# AM radio being removed from cars **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** radio-podcast\ **Created:** [May 15, 2023, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081 "2023-05-15T14:29:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/202 "2026-10-04T02:24:51Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yeha, please remove AM radio. It is mostly Conservative Talk radio or bad musci anyway. …and critical emergency news. That’s the important part. The rest doesn’t matter. Didn’t we already hash that out earlier in this thread? IMO, car makers should be able to include or not include any features they want. Except for mandated safety equipment, which includes AM radio. Some people in this thread still think this is about entertainment programming choices and the popularity of AM but none of that matters. AM is a important safety feature that (like insurance or seatbelts) may never be used but still needs to be there just in case. And FM is not the same because of how the signal is delivered compared to AM. AM has much better and further coverage. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/203 "2026-10-04T02:30:54Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Some people in this thread still think this is about entertainment programming choices and the popularity of AM but none of that matters. AM is a important safety feature that (like insurance or seatbelts) may never be used but still needs to be there just in case. > > And FM is not the same because of how the signal is delivered compared to AM. AM has much better and further coverage. I’m still struggling to imagine a scenario in which a car’s built-in AM radio would be the only possible way to relay life-or-death info to someone about an ongoing emergency AND where “going out to the car to listen to the radio” wouldn’t be life-threatening in and of itself. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/204 "2026-10-04T03:11:21Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I’m still struggling to imagine a scenario… After dozens of posts in two threads on the topic, in which you pretty much said the same thing again and again to everyone who tried to explain it to you…maybe, just maybe, accept that even if _ **you** _ don’t think it’s important, other people do, rather than relentlessly saying “I just don’t get it.” ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/205 "2026-10-04T03:13:02Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > After dozens of posts in two threads on the topic, in which you pretty much said the same thing again and again to everyone who tried to explain it to you… Which thus far nobody has attempted other than going in circles about how AM radios in cars are essential because the AM radio industry says they are. Give me a case in which an AM radio **SPECIFICALLY BUILT INTO A CAR** has made the difference between life and death and maybe I’ll start “getting it”. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/206 "2026-10-04T03:20:47Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > and critical emergency news. That’s the important part. The rest doesn’t matter. Didn’t we already hash that out earlier in this thread? You know I made that post TWO years ago, right? Yes, AM is better for emergencies, but maybe an emergency radio with alternate power is a better way to listen. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/207 "2026-10-04T03:24:57Z")
It may be a better way, but what percentage of people that have gotten rid of AM radio have actually gone through the effort and expense of picking up that “better” choice? ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/208 "2026-10-04T04:02:43Z")
While my car DOES have AM radio installed (2025 Prius PHEV), I don’t use it. But my emergency kit in the car has a flashlight - multi frequency radio (AM/FM/Weather Band), Flashing beacon powered by an oversized USB charged battery (and yes, I check it every 3 months). I mean, Global Warming is a hell of a thing, but there have been a few winters here in Colorado… which is why there’s a full 72 hour kit, extra socks and pullover and wool blanket in there as well. Back to the OP though - as I said in the other thread, there’s really nothing provided **for me** by AM radio that has value. There’s some News and Talk, but I can get more by other means (like you guys!), Conservative Talk (blech), Sports (not interested), and Country (not my cup of tea). 🤷‍♂️ As for emergency information, since it defaults to a smartphone pairing, I have careful set my emergency broadcast alerts - I’m still going to get a lot of local and national emergency information under non [TEOTWAWKI](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/TEOTWAWKI) sitations. And in those… ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/209 "2026-10-04T04:36:40Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Which thus far nobody has attempted other than going in circles about how AM radios in cars are essential because the AM radio industry says they are. As I have pointed out to you, several times: it is not just the AM radio industry which lobbied for that bill, but a large number of emergency management agencies also put their support behind it. But, no, unless you get this very specific concrete absolute example: > [@Smapti](#): > > Give me a case in which an AM radio **SPECIFICALLY BUILT INTO A CAR** has made the difference between life and death and maybe I’ll start “getting it”. …you not only insist that this ONLY ONLY ONLY benefits conservative talk radio, but you steadfastly _ **refuse** _ to get it. And every time this topic gets resurrected, you leap in to say, “I just don’t get it.” ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/210 "2026-10-04T04:57:56Z")
