QOTD: Missing AM Radio?

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

I am testing an EV this week -- one of several EVs that doesn't have AM radio.

I gotta say I miss it.


Maybe I am old-school, but I like AM radio, even though I also listen to FM and SiriusXM and streaming services and music on my phone.

I like AM because I like news radio. I like sports talk. I especially like being able to hear stations I like for miles beyond their base -- whenever I drive to Detroit I let my favorite sports yakkers keep me company.

Yes, I know, some stations are now simulcasting on FM. And I understand why some EVs are ditching AM radio. But I hope the trend doesn't catch on and AM remains a staple of our broadcast communications.

What say you? Have you ditched AM (and maybe FM, too) for satellite radio and/or streaming and/or the music on your phone?

Cue the Everclear and sound off below.

[Image: dubassy/Shutterstock.com]

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Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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  • Lou_BC Lou_BC on Mar 29, 2023

    Don't miss AM or FM radio at all. I don't miss satellite radio either. Spotify or downloaded content on my cell is all I need.

    • Jeff S Jeff S on Mar 29, 2023

      I haven't gone there yet but most people are going to Spotify or downloading content on their phones. Since I am retired I haven't been driving as much.



  • TDIGuy TDIGuy on Mar 30, 2023

    A lot of comments here referring to avoiding radio in general and not AM, but I suppose a shrink part of a shrinking market doesn't have much hope.

    That said, I'm also part of the talk radio fan club. I could listen to it online, but it's just an internet rebroadcast of the AM station (and I'd rather not burn through my data). So if the station went, so would the internet channel.

    Ya, then there's the Blue Jays games... "National Blue Jays network"... Ya, three stations. I do listen on satellite, but again, they just rebroadcast the AM radio broadcast.

  • Ltcmgm78 Ltcmgm78 on Mar 30, 2023

    I think cars need an AM/FM radio for emergency notifications. Driving at night, I will scan the AM frequency just to see what comes up and to be amazed at the different cities I can get after dark. My SAAB had a Euro-spec radio and I could get long-wave (lower freq than the AM band) and found lots of interesting listening.

    • Pig_Iron Pig_Iron on Mar 30, 2023

      Yes, that's an important point. Not everyone has their phone on them when an alert goes out. 🚨



  • Pig_Iron Pig_Iron on Mar 30, 2023

    I thought IBOC was supposed to bring about a renaissance in terrestrial radio? Too bad the FCC went with a proprietary standard. I listen to AM every day because it offers superior geopolitical current affairs news and analysis, and because it offers non-English language programming also. EVs and less choice make driving drudgery. 😔

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