1 of 1- RadioActive
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New Survey Shows Huge Majority Of Drivers Want AM & FM In A New Car
A whopping 96% of those surveyed say they want access to broadcast radio in a car, while 89% would not consider buying a vehicle that came without a traditional radio. The poll, by a firm called Quu, also asked a question about something that's been (you should pardon the expression) driving me crazy.
Most feel that radio in modern cars has become way too complicated to operate, with drivers having to go through too many menus on a distracting screen to be able to tune in what they want or find another station.
"Quu’s second-annual In-Vehicle Visuals Report found that while all of the 100 best-selling models in the US include terrestrial radio, only 26% now feature a physical button, down from 36% in 2024, requiring drivers to dig through infotainment menus to tune in."
That's the case in my now semi-new Mazda, that is endlessly difficult to navigate if you just want to find a station or even do some DXing on the road. It's impossible given the current OS it uses. It used to be you could turn a dial and find a station without even looking at the thing. Now it's impossible.
They call it progress.
I call it annoying.
The survey was conducted in the U.S. and it comes as the government there is still weighing a bill that would force auto makers to put both AM and FM in all cars in the country.
Research Finds 96% of Americans Want AM/FM Radio in New Cars
- Dicky Doo
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Re: New Survey Shows Huge Majority Of Drivers Want AM & FM In A New Car
Until the late 1960s, in most vehicles a radio receiver was a dealer-installed item (not factory-installed in Oshawa, Oakville or Windsor). The companies eventually decided (circa 1970) that it was cheaper to just bolt one in every vehicle coming down the assembly line.
That worked well but may not work these days because of the complication of interference in electric-powered vehicles. In many vehicles today, the radio is integrated with other electronic systems (so that if yours stops working, installation of a replacement may be hugely expensive (mostly labour, not the receiver itselt)
D.D.
Last edited by Dicky Doo (November 20, 2025 9:17 am)
- Aytononline
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Re: New Survey Shows Huge Majority Of Drivers Want AM & FM In A New Car
With AM radio stations slowly closing or moving to FM, I am not sure there will be any AM stations to receive, the last time I was up in Timmins I scanned for AM stations in my car radio and did not find any, its only a matter of time as more and more areas will not have an AM station to receive.
- RadioActive
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Re: New Survey Shows Huge Majority Of Drivers Want AM & FM In A New Car
Aytononline wrote:
With AM radio stations slowly closing or moving to FM, I am not sure there will be any AM stations to receive, the last time I was up in Timmins I scanned for AM stations in my car radio and did not find any, its only a matter of time as more and more areas will not have an AM station to receive.
Perhaps, but this survey was done in the U.S., where there are still hundreds of long-time very local AMers serving small towns that would be very unhappy if people driving couldn't hear them. But the times they definitely are a-changing. How long that lasts is yet to be seen.
If you'll excuse the double negative, I really don't want to not have the option.
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Thread Starter- RadioActive
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Re: New Survey Shows Huge Majority Of Drivers Want AM & FM In A New Car
In an unrelated study:
"The latest Share of Ear data from Edison Research finds that 87% of broadcast listening time is on a traditional speaker among Americans age 13 and older. While that is down six points from a decade ago, the resilience of easy-to-use combination of AM/FM radio and a speaker that doesn’t require much more than an “on” button remains strong."
AM/FM Listening Still Controlled By The Radio Dial
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Thread Starter- pinto
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Re: New Survey Shows Huge Majority Of Drivers Want AM & FM In A New Car
When I installed front and rear dashcams in the newer car, the interference from the rear camera sitting close to the antenna was/is terrible. Living in the GTA I like to get traffic reports, the solution was to use Tune in. I really prefer to drive around in my almost 20 yr old vehicle, AM/FM/SiriusXM... 6 presets for AM, 12 for FM and SXM, no bluetooth, no screens, no phone interruptions!!
- RadioActive
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Re: New Survey Shows Huge Majority Of Drivers Want AM & FM In A New Car
I really prefer to drive around in my almost 20 yr old vehicle, AM/FM/SiriusXM... 6 presets for AM, 12 for FM and SXM, no bluetooth, no screens, no phone interruptions!!
I really miss that choice!
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Thread Starter- g121
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Re: New Survey Shows Huge Majority Of Drivers Want AM & FM In A New Car
I really prefer to drive around in my almost 20 yr old vehicle, AM/FM/SiriusXM... 6 presets for AM, 12 for FM and SXM, no bluetooth, no screens, no phone interruptions!!
I really miss that choice!
I quite like my 2013 Mazda5 dashboard .. buttons & dials : )) ..
- RadioActive
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Re: New Survey Shows Huge Majority Of Drivers Want AM & FM In A New Car
I had several Mazda 3s in my day and I really miss that old set-up.
They changed the design so that everything you do with the radio is screen based, and it has this weird joystick-like circular round dial you have to hit to effect a station change. It also puts your pre-selected "favourites" on a dashboard based screen, making changing one station to another a bit of a chore - not to mention temporarily taking your eyes off the road.
This was not well thought out. Anything that makes you look anywhere but out the front windshield is insane. Instead, they made it for an "oh wow" tech design. But trust me, there's nothing "oh wow" about it. My least favourite feature in the car and I'll never buy another one because of it.
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