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A Model T Ford was fitted with a radio 85 years ago in the United States and the first industrially produced car radio came out 80 years ago in Philadelphia and was called the Philco Transitone.
In August 19, 1932, the AS 5 even had remote control fitted to the steering column. It could hardly have been otherwise, as the radio was so large that it didn’t fit into the dashboard, according to Joachim Siedler, a spokesman for then-and-now German radio manufacturer Blaupunkt.
The 15kg gadget had to be stored in the car where it could not be seen.
These first radios were luxury items. “The Blaupunkt AS 5 sold for 465 reichsmarks,” says Joachim Siedler. At the time, this was the equivalent of a third of the price of a small motor car. Nevertheless, some 400 people bought the AS 5.”
It took some time for the car radio to become a mass product. “Philips first offered a radio for the mass market in 1947,” according to Eva Appold of the Siemens-VDO car parts supplier.
Some 1,000 units of these early D 78 A radios were manufactured every month. But the real technological step forward came two years later.
“It was a real milestone in the history of the car radio in 1949 when the units were reduced in size so that they could fit into the dashboard,” explained consumer campaigner Roland Stehle. After several years of stagnation, progress came in leaps and bounds.
“The next milestone came in 1952 with the introduction of the short-wave radio that led to a significantly improved sound quality,” Mr Stehle said.
The ensuing years were marked by regular improvements and brought the car radio up to its contemporary standard. In the 1960s, the radios came in stereo quality and with a casette player.
In the 1970s, the ARI system was introduced bringing up-to-date traffic information with a special acoustic signal. Another revolution came in the 1980s with the first CD players.
The car radio today has become just one part of the ‘infotainment’ system in a modern car, sharing its place with satellite navigation and other systems.
“Currently the big issue is a further improvement of sound quality,” says Eva Appold from Siemens-VDO.
