent a list to several vehicle manufacturers to define the advantages of AM radio.
Greg Pence, in defense at AM radio, said that “AM radio plays a crucial role in our country’s emergency communications infrastructure by providing free, continuous and lifesaving information during natural disasters. Despite new technologies, eliminating AM radio from vehicles could still cause a serious communication problem in times of crisis, especially in rural areas where broadband connectivity is unreliable. It is critical that automakers do not deprive the American people of AM radio, as it is a free and potentially lifesaving source in an emergency.”
For now, most electric vehicles are sold without AM receptivity. This is particularly the case at Audi, BMW, Ford, Polestar, Porsche, Rivian, Tesla, Volkswagen and Volvo. Curiously, for many of these manufacturers, vehicles equipped with a heat engine are still equipped with AM radio.
Conclusion
It seems that the availability of AM radio is not a great effort for a car manufacturer, despite the fact that they are always looking for ways to increase their profits or even reduce the selling price of vehicles. In our opinion, if AM radio can improve safety in the event of natural or human disasters, why not keep it?
