AM Radio For All Vehicles Legislation Reintroduced (agweek.com) 37
A bipartisan group of legislators has reintroduced the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2025, aiming to mandate AM radio in all new vehicles at no additional cost. Adweek reports: The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act was first introduced in May 2023. It continued to take on new co-sponsors through the fall of 2024. It was reintroduced as the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2025 with 62 cosponsors. Upper Midwest senators showing support for the bill include Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer R-North Dakota, and Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, DFL- Minnesota.
If enacted, the bill would require the Department of Transportation to issue a rule requiring new vehicles to maintain access to broadcast AM radio at no additional cost to the consumer and provide small vehicle manufacturers at least four years after the date DOT issues the rule to comply. The act also requires automakers to inform consumers, during the period before the rule takes effect, that the vehicles do not maintain access to broadcast AM radio. "With 82 million Americans tuning in each month, AM radio delivers more than just emergency alerts," says the National Association of Broadcasters in a news release. "It connects communities through hyper-local content, including news, weather and diverse cultural programming," according to a news release from the National Association of Broadcasters."
If enacted, the bill would require the Department of Transportation to issue a rule requiring new vehicles to maintain access to broadcast AM radio at no additional cost to the consumer and provide small vehicle manufacturers at least four years after the date DOT issues the rule to comply. The act also requires automakers to inform consumers, during the period before the rule takes effect, that the vehicles do not maintain access to broadcast AM radio. "With 82 million Americans tuning in each month, AM radio delivers more than just emergency alerts," says the National Association of Broadcasters in a news release. "It connects communities through hyper-local content, including news, weather and diverse cultural programming," according to a news release from the National Association of Broadcasters."
The year is 3099- (Score:3)
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Hopefully Chinese (traditional) rather than Chinese (simplified) ;)
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As radio signals are extremely weak at the receiver, and AM is based on changes in amplitude (not frequency), electric motors - which only put out tiny amounts of EMF, but tend to do so at given frequency bands for a given motor speed - can add annoying buzzes to it.
It's not impossible to overcome - further shielding helps, as do digital broadcasts - but most EV and hybrid manufacturers see no point to trying to keep alive a dinosaur tech that's not that popular. Most AM stations and popular shows stream o
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so it's easier and vastly higher quality to just add streaming to the cars.
AM and FM radio is free to listen. Is streaming free? Does it work in the same areas that AM radio works in?
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Well water is free to pull out of the ground and you can dig a well in a lot of places that don't have a municipal supply. Doesn't mean I think every house should be required to be built with a well if the builder doesn't think it's worth it.
If you care about having AM radio in your car, buy one for $20 and plug it into the 12V outlet. The vast majority of people will never bother.
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It's not impossible to overcome - further shielding helps, as do digital broadcasts - but most EV and hybrid manufacturers see no point to trying to keep alive a dinosaur tech that's not that popular. Most AM stations and popular shows stream online anyway, so it's easier and vastly higher quality to just add streaming to the cars.
Right, and by removing the AM radio from vehicles the automakers can be "sloppy" with their shielding of electronics and get new car buyers to sign up for some kind of subscription service to make up for it, and get a cut of the service fee as a result of course. They can go cheaper on the manufacturing, add fees for subscriptions or a special order on an AM radio add-on, to make money on both ends of the deal.
If people want higher quality audio then they can still get cellular or satellite service in thei
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Part of the AM radio requirement will force the EV makers to put in the effort on proper shielding so their own AM radio works, and it has the side benefit of minimizing interference to adjacent vehicles.
Exactly!
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It's not impossible to overcome - further shielding helps, as do digital broadcasts - but most EV and hybrid manufacturers see no point to trying to keep alive a dinosaur tech that's not that popular. Most AM stations and popular shows stream online anyway, so it's easier and vastly higher quality to just add streaming to the cars.
Right, and by removing the AM radio from vehicles the automakers can be "sloppy" with their shielding of electronics and get new car buyers to sign up for some kind of subscription service to make up for it, and get a cut of the service fee as a result of course. They can go cheaper on the manufacturing, add fees for subscriptions or a special order on an AM radio add-on, to make money on both ends of the deal.
