[nota2]

Short answer is... Yes. Get with the program.

Furthermore, in the advent of a real emergency, you should probably have a transistor radio or similar at home anyways. You don't need to have AM radio in a car.

Yes. Get with the program - albeit not the AM programs.

Not only should have a portable radio at home, but you may need to. And hope your portable radio batteries are charged up, if you happen to have those. Because when the electricity goes out, along with your cell phone service - which often happens in real emergencies - you might otherwise be stuffed.

And if you do decide to decamp and flee in your car, or you’re already in one, you might not be privy to official (potentially life or death?) guidance typically sent via trusty AM Radio.

It’s then you might become less than grateful that your chosen car manufacturer decided to save a few lousy bucks - this being a microscopic percentage of the many tens of thousands of $ your fancy new car cost you - because you could literally not know which way to turn.

 

[AWHoden]

With so many other ways to see what's going on in the world, I don't see that AM is the ONLY way to get emergency information out.

 

[mgescuro]

Yes. Get with the program - albeit not the AM programs.

Not only should have a portable radio at home, but you may need to. And hope your portable radio batteries are charged up, if you happen to have those. Because when the electricity goes out, along with your cell phone service - which often happens in real emergencies - you might otherwise be stuffed.

And if you do decide to decamp and flee in your car, or you’re already in one, you might not be privy to official (potentially life or death?) guidance typically sent via trusty AM Radio.

It’s then you might become less than grateful that your chosen car manufacturer decided to save a few lousy bucks - this being a microscopic percentage of the many tens of thousands of $ your fancy new car cost you - because you could literally not know which way to turn.

Look. I live in a high disaster prone area — earthquakes and tsunamis and wildfires. I've already lived through a major earthquake.
I fully understand the concept of being prepared for emergencies.
I've got a constantly rotating supply of canned foods and bottled water. I've got extra propane tanks and charcoal. I've got a UPS tied to my wifi and internet. I've got battery supplies and transistor radio and portable radios. I always travel with a battery backup for my phone as well.

Having an AM radio in a car is not high on the priority list. Nor should it be.

 

[AWHoden]

Yes. Get with the program - albeit not the AM programs.

Not only should have a portable radio at home, but you may need to. And hope your portable radio batteries are charged up, if you happen to have those. Because when the electricity goes out, along with your cell phone service - which often happens in real emergencies - you might otherwise be stuffed.

And if you do decide to decamp and flee in your car, or you’re already in one, you might not be privy to official (potentially life or death?) guidance typically sent via trusty AM Radio.

It’s then you might become less than grateful that your chosen car manufacturer decided to save a few lousy bucks - this being a microscopic percentage of the many tens of thousands of $ your fancy new car cost you - because you could literally not know which way to turn.

Wow. What do you think is gonna happen out there? A Roland Emmerich Disaster movie-thon? If that's the case, we're all doomed anyway. I haven't owned a portable radio in decades, but I get weather, emergency, Amber/Silver alerts on my phone. The FCC requires the EAS & EBS to broadcast over satellite radio, AM/FM, cable and public TV broadcast. With our wonderful non-stop 24/7 news cycle, I think we're covered.

 

[chinamonty]

No one has expended the energy to do it except Hyundai.
Of course it CAN be done.

The question really should be SHOULD it be done. I don't think it's necessary.

yeah but people like me think having infotainment systems rather than just a radio is not necessary either.

 

[chinamonty]

Look. I live in a high disaster prone area — earthquakes and tsunamis and wildfires. I've already lived through a major earthquake.
I fully understand the concept of being prepared for emergencies.
I've got a constantly rotating supply of canned foods and bottled water. I've got extra propane tanks and charcoal. I've got a UPS tied to my wifi and internet. I've got battery supplies and transistor radio and portable radios. I always travel with a battery backup for my phone as well.

Having an AM radio in a car is not high on the priority list. Nor should it be.

What happens if the internet goes down either through unavailable towers or broken infrastructure etc.

 

[MisterMe]

What happens if the internet goes down either through unavailable towers