A.M. radio scored a big win yesterday courtesy of America’s second-biggest car company. Ford announced they’re reversing course and will NOT be removing A.M. radios from their new cars.
If you didn’t hear, at least eight major car brands have been planning to ditch A.M. radio in their upcoming models. They include Tesla, Mazda, BMW, Rivian, Polestar, Volvo, Volkswagen, and Ford. Ford was the biggest of those eight. But their CEO announced yesterday they’re adding it back into ALL of their 2024 models. (Here’s the tweet.)
Obviously lots of people still listen to A.M. radio . . . around 80 MILLION people a month. But another big concern is it’s used for emergency broadcast alerts.
Because of that, lawmakers in D.C. have been pushing the car companies to keep it. Last week, they introduced a bill called the “A.M. for Every Vehicle Act” that would REQUIRE all new cars to have A.M. radios. Ford’s also offering a software update to add it back into two of its 2023 electric vehicles . . . the Mustang Mach-e and F-150 Lightning.
It’s not clear if the other carmakers will reverse course too now, so stay tuned.
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