If people want higher quality audio then they can still get cellular or satellite service in their vehicles. If they have an EV with improper shielding then they can't even bring a portable AM radio in the EV and expect reliable reception. Part of the AM radio requirement will force the EV makers to put in the effort on proper shielding so their own AM radio works, and it has the side benefit of minimizing interference to adjacent vehicles.
Another side benefit is this will mean less interference with 2-way radios like CB, ham, GMRS, and business/emergency bands should people want a 2-way radio for emergency communications or as part of their job.
Your points in support of this law are primarily regarding its side benefits. If you want to see EVs being less sloppy in their shielding, pass a law that mandates it. Otherwise you run the risk that manufacturers cynically comply with the requirement: the AM radio feature gets buried 4 menu layers deep, and shielding is improved the minimum amount required to barely pick up a strong signal.
Not sure why your post was downmodded. I don't really agree with you but it's a reasonable comment.
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A different problem is here in Europe there are hardly any AM stations left to listen to, mostly are a local 'hobby' project with only 50 to 100 Watts output.
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As an owner of an EV who, on longer drives, will listen to AM radio for traffic updates, I ask you "What the fuck are you talking about?" Hell the station I listen to has both AM and FM simulcast and the AM version comes in clearer than the FM as long as I'm not under a bridge.
EV inverter switching frequency tops out at 10KHz [eomys.com]. AM radio broadcasts are all above 500KHz [gsu.edu]. There is no issue here and anyone who is saying it's so bad they want to abandon AM radios in electric vehicles is flat out lying.
Maybe you'r
AM (Score:1)
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There's nothing wrong with Spanish stations.
I suspect their are better ways to broadcast emergency info, though, if that were truly their goal.
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Correction: "there are"
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I don't know about the US, but in Iceland, if your phone is in an area where a hazard is known to exist, you get an automatic call alerting you.
It's kinda important here as we're sort of natural-disaster central. The sort of place where extra bridge segments are kept pre-stocked to make it faster to rebuild after bridges get destroyed.
Re:AM (Score:4, Insightful)
An AM radio transmitter can cover a very large area. Cell phone transmitters do not cover a large area. In the case of a disaster you cannot be sure that the cell towers are operational.
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After a big wind storm knocked out power for most of the area, as well as phone and cable lines for many, the cellular network was flooded. Sure, the weather alerts could go out but there was not enough bandwidth on the cellular networks for streaming anything. Phone calls on cell phones regularly failed, as did MMS. The only thing close to reliable was plain old text by SMS.
Over-the-air broadcasts by AM, FM, and TV still worked and served well enough to get news and entertainment. Well, assuming you ha
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From the fine article:
Bozzella noted that analog AM radios are not classified as safety equipment in the U.S. or any country around the world.
"While they may be a source for emergency alerts, among a variety of other options already accessible in modern vehicles, analog AM radios are primarily used for entertainment or news programming," he added in his testimony before the subcommittee on Innovation, Data and Commerce for the U.S. House of Representatives.
I might primarily use my fire extinguishers as doorstops and paperweights but that doesn't remove their utility in an emergency.
Also from the fine article:
âoeAM radio is essential for North Dakotans, especially during weather-related disruptions in power. It provides dependable emergency updates, helping to keep Americans safe,â said Hoeven in a news release. âoeAdditionally, AM radio delivers entertainment from music and sports to current events. This legislation guarantees that this critical service remains in vehicles, ensuring individuals can access important information, entertainment and emergency broadcasts when needed most.â
There were similar comments from congresscritters out of Minnesota.
The idea behind emergency broadcast requirements from the FCC and FEMA is the assumption that people will have radios in their homes and cars. In rural parts of the USA there may not be FM radio service, or so few of them that if there's a tornado or other severe wea
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If a radio is a piece of safety equipment then it needs to be a FM radio with Radio Data System (RDS) so you can get an alert regardless of what you are otherwise listening to. AM does not factor in whatsoever.
Though I guess they could also include a Digital Radio Mondiale tuner and maliciously comply as it would technically be an AM radio, just digital not analogue.