…so, do you have that example, or don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/211 "2026-10-04T05:18:14Z")
Clearly not, but I also don’t care to spend hours hunting through news stories for this one _magic bullet_ piece of evidence to satisfy you. You, however, have ignored every other piece of information that everyone who has tried to engage with you on this topic has shared with you. Just because _ **you** _ feel there is no utility for this, no “use case” in which this is possibly important, you are clearly unable to accept that other people might feel differently, and that they can possibly believe so with no weird ulterior motive of supporting talk radio. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/212 "2026-10-04T05:24:46Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Clearly not Then this is a pointless and expensive solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/213 "2026-10-04T05:28:41Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > a pointless and expensive solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. Because @Smapti 's evaluation of this is clearly far superior to that of actual emergency management professionals. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/214 "2026-10-04T05:31:24Z")
Do _they_ have examples of car-mounted AM radios saving lives, or is this argument from authority? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/215 "2026-10-04T05:33:53Z")
Go ask them. Go do your own research if it’s so important to you that you keep bringing it up again and again. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/216 "2026-10-04T05:37:48Z")
So you don’t know if it’s ever happened, you can’t point me to anyone who says it’s ever happened, and you can’t even propose a hypothetical scenario in which it would happen, but Congress needs to take action on it and automakers need to fall in RIGHT NOW or chaos and devastation will surely ensue. Excuse me while I write my senator regarding the absence of a federal policy on elves stealing our grain. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/217 "2026-10-04T06:08:55Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > …so, do you have that example, or don’t you? I could offer an analogy. During the Cold War the Western World (and the USSR) were under threat of nuclear-tipped missiles striking cities and killing millions. Most major cities, at least in the US, had public air-raid sirens that would signal any nuclear attack. I don’t know how much it cost for all those sirens and for the Civil Defense system as a whole but it must have been plenty. Yet, I can’t name a single person whose life was saved by those air-raid sirens. What a huge waste of money!!! I mean, folks should have had the choice of whether to get gouged by the Government with tax money siphoned off as another handout to Big Siren, _or_, the right to install their own personal private sirens. > [@Smapti](#): > > Do _they_ have examples of car-mounted AM radios saving lives, or is this argument from authority? Do you believe that emergency management professionals recommend AM car radios just for yuks? Or just to maliciously make it so that carmakers have to spend money needlessly? Just why do these folks believe AM is so important if it is fact not? Is it a trick? Are they drunk? Paid off by iHeartRadio? What is it you think they are up to, the sneaky bastards? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/218 "2026-10-04T06:13:30Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > I could offer an analogy. During the Cold War the Western World (and the USSR) were under threat of nuclear-tipped missiles striking cities and killing millions. Most major cities, at least in the US, had public air-raid sirens that would signal any nuclear attack. Which would have amounted to giving them slightly more notice of their inevitable death, so it still doesn’t seem any more useful than an AM radio in a car - in a situation where you need either one, it’s not going to be survivable anyway. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/219 "2026-10-04T06:20:31Z")
Well then, I have the same question I do about emergency responders and AM car radio----why did the whole country pay for air-raid sirens when there was no need? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/220 "2026-10-04T06:42:36Z")
Security theater? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/221 "2026-10-04T07:18:45Z")
Do the emergency management professionals have any evidence to show to back up their claim that the costs and benefits of car radios push in favor of a mandate, or is it just feels and vibes? Do insurance companies require higher premiums on cars without AM radios since they’re apparently so much more likely to be wiped out in one of these disasters? Anyways, the IMO quite pointless legislation on this topic [passed the House a few weeks ago](https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a73792988/am-radio-every-vehicle-act-passes-us-house/) and is likely to be enacted _if_ the Senate has time to bring it up before the session ends. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081.md?page=12)