The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum / If The U.S. Forces Car Makers To Keep AM Radio, Will Canada Follow?

**Posted by RadioActive** May 29, 2024 7:10 am

It's called the "AM For Every Vehicle Act" and it's slowly making its way through the various levels of government in the U.S. Support for the law, which would require automakers to keep AM radio in all new vehicles, is gaining bi-partisan support down south, agreements between parties that is increasingly rare in these otherwise polarized times.

Bill to Require AM in Cars Moves Ahead in the House

So if it passes down there, and given the interactivity of car manufacturing between this country and the U.S., would Canada be forced to follow suit? Right now, most electric vehicles don't carry AM because of the interference it causes on the signals. There may be some ways around it with filters, but it's not a cheap fix - and it may not work that well in the long run.

I don't see how we won't be forced to do the same thing here almost by default, since the assembly of our cars often requires trips to the U.S. and back.

We've invested billions on battery plants and electric vehicles on this side of the border. Will the fight for AM radio be fought in the Great White North as well? Or will it just be a given? My guess - we may not have a choice.

**Posted by mace** May 29, 2024 8:00 am

All the more reason to keep my boring beige 2006 Toyota Camry. It runs well, gets me safely from point A to point B, has only 107,000 km on it AND most importantly to me it doesn't have an entertainment system. Just AM [6 presets] and FM [12 presets] I recently discovered it also has a CD player, but since I don't own any CD's, I never knew it was there.

**Posted by Skywave** May 29, 2024 8:14 am

If it passes in the U.S. it will happen here by default. The receivers at the very least will have the chip set capable of AM reception, and there really wouldn't be any point in configuring the software to turn it off.
What isn't clear is whether the European and Asian manufacturers will have to retool. All-in-one chip sets for AM/FM/DAB/DRM/HD such as the NXP SAF360X have existed for many years. As many internal combustion vehicles still have AM reception capability, I'm guessing that it's a simple matter of enabling it in software.
As I've said in earlier posts, having the reception capability doesn't mean that the reception quality in electric vehicles will be acceptable except in the strongest signal areas.

**Posted by paterson1** May 29, 2024 10:44 am

I would think that manufacturers would do the same here. However cars sold in Canada at times are different than the US counterpart. Biggest difference up until recently was daytime running lights. .All new cars sold or imported in Canada have had daytimers since Dec 1, 1989. Car manufacturers for the US market have only recently made this standard on most new cars.

Same with ignition immobilizers which must be standard on all cars sold in Canada. In the US most manufacturers do install them as well but not mandatory. A few like KIA and Hyundai in the US have only recently been installing immobilizers in their cars. One reason why KIA's and Hyundai products were stolen much more in the US than here.

**Posted by pinto** May 29, 2024 10:58 am

Bought a new Hyundai in 2017, all the bells and whistles, made in Korea. No HD Radio! Same car "assembled" in the US... had HD Radio. Can't tell me the infotainment systems were different.

**Posted by RadioActive** May 31, 2024 7:15 am

This story on the NAB's response to potentially losing AM radio in cars contains one of the silliest suggestions I've seen on this topic yet. It comes from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which opposes forcing carmakers to keep the band in vehicles.

"For those consumers who want AM radio, automakers would consider offering portable AM radios, similar to first aid or tire kits, AAI President and CEO John Bozzella told the Subcommittee on Innovation, Data and Commerce last month."

Yes, because a portable AM radio would work so well inside of a car, electric or otherwise!

What a stupid and pointless suggestion.

The NAB’s fight for the future of AM radio

**Posted by RadioActive** June 6, 2024 9:13 am

As the bill to force AM radio to remain in cars trundles its way through the various U.S. government bodies, one congressman, a New Jersey rep. named Josh Gottheimer, is suggesting all cars without the band be forced to prominently display the sticker below on the window to make sure buyers are aware of what they're missing.

How weird would it be to see this on your new automobile?

**Posted by RadioAaron** June 6, 2024 10:16 am

LOL....It's almost parody at this point.

**Posted by RadioActive** April 1, 2025 4:30 pm

This old thread is back because it now appears the U.S.' "AM For Every Vehicle" Act is gaining steam and - while there's still a ways to go - could end up becoming law down there. Would Canada follow suit, with all the tariff confusion going on and how intertwined the two countries are when it comes to cars, despite what the Orange idiot thinks?

Stay tuned.

