Editing Vehicle audio (section)

===Radio===
[[File:Een Philips Autoradio veraangenaamt den rit en houdt den geest frisch.jpg|thumb|upright|1937 Philips Auto Radio. Weighing 24&nbsp;kg and taking 8 litres of space, it was floor mounted with a wired remote control to be fitted to the dashboard.]]

In 1904, before commercially viable technology for mobile radio was in place, [[United States|American]] [[inventor]] and self-described "Father of Radio" [[Lee de Forest]] demonstrated a car radio at the 1904 [[Louisiana Purchase Exposition]] in [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Erb |first=Ernst |title=First Car radios-history and development of early Car Radios |url= https://www.radiomuseum.org/forum/first_car_radios_history_and_development_of_early_car_radios.html |website=radiomuseum.org |date=30 April 2012 |access-date=10 February 2020}}</ref>

Around 1920, [[vacuum tube]] technology had matured to the point where the availability of [[radio receiver]]s made radio broadcasting viable.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Guarnieri|first=M.|year=2012|title=The age of vacuum tubes: the conquest of analog communications |journal=IEEE Ind. Electron. M. |pages=52–54 |doi=10.1109/MIE.2012.2193274 |s2cid=42357863}}</ref> A technical challenge was that the vacuum tubes in the radio receivers required 50 to 250 [[Voltage|volt]] [[direct current]], but car batteries ran at 6V. Voltage was stepped up with a [[Vibrator (electronic)|vibrator]] that provided a pulsating DC which could be converted to a higher voltage with a [[transformer]], [[Rectifier|rectified]], and filtered to create higher-voltage DC.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

In 1924, Kelly's Motors in NSW, Australia, installed its first car radio.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.carhistory4u.com/the-last-100-years/parts-of-the-car/car-radio |title=Car History 4U – History of the Car Radio in Motor Cars |date=2012-12-09 |access-date=2018-08-17 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121209064343/http://www.carhistory4u.com/the-last-100-years/parts-of-the-car/car-radio |archive-date=2012-12-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/lessons-history-inform-acma-thinking-today-radcomms-conference |title=Lessons of history inform ACMA thinking today: RadComms Conference|date=30 April 2009 |website=radioinfo.com.au |access-date=17 August 2018 |author1=Iamadmin }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.autoguru.com.au/car-advice/articles/10-aussie-auto-facts-you-probably-didnt-know |title=10 Aussie Auto Facts You Probably Didn't Know |website=autoguru.com.au |access-date=2018-08-17}}</ref>

In 1930, the American [[Galvin Manufacturing Corporation]] marketed a [[Motorola]]-branded [[radio receiver]] for $130.<ref name="caranddriver">{{cite web|title=The History of Car Radios|url= http://www.caranddriver.com/features/the-history-of-car-radios |work=Car and Driver|date= 25 October 2010 |access-date=14 January 2016}}</ref> It was expensive: the contemporary [[Ford Model A (1927–31)|Ford Model A]] cost $540. A Plymouth sedan, "wired for Philco Transitone radio without extra cost," was advertised in ''[[Ladies' Home Journal]]'' in 1931. In 1932 in Germany the [[Blaupunkt]] AS 5 [[medium wave]] and [[longwave]] radio was marketed for 465 Reichsmark, about one-third of the price of a small car. Because it took nearly 10 litres of space, it could not be located near the driver and was operated via a steering wheel remote control.<ref>{{cite web |title=Blaupunkt: Success Story |url=http://www.blaupunkt.com/us/about-us/success-story/ |website=blaupunkt.com |access-date=2016-01-14}}</ref> In 1933, [[Crossley Motors]] offered a factory fitted car radio for £35.<ref name="guinness">{{cite book |title=Guinness book of car facts and feats |publisher=Guinness Superlatives |year=1977 |isbn=0-900424-54-0 |location=London}}</ref> By the late 1930s, push button AM radios were considered a standard feature. In 1946, there were an estimated 9 million AM car radios in use.<ref>{{cite web|title=When the Car Radio Was Introduced, People Freaked Out |url = http://mentalfloss.com/article/29631/when-car-radio-was-introduced-people-freaked-out |work=MentalFloss |date=3 January 2012 |access-date=2016-08-10}}</ref>

An [[Frequency modulation|FM]] receiver was offered by Blaupunkt in 1952. In 1953, Becker introduced the AM/FM Becker Mexico with a Variometer tuner, basically a station-search or scan function.<ref name="The History of the Car Stereo">{{cite web|title=The History of the Car Stereo |url= https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2399878,00.asp |work=PCMag |access-date=2016-01-14}}</ref>

