#AMRadio

The days of crackly AM radio appear to be numbered, despite efforts to keep up with emergency alert systems that depend on the technology. Automakers inaccurately complained that keeping AM radio could interfere with sensitive electronic equipment and EV features, but a new report shows that the arguments were really about their bottom lines.

Readers may recall a recent news post in which we mentioned Jim Farley took to Twitter and announced that Ford was heeding requests from policy leaders and rural Americans, electing not to yank AM radio from Ford and Lincoln vehicles. Going a step further, he also said any Ford EVs not currently able to pick up Amplitude Modulation stations would be getting a software update to give them the capability.

Despite this common sense development, a cadre of automaker lobbyists made their way to Washington yesterday to bleat at Congress and stomp their feet. Their message was the opposite of Farley’s, saying lawmakers shouldn’t consider requiring OEMs to include AM radio in their vehicles.

The elderly folks in Congress don’t often understand new technology, but they perk right up when somebody tries to take away something they are familiar with. That’s the scene playing out in Washington right now, as lawmakers want to pump the brakes on automakers cutting AM radio from new cars.

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

I gotta say I miss it.

An acquaintance of mine recently said he would never purchase an all-electric vehicle and offered up a reason I never heard before. “They don’t come with AM radio,” he said.

While this surprised me, shifting technological preferences have indeed started to change how automobiles and broadcasters interact. As an example, a gaggle of Mazda owners found their vehicles stuck tuned to National Public Radio this February after a local station transmitted an FM data packet that effectively froze the cars’ infotainment system amid the swap to next-generation broadband services. That transition has already caused some interesting problems for the industry and electromagnetic interference has likewise become the default explanation for automakers limiting your frequency band choice in certain vehicles. But it doesn’t explain why some companies are ditching AM radio outright. In fact, a little research has shown a lot of the explanations given by manufacturers leave a lot to be desired.