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MAhauler

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https://apnews.com/article/am-radio-ford-cars-congress-bill-aec6e6405d33ff95cff3dd31bef617db

Ford decides to keep AM radio on 2024 models, will restore AM on two electric vehicles from 2023

May 23, 2023

DETROIT (AP) — Owners of new Ford vehicles will be able to tune in to AM radio in their cars, trucks and SUVs after all.

CEO Jim Farley wrote in social media postings Tuesday that the company is reversing a decision to scrub the band after speaking with government policy leaders who are concerned about keeping emergency alerts that often are sounded on AM stations.

“We’ve decided to include it on all 2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles,” Farley wrote on Twitter and LinkedIn. “For any owners of Ford’s EVs without AM broadcast capability, we’ll offer a software update” to restore it, Farley wrote.

The move comes after a bipartisan group of federal lawmakers introduced a bill Wednesday calling on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require AM in new vehicles at no additional cost.

Sponsors of the “AM for Every Vehicle Act” cited public safety concerns, noting AM’s historic role in transmitting vital information during emergencies, such as natural disasters, especially to rural areas.

Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., one of the bill’s sponsors, has said eight of 20 major automakers including Ford, BMW and Tesla have pulled the band from new vehicles.

“Ford’s reversal reflects an overdue realization about the importance of AM radio, but too many automakers are still going the wrong direction,” Markey said in a written statement Tuesday. He said Congress should still pass the bill to keep access to the band.

Ford removed AM from the 2023 Mustang Mach-e and F-150 Lightning electric pickups after data collected from vehicles showed that less than 5% of customers listened to it, spokesman Alan Hall said. Electrical interference and reducing cost and manufacturing complexity also played a role.

The company also took it out of the 2024 gasoline-powered Mustang, but will add it back in before any of the muscle cars are delivered, Hall said.

The EVs will get an online software update to put AM back into the vehicles, and Ford will keep including it in future vehicles as it looks at innovative ways to deliver emergency alerts, Hall said.

Ford and others also suggested that internet radio or other communication tools could replace AM radio. But Markey and others pointed to situations where drivers might not have internet access.

The Federal Communications Commission and National Association of Broadcasters praised the legislation, which is also backed by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., Rep. Tom Kean, Jr., R-N.J., Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., among others.

But the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a U.S. trade group that represents major automakers including Ford and BMW, criticized the bill, calling the AM radio mandate unnecessary.

The trade group pointed to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Integrated Public Alerts and Warning System, which can distribute safety warnings across AM, FM, internet-based and satellite radios — as well as over cellular networks.

The alliance said the bill gives preference to a technology that’s competing with other communications options.

Messages were left Tuesday seeking comment from BMW and Tesla.

According to the National Association of Broadcasters and Nielsen data, more than 80 million people in the U.S. listen to AM radio every month.
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thebigdu

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Finally a smart move.
 

Henfield

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Most of the people complaining probably have the Emergency Alerts on their smartphones switched off.

And don't know how to turn it on.
 

powerboatr

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i have NEVER EVER EVER received or heard an emergency alert in my vehicle on a AM or FM.
AM radio would not have been missed imo
i think congress being involved is hmmm congress being congress :love:
but i have about crapped my pants at 0200 when the damm amber alerts go off for towns hundreds of miles away.

our county uses smart phone and land lines to contact us for weather related emergencies and of course if trash is delayed ??
the weather ones are actually pretty timely, almost as fast as my weather underground weather station sites
 

JJSnell

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A frequency to match their B&O Unleashed sound quality..............?
 

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HammaMan

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Given the TCU in every vehicle, emergency alerts should already be programmed to be received by the vehicle itself. Furthermore the AM/FM radio should be setup in a manner where emergency alerts could be received via them as well. The loss of AM isn't a big deal. I haven't used it in over a decade. That's not to say it's not wise to have an emergency radio stored in a microwave JIC ;)

Granted if that's the case, I'd prefer to be at ground zero of the human-made star.
 

Atlee

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How much can a software cost. I thought they were originally talking about hardware. That would save some money.
 

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Farley - leading once again! Joke.
 

spiritrider1

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This is a freedom of speech issue. Mainstream media and a certain political party is pushing for the silencing of a certain 'other' viewpoint and by any means possible. AM is predominantly used by conservative talk hosts, religious programming, and foreign language broadcast.
Those groups have very little bandwidth in mainstream media nowadays with more and more syndicates pulling the plug on the likes of OAN, Newsmax, etc.
 

powerboatr

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A frequency to match their B&O Unleashed sound quality..............?
i can say we dont listen to fm very much either..practically never ,
 

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doolin64

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I will donate my AM. I've been driving just shy of 30 years and have never used AM.
 

Spiffy

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It's a regional thing. In the farming belt throughout the midwest and central areas am plays a major role. AM has greater distance per watt. I got a kick when ford reported that AM radio caused interference.
A receiver can not produce interference. Unless the power supply is pure crap. But in a vehicle the reciever is a a battery. Then they stated that the EV motor was causing static on AM reception. Like that can't be fixed? I have a power boost and my AM is crystal clear.
Now ford says they will restore AM to vehicles with a software fix. How much does a digital bit cost? It's not about the money.
A AM reception chip costs what 2 cents? There is antenna in place for FM. AM uses the same antenna hardware.
When I was a kid I made a AM reciver using a needle, piece of wire and a odd crystal. No power supply.
I don't buy the saving money claim. 10 cents of hardware is petty. If ford wanted to save a buck remove the bluecruse eye cameras.
There are other motives.
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