In April 1955, the [[Chrysler|Chrysler Corporation]] announced that it was offering a [[Mopar]] model 914HR branded [[Philco]] all-transistor car radio,<ref>{{cite web|title=Mopar 914-HR Ch= C-5690HR Car Radio Philco, Philadelphia |url= http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/philco_mopar_914_hr_ch_c_5690hr.html |website=radiomuseum.org |access-date=2016-01-14}}</ref> as a $150 option for its 1956 Chrysler and Imperial car models. Chrysler Corporation had decided to discontinue its all-transistor car radio option at the end of 1956, due to it being too expensive, and replaced it with a cheaper hybrid (transistors and low voltage vacuum tubes) car radio for its new 1957 car models.<ref name="Hirsh">{{cite web|last=Hirsh |first=Rick |url= https://www.allpar.com/threads/1955-chrysler%E2%80%99s-all-transistor-mopar-car-radio.228494/?post_id=1085222592&nested_view=1&sortby=oldest#post-1085222592 |title=Philco's All-Transistor Mopar Car Radio |website=allpar.com |date=November 16, 2020 |access-date=February 13, 2024}}</ref> In 1963, Becker introduced the Monte Carlo, a tubeless [[Solid-state electronics|solid state]] radio with no vacuum tubes.<ref name="The History of the Car Stereo"/>

From 1974 to 2005, the [[Autofahrer-Rundfunk-Informationssystem]] was used by the German [[ARD (broadcaster)|ARD]] network.<ref>{{cite web |title=Institut für Rundfunktechnik Historic Milestones |url= http://www.irt.de/en/irt/milestones.html |website=irt.de |access-date=2009-05-17 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090420084023/http://www.irt.de/en/irt/milestones.html |archive-date= 20 April 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> Developed jointly by the {{lang|de|[[Institut für Rundfunktechnik]]}} and Blaupunkt,<ref>{{cite web|title=March 2009: RDS is now 25 – the complete history |url= http://www.rds.org.uk/rds98/pdf/RDS_25_090327_4.pdf |website=rds.org.uk |date=2009-03-27 |page=1 |access-date=2009-05-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091007182550/http://www.rds.org.uk/rds98/pdf/RDS_25_090327_4.pdf |archive-date=October 7, 2009 }}</ref> it indicated the presence of traffic announcements through manipulation of the 57{{nbs}}[[kHz]] [[subcarrier]] of the station's FM signal.<ref>{{cite patent|country=EP|number=1432157|title=Method for separating a RDS signal component and signal receiver|pubdate=2004-06-23|assign=[[Sony|Sony International (Europe) GMBH]]|inventor1-last=Wildhagen|inventor1-first=Jens}}</ref> ARI was replaced by the [[Radio Data System]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Das Autofahrer-Rundfunk-Informationssystem wird abgeschaltet |url= http://www.shortnews.de/start.cfm?id=562110 |website=shortnews.de |location=Regensburg, Germany |date=2005-02-28 |language=de |access-date=2009-05-17}}</ref>

The AM/FM radio combined with a CD player has remained a mainstay of car audio, despite being obsolescent in non-car applications.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.crutchfield.ca/learn/is-the-car-cd-player-dead.html |title=Is the car CD player dead?|first=Dominic |last=DeVito |work=Crutchfield |access-date=February 13, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/Articles/2018/01/08/obsolete-car-audio-part-5 |title=History of obsolete car audio, part 5: What's old is new (or, at least, in vogue) |first=Rob|last=Siegel |website=hagerty.com |date=8 January 2018 }}</ref>

In the 2010s, [[internet radio]], [[Satellite radio system|satellite radio]], [[music streaming service|streaming]], and [[podcasting]] came into competition with AM/FM radio. By this time some models were offering [[5.1 surround sound]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

In 2023, several automobile manufacturers, including [[Ford Motor Company]], announced plans to discontinue offering the AM radio band in new vehicles, starting with the 2024 model year. Ford later reversed its announcement, with chief executive officer [[Jim Farley (businessman)|Jim Farley]] citing the importance of AM's [[emergency alert system]]. Audi, BMW, Volvo, and Tesla had already started to not offer the AM band on their entertainment systems, specifically on their electric vehicles.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ford Not Nixing AM Radio in 2024 Models after All, CEO Says |work=Car and Driver |date=May 23, 2023 |url= https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a43980143/2024-ford-lincoln-models-keep-am-radio/ |first=y Eric |last=Stafford |access-date=February 13, 2024}}</ref> The previous announcement had several lawmakers introduce bipartisan legislation to require that automobile manufactures include the AM band on their audio/entertainment systems.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-lawmakers-want-bar-automakers-eliminating-am-radio-new-vehicles-2023-05-17/ |title=US lawmakers want to bar automakers from eliminating AM radio in new vehicles |first=David |last=Shepardson |date=May 17, 2023 |work=Reuters |access-date=February 13, 2024}}</ref>