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The AM for Every Vehicle Act Changes Ford’s Mind

Ford has backtracked on the decision to remove AM from all 2024 American and Canadian-made vehicles last month, being swayed by the introduction of the AM for Every Vehicle Act in America.

The bipartisan legislation was introduced in Washington due to a rising number of new vehicles produced without AM radio functionality, concerning bill sponsors like Ted Cruz and Ed Markey, who believe it could make it harder to broadcast emergency information during a natural disaster or similar emergency.

CEO of Ford, Jim Farley, took to Twitter to let consumers know Ford has decided AM will now be in 2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles and owners of Ford EVs without AM will get a software update.

“After speaking with policy leaders about the importance of AM broadcast radio as a part of the emergency alert system, we’ve decided to include it on all 2024 @Ford & @LincolnMotorCo vehicles. For any owners of Ford EVs without AM broadcast capability, we’ll offer a software update,” wrote Farley.

“Customers can currently listen to AM radio content in a variety of ways in our vehicles – including via streaming – and we will continue to innovate to deliver even better in-vehicle entertainment and emergency notification options in the future.”

“Thanks to our product development and manufacturing teams for their quick response to make this change for our customers.”

After speaking with policy leaders about the importance of AM broadcast radio as a part of the emergency alert system, we’ve decided to include it on all 2024 @Ford & @LincolnMotorCo vehicles. For any owners of Ford EVs without AM broadcast capability, we’ll offer a software…

Speaking about the introduction of the AM for Every Vehicle Act on the his podcast, Verdict with Ted Cruz, the Senator said, “Well, I got to say, number one, for Ed Markey and me to introduce a bill together in the world of Washington is a pretty shocking thing because, look, Markey and I agree on very, very little,” said Sen. Cruz.

“As a general matter, I’m pretty sceptical of mandates. And so on many things we don’t see eye to eye, but in this instance, the emergency response factor persuaded me, and the viewpoint discrimination targeting talk radio, in particular, that moved me significantly.”

“I don’t want to see important voices in free speech silenced, and I think pulling AM radio out of automobiles would have done that. And so I agreed to sign on and the two of us rolled it out together.”

Ford was amongst brands like Tesla, Volvo and BMW that had begun phasing out AM radio from some or all models.

Some brands like Telsa and Volvo cited electrical interference caused by power drawn from EV batteries as the main reason for leaving AM out, while BMW, for example, left AM out of petrol models in favour of streaming. Ford had planned to do the same with the 2024 Ford Mustang.

In a statement, BMW said it, “made the decision not to include analog AM radio broadcasting in its EV and PHEV models beginning with the BMW I3 in 2014 primarily for two reasons: 1) electromagnetic interference creates poor analog AM radio reception quality and 2) technological innovation has afforded consumers many additional options to receive the same or similar information.”

Ironically, a statement from KIA suggests not all car brands are having the same issues keeping AM in new models. KIA said it is, “unaware of issues with electromagnetic interference with AM radio signals from our EVs.”

“Kia has not discontinued access to free AM or FM broadcast radio in any vehicles sold in the U.S. market, and we do not currently have plans to discontinue these features in future models, whether EVs or gas-powered vehicles.”

Either way, the introduction of the AM for Every Vehicle Act in America will likely create a ripple effect through car makers that finds its way to Australia’s vast landmass.

First published by RadioInfo. Read original here