AM Radio Act Clears Filibuster Hurdle With Senate Supermajority

**Posted by torontostan** April 1, 2025 5:13 pm

Really strange for democrats to support this bill.... AM radio is one of the biggest pushers of far-right conservative media aka misinformation... killing AM would help eliminate these despicable people (think Alex Jones types) from the airwaves.

**Posted by Radiowiz** April 1, 2025 5:20 pm

torontostan wrote:
Really strange for democrats to support this bill.... AM radio is one of the biggest pushers of far-right conservative media aka misinformation... killing AM would help eliminate these despicable people (think Alex Jones types) from the airwaves.

Nawww they'll just move to FM.

**Posted by RadioAaron** April 1, 2025 5:25 pm

Radiowiz wrote:
torontostan wrote:
Really strange for democrats to support this bill.... AM radio is one of the biggest pushers of far-right conservative media aka misinformation... killing AM would help eliminate these despicable people (think Alex Jones types) from the airwaves.
Nawww they'll just move to FM.

Not in medium to larger markets. They’re also-ran stations not worth sacrificing an FM for.

Democrats passed it because they’re old and believe the bogus “emergency service” argument.

**Posted by RadioActive** April 1, 2025 5:46 pm

Well, this is certainly one solution. If it works.

Ford Patent Aims to Keep AM Radio Alive in Electric Vehicles

**Posted by Dale Patterson** April 1, 2025 6:02 pm

Can those who want to listen to AM radio not pick it up on their cell phones, thus negating the need to have an actual AM radio on their dashboard.

**Posted by Jody Thornton** April 1, 2025 7:22 pm

Piggy backing on Dale's question: I would say combine streaming and HD in cars.

Here's my slightly off-topic question though, regarding licensing for defunct AM signals here in Canada. Suppose Corus were to eventually turn off the AM signal for 640 Toronto. If they wanted it to be a streaming outfit only, and then wanted to place the content on an HD subchannel of one of their FMs. Does Corus need a CRTC license for that? Is the license only for the actual AM signal?

**Posted by RadioAaron** April 1, 2025 7:25 pm

Jody Thornton wrote:
Piggy backing on Dale's question: I would say combine streaming and HD in cars.

Here's my slightly off-topic question though, regarding licensing for defunct AM signals here in Canada. Suppose Corus were to eventually turn off the AM signal for 640 Toronto. If they wanted it to be a streaming outfit only, and then wanted to place the content on an HD subchannel of one of their FMs. Does Corus need a CRTC license for that? Is the license only for the actual AM signal?

They do not. The content of HD sub-channels is currently completely un-regulated.

**Posted by Jody Thornton** April 1, 2025 7:28 pm

RadioAaron wrote:
They do not. The content of HD sub-channels is currently completely un-regulated.

Then why don't they just do that, and sell their transmitter towers to condo developers? It could buy these companies some time.

*** Uh - Oh. RA and his dog are chasing me with a baseball bat and shouting obscenities! Gotta Run !!! ***

**Posted by RadioActive** April 1, 2025 7:35 pm

Jody Thornton wrote:
RadioAaron wrote:
They do not. The content of HD sub-channels is currently completely un-regulated.
Then why don't they just do that, and sell their transmitter towers to condo developers? It could buy these companies some time.

*** Uh - Oh. RA and his dog are chasing me with a baseball bat and shouting obscenities! Gotta Run !!! ***

And I'm using one of those new torpedo bats!

**Posted by RadioAaron** April 1, 2025 7:38 pm

The challenge would be that they'd no longer be rated (which they almost are, really.) You'd need strong local cluster-based sales (ie: being a Q107 add-on) and if you're lucky your national rep-house going along with the plan.

**Posted by Evuguy** April 1, 2025 9:33 pm

If we had implemented DAB properly some 20 years ago, poor reception never would have been an issue with electric cars. Existing AM stations would have been on the DAB bouquets along with the FM's. By this time today, broadcasters would have felt confident enough to close their AM transmissions, knowing that most people would now have DAB receivers in homes and cars. Corus would not of had to worry about street car wires causing interference to AM 640's signal or, all the devices now in people's homes that generate interference in the AM radio band.

But no, Canada had to follow the USA and go with that messy and uncoordinated IBOC system. All thanks to economics, which now seem quite up in the air.

**Posted by RadioActive** April 2, 2025 7:08 am

A letter from a guy in Greece really surprised me. He refused to buy a Ford because it doesn't have AM. I thought AM was all but gone in most of Europe. But he insists that's not the case.

Read it here.