KEEP AN EYE ON AUTOMAKERS

Punishing Red State Drivers?

“Little Red” parked at Willapa Bay, Long Beach Peninsula, Washington.

On May 1^st I published an article entitled “Building Cars Without AM Radios: More Corporate Censorship?”  This article reported Ford’s plans to build vehicles without AM radios.  It had one of the highest number of views of any of the articles I have published since I joined Substack last July.  Car owners let Ford know how unhappy they were and, within weeks, Ford backed down, announcing that they would continue to build cars with AM radios.  For now.   .   .   . . . .

CAN WE TRUST BIG CAR?

AM signals travel further than FM broadcasts do and are cheaper to transmit, allowing them to cater to audiences in sparsely populated areas: that is, rural areas.  Most radio listening is done while driving; however, car manufacturers are quietly building cars without AM radio, but still with FM radio.  This has been going on for several years with electrical vehicles. Audio quality cannot compare between AM & FM, but that's secondary to having nothing at all to listen to in some parts of the continental United States.

BMW, Mazda, Volvo, Volkswagen and Tesla are in the process of eliminating AM receivers from their new models.  Although they have stepped back for now, Americans see a trend.  Removing AM radios from vehicles is not only a way to punish rural area drivers who support American values, it is also a way to kill conservative talk radio.  Federal politicians and bureaucrats are in the process of forcing Americans out of their cars and into public transportation controlled by them.  Are they quietly pushing Big Car to remove AM radio, as well?

AM RADIO IS VERY POPULAR

Prior to 1987 “talk shows” on radio were essentially not allowed, thus CBS, NBC, ABC & NPR determined what was “news” and how to filter facts to push their left-leaning agenda.  [Ha!  Big Media no longer “leans” Left.  They are full flown propagandists for The Left, the DNC & other America-Last organizations.]  Thus, ALL sides of an issue were not discussed because “news” outlets did not present ALL the facts.  After President Reagan was successful in changing FCC regulations, AM radio slowly became the place where Americans could obtain the facts and could hear the voices of other Americans throughout their cities, regions, states and, with Rush Limbaugh, nationwide.

More than 80 million Americans (at least 25% of our population) tune into AM radio every month, according to Nielsen data, despite the growth of satellite radio digital streaming services and apps.  Industry estimates show as many as 40 million Americans daily tune into more than 4,000 AM stations for talk, news sports, religious programming, and emergency alerts.

AM RADIO: ONLY SOURCE OF EMERGENCY BROADCASTING

Although automakers suggest that other communication tools, such as internet radio, could replace broadcast AM radio in an emergency, drivers might not have access to the internet and could miss critical safety information.  The truth is broadcast AM radio is irreplaceable. 

AM radio plays a critical role in the country’s emergency communications infrastructure, especially in rural areas.  Most FM signals travel only about 50 miles, depending upon the terrain.  However, an AM signal can reach 100 miles in the daytime and even more at night.  According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 90% of the country is within the sound of an AM station equipped with a generator and back up communications to stay on the air during emergencies.  AM radio saves lives during natural and man-made emergencies.

When your cellphone’s battery runs out, the internet is down and/or the television doesn’t work because there is no electricity, you can STILL turn on your AM radio.

This American had long planned to buy a new (used) car this year.  The first thing on my list was GAS-POWERED, followed by AM radio, followed by bluetooth functioning so I can make hands-free phone calls.  On Monday I bought a 2020 Toyota GR86 with only 12K mileage.  My husband nicknamed it “Little Red.”  What do you think?