A controversial bill that would require all new cars to be fitted with AM radios looks set to become a law in the near future. Yesterday, Senator Edward Markey (D-Mass) revealed that the “AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act” now has the support of 60 US Senators, as well as 246 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, making its passage an almost sure thing. Should that happen, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would be required to ensure that all new cars sold in the US had AM radios at no extra cost.
AM radios are also incredibly cheap and simple. It’s just one more source for a digital stereo system connected to a fairly simple circuit. I doubt this costs more than $5 per car to implement.
Oh my god, we’re gonna have to increase the cost of cars and trucks by at least 8000 dollars to cover this egregious and unfair regulation! - Automotive CEO.
Just layoff the entire radio team and the Chief Communications Officer. That’ll teach them to fuck with the Chief Head Honcho.
AM radio costs nothing to implement, that’s not why it’s absent from me cars. Many modern cars use some form of brushless motor in the power train. The inverters for these motors work at a frequency that interferes with AM radio reception at close range. Manufacturers can add it back to cars (probably by an over the air software update as many radios are SDR), but it’ll just pick up whistling when the car’s moving.