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For me controlling the radio using a touch screen is an issue - i cant take my eyes off the road, and using driving wheel buttons that require fiddling is not g

For me controlling the radio using a touch screen is an issue - i cant take my eyes off the road, and using driving wheel buttons that require fiddling is not great either. I need buttons and dials that leverage muscle memory.

ghaff 3y ago
Volume should absolutely be a knob or, less ideally, a pair of buttons. But does anyone have a physical radio dial any longer? (Even my 1998 Toyota with no touchscreen I sold last year didn't.) I think at least one manufacturer was considering eliminating FM radio all together.
- dylan604 3y ago
  >I think at least one manufacturer was considering eliminating FM radio all together. Are you sure it wasn't the elimination of AM radio? I have not heard of anyone suggesting to kill the FM radio, but I'm not that dialed in
  - ghaff 3y ago
    Actually I guess it's both. https://musictech.com/news/industry/ford-tesla-bmw-am-fm-radio/ https://musictech.com/news/industry/ford-tesla-bmw-am-fm-rad... AM radio is sometimes used for information updates on roads etc. but I'm sure very few people use it.
    - dylan604 3y ago
      interesting. maybe i blocked the FM part out, but i was distinctly remember AM. removing radio entirely makes sense, as i didn't really think that an FM only radio would be any cheaper than AM/FM would be. >but I'm sure very few people use it. The conservative side of the spectrum loves the AM band
      - ghaff 3y ago
        I guess Ford at least is going to keep AM radio after all https://www.npr.org/2023/05/24/1177847361/ford-changes-direction-and-will-keep-am-radio-in-its-2024-vehicles https://www.npr.org/2023/05/24/1177847361/ford-changes-direc... with the justification being it's an emergency alert system. I assume AM and FM antenna requirements are different and that's probably where the cost is.
        dylan604 3y ago
        I remember as a kid being fascinated with the first car that I saw that had the radio antenna embedded into the windscreen glass. All antennas I had seen were on top of houses, rabbit ears, or the long annoying things attached to cars/trucks. This tiny thin line that wasn't even exposed to air was the antenna? That opened up a rabbit hole.
- brewdad 3y ago
  Every car I've driven that was made in the past decade has volume control as two buttons on the steering wheel. There may or may not be a knob but the knob is less convenient than using the buttons right next to your hands. My current cars will also let you cycle through the radio presets using the >> and << buttons.
throwaway1777 3y ago
You’re old. Almost no one has that muscle memory anymore. Hell almost no one listens to the radio anymore, people listen to Spotify or podcasts.
- rootusrootus 3y ago
  I exclusively use streaming, and I still find that I want to control the volume, or skip to the next song, etc. Thankfully my car has a scroll wheel on the steering wheel to do that, or I'd be pretty irritated.
  - throwaway1777 3y ago
    Most cars still have the steering wheel controls from what I’ve seen regardless of screens. I think even teslas have some steering wheel buttons

ghaff 3y ago

Volume should absolutely be a knob or, less ideally, a pair of buttons. But does anyone have a physical radio dial any longer? (Even my 1998 Toyota with no touchscreen I sold last year didn't.) I think at least one manufacturer was considering eliminating FM radio all together.

dylan604 3y ago
>I think at least one manufacturer was considering eliminating FM radio all together. Are you sure it wasn't the elimination of AM radio? I have not heard of anyone suggesting to kill the FM radio, but I'm not that dialed in
- ghaff 3y ago
  Actually I guess it's both. https://musictech.com/news/industry/ford-tesla-bmw-am-fm-radio/ https://musictech.com/news/industry/ford-tesla-bmw-am-fm-rad... AM radio is sometimes used for information updates on roads etc. but I'm sure very few people use it.
  - dylan604 3y ago
    interesting. maybe i blocked the FM part out, but i was distinctly remember AM. removing radio entirely makes sense, as i didn't really think that an FM only radio would be any cheaper than AM/FM would be. >but I'm sure very few people use it. The conservative side of the spectrum loves the AM band
    - ghaff 3y ago
      I guess Ford at least is going to keep AM radio after all https://www.npr.org/2023/05/24/1177847361/ford-changes-direction-and-will-keep-am-radio-in-its-2024-vehicles https://www.npr.org/2023/05/24/1177847361/ford-changes-direc... with the justification being it's an emergency alert system. I assume AM and FM antenna requirements are different and that's probably where the cost is.
      - dylan604 3y ago
        I remember as a kid being fascinated with the first car that I saw that had the radio antenna embedded into the windscreen glass. All antennas I had seen were on top of houses, rabbit ears, or the long annoying things attached to cars/trucks. This tiny thin line that wasn't even exposed to air was the antenna? That opened up a rabbit hole.
brewdad 3y ago
Every car I've driven that was made in the past decade has volume control as two buttons on the steering wheel. There may or may not be a knob but the knob is less convenient than using the buttons right next to your hands. My current cars will also let you cycle through the radio presets using the >> and << buttons.

throwaway1777 3y ago

You’re old. Almost no one has that muscle memory anymore. Hell almost no one listens to the radio anymore, people listen to Spotify or podcasts.

rootusrootus 3y ago
I exclusively use streaming, and I still find that I want to control the volume, or skip to the next song, etc. Thankfully my car has a scroll wheel on the steering wheel to do that, or I'd be pretty irritated.
- throwaway1777 3y ago
  Most cars still have the steering wheel controls from what I’ve seen regardless of screens. I think even teslas have some steering wheel buttons