Easy (Score:2)
America (Score:4, Interesting)
...where charging standard compliance is voluntary, but including an AM radio is legally mandated.
Ironically, my brother just experienced his first time attempting to road trip in an EV (the company he works for has him use a rental vehicle when he's scheduled to make longer trips within the state) and it was a miserable experience. It was last week when Florida was having that unusually cold weather that he'd texted me and asked why the Mustang Mach-E he'd just picked up had burned up 20% of its charge driving just from the rental place to his home. Being something of the EV guru in the family, I explained to him that if he was running the heat (which he was), that'd chew through the battery faster than Trump with a hamberder. He also asked me how to recharge it and I told him that since it's not a Tesla, his two options are either borrowing my NACS to CCS1 adapter and using Tesla's Superchargers, or just using Google maps to search for CCS EV fast chargers along his route and hoping they're not broken. Of course, I also threw in that charging on-the-go isn't something I frequently have to deal with since I have charging at home.
He arrived at his hotel in Tampa with about 18% battery remaining and it turned out the hotel only had Tesla destination chargers, which requires an entirely different sort of NACS adapter (NACS to J1772) than the one I'd loaned him. Oops. I text him back and tell him to go to a nearby Supercharger where the adapter I loaned him actually would do him some good, where unfortunately he then discovers that there's something wrong with the car itself regarding its ability to DC fast charge. Still unwilling to throw in the towel, he then tries an Electrify America charger with the same result of the car failing to charge. Defeated, he returns to the hotel with a nearly-dead EV and ends up calling the rental company in the morning to swap the car out for one that runs on gas.
All his strife could've been avoided if we'd standardized on charging standards years ago. But yeah, including AM radios is truly something we need to make sure the automotive industry gets right. /s
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It could also have been avoided by observing the fundamental problems that lead to gasoline cars win the technology race 120 years ago still exist today. Batteries are still heavy, charging is still slow, and it all costs way to much.
The vast majority of the enhancement technology has offered has been soaked up in performance requirements. EVs are just dangerous (weight) and inconvenient for anyone who does not have sort enough round trip requirements and the ability to charge at home.
"at no additional cost" (Score:2, Informative)
That's literally impossible. It's a tax on people who don't want AM radio in their car. People who don't want to subsidize AM radio are being forced to do it by the government. I thought AM radio folk were conservatives, people who don't want handouts. More proof they are hypocrites. Like we need any more proof.
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How expensive is this tax?
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That's literally impossible.
I'm pretty sure that means at no additional cost to the buyer. As in not some separate line item on the bill of sale. I can imagine it now, some dishonest dealer gets all the paperwork signed on the sale of a new car and says something like, "Oh, by the way you'll need to have an AM radio installed as it's required by law to be street legal. If you don't buy a radio then you can't get license plates on the car. We'll do the install here and now for the low low price of..." Then another bill of sale com
What a terrible idea (Score:3, Informative)
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And besides, who really listens to radio any more (AM or FM) with all the streaming services available now?
Why would I want to drive around with a long internet cable plugged into my car. My wifi does not go very far.
It's radio or a tape for me.
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If the auto manufacturers want to kill AM, they'll do it and tell consumers to shove it. Especially since the current overlap between AM radio listeners and EV drivers is probably not that large.
Sigh. (Score:2)
Meanwhile... in the rest of 2025... the world moved on and all-but killed off AM and FM already.
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I am not sure that is better.
Quite a few countries say they only want to pay for two modes of transmission for public stations. If they count internet streaming, that only leaves space for digital radio.
And digital radio just does not have enough coverage for driving.
8-track is going to be popular again! (Score:2)
Can't wait for Kayne or Taylor Swiffer releasing their stuff on 8-track cassettes again!
Ya, but ... no PM radio? (Score:2)
AM Radio For All Vehicles Legislation
What about for the afternoons and evenings?
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What about for the afternoons and evenings?
And there's no full moon for the FM radio?
Better idea (Score:2)
Require satellite radio to be an additional cost, with absolutely zero presence in the vehicle's infotainment system if a person chooses not to have it or if they cancel their service.