Car Industry Seeks to Crush AM Radio; Congress May Rescue It

WSJ ^ | 28 January 2024 | Julie Bykowicz & Ted Mann

[NautiNurse]

Conservative talk show hosts, FEMA are fighting carmakers, tech industries in lobbying battle over drive-time radio

A motley crew of AM radio advocates, including conservative talk show hosts like Hugh Hewitt and federal emergency officials, are lobbying Congress to stop carmakers from dropping the old medium from new vehicles.

Tesla, Volvo, and BMW are among the companies that have already stopped providing AM tuners in some models. Last year Ford said it would join them—until CEO Jim Farley reversed course “after speaking with policy leaders.”

[Snip]

Sens. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and Ed Markey (D., Mass.) are leading the Senate effort, and on the House side, Speaker Mike Johnson—himself a former conservative talk radio host in Louisiana—and progressive “squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan are among about 200 co-sponsors.

[Snip]

Moore said the bills’ opponents are at a disadvantage because “every member of Congress knows their local broadcaster. Those relationships are strong.”

[Snip]

Automakers say the rise of electric vehicles is driving the shift away from AM, because onboard electronics create interference with AM radio signals—a phenomenon that “makes the already fuzzy analog AM radio frequency basically unlistenable,” according to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a car-industry trade group. Shielding cables and components to reduce interference would cost carmakers $3.8 billion over seven years, the group estimates.

[Snip]

The Federal Emergency Management Agency says that more than 75 radio stations, most of which operate on the AM band and cover at least 90% of the U.S. population, are equipped with backup communications equipment and generators that allow them to continue broadcasting information to the public during and after an emergency.

[Snip]

Automakers increasingly want to put radio and other car features “behind a paywall...They see this as another profit center..."

[Snip]

[x]

Last year Ford said it would join them—until CEO Jim Farley reversed course “after speaking with policy leaders.”

I was surprised to think that FDR's man Jim Farley's grandson or great-grandson is running Ford.

But then I looked him up and was even more surprised to find out that Chris Farley's cousin is running Ford.

[hoosierham]

Actually no.
I’m certain the prices are ridiculously high.

[Impala64ssa]

Back in the day we called AM baseball Radio, because we mostly listened to FM for rock music. Radio frequency interference (RFI) was a problem on older cars, especially hot rods with high performance ignition systems. An easy fix was attaching condensers and suppressors to the coil or distributor. Since the mid 70’s cars with electronic ignitions have RFI and EMI suppressors built in. And there are EMI suppressors available at most parts stores fairly cheap.

This is indeed a ploy to suppress conservative talk radio.

[dfwgator]

I dunno about where other people are at but around here mostly all of the AM is ate up with Mexican radio.

I wish I was in Tijuana.

[Jet Jaguar]

Eating barbequed iguana...