I'm pissed that a lot of new cars don't even have CD players.

O.K., it’s confession time. I admit it – I’m a dinosaur. Why? Because I almost never listen to anything on FM. There’s nothing on that band that appeals to me and with the very occasional exception of the CBC (which really is an AM station on a better sounding frequency) I rarely, if ever, tune into it.
 
Music on the radio no longer does it for me. I’d rather listen to something that makes me think, even if a lot of what’s on offer on talk radio these days doesn’t entirely live up to that standard.
 
It’s always bugged me that most car radios now offer two sets of FM presets, whereas you’re lucky to get 5 of them on the other band. I’d be just fine if it were the other way around. But you're never given that choice. As it is, my FM2 tuner remains with no presets on it. There just isn’t enough of anything I’d ever want to hear.  
 
So losing AM in the car would be a disaster for an old-fashioned Luddite like me. We’ve heard a lot lately about Millennials not listening to the radio or even knowing what a radio is. But then that same “evidence” suggests they don’t buy cars anymore, so perhaps the automakers should appeal to the audience they still have.
 
And that’s why I find taking AM out of cars to be alarming. Just to be clear, I'm not against FM - I enjoy following what stations are doing as part of the industry. But as a listener, well, just don't leave that as my sole choice behind the wheel.

Maybe AM should stand for “Against-Music.” And FM? Well, despite what the ratings prove, that’s just not For Me.

Have had a Tesla for 6 months now. Would never go back to a gasoline car especially as I now spend approx. $30/mo for electricity versus $250/mo in gas. Most of the major AM radio stations in the GTA are now broadcast on the FM HD2 or HD3 carriers in crystal clear quality. And we also have Tunein included.

#1 CFRB 1010
#2 CFMJ 640
#3 WBEN 930
#4 FAN 590
#5 CHUM 1050
#6 CJBC 860 (Radio-Canada CBC French)

I mostly listen to CFRB and WBEN. 640 only for Oakley, and the sports channels for live games - sports talk bores me to death.

RadioActive wrote:

Perhaps this should be a separate thread, but I'm curious - what do the assembled multitude here have pre-set on their car radios?

Mine are: 

#1 680 News,
#2 GNR 640
#3 CFRB
#4 CKTB St. Catharines,
#5 CHAM Hamilton, and
#6 The Fan 590.

I'm an inveterate station switcher with one of those shifting buttons on the steering wheel, so I wind up listening to all or most of them during an average drive. But I still wish I had an "AM 2" option, so I could set a few more! 

Last edited by milton (November 9, 2018 3:58 pm)

For AM radio, mine are:

1 The Fan 590
2 AM 640
3 680 News
3 Funny 820
4 Newstalk 1010
5 TSN 1050

Mostly I'm on 680 News and The Fan when the Jays are in season.  I live downtown so I'll listen to AM 740 on the FM repeater sometimes.

Last edited by Leslieville Bill (November 9, 2018 5:32 pm)

No CKNT in a Tesla is really dissapointing.

#1 Fan 590 (For my wife when she wants to listen to baseball games in the car in the summer.  I don't listen.)
#2, AM640 
#3, 680 News (mainly for the traffic reports)
#4, AM 740 (I still don't like the term "Zoomer")
#5, Newstalk 1010
#6, Funny 820 (used to be CKOC but they're dead to me now.  I'm just too lazy to swap #5 and #6 to keep my buttons in numberical order by frequency.)

I'm usually flipping between buttons #2 and #5 but have been known to land on #4 if I'm out in the evening or #6 if nothing else interests me.

Newstalk 1010
TSN 1050
GNR am640
Sportsnet 590
680 News

Regarding owning a Tesla, along with the lack of an AM radio, the unique design of the doors means that if it's raining out, it's also raining IN the part of the interior of the car that's left completely exposed when the doors are open. Tesla schamessla...

My AM presets:
590
680
740
1010
820

I listen to AM radio very occasionally, mostly to 740 and 1010.  I also listen to FM very occasionally to 88.5, 96.3 or 99.1
Most of the time, my car radio is set to Sirius XM for easy listening music on Escape. My other XM favourites are
Radio Classics, The Bridge, Love, 50's on 5, 60's on 6, BBC News, and CNN only for breaking news. I find that I listen to XM much more than terrestrial radio whether at home or in the car.



 

If you can afford the price point, you could afford to stream your AM radio through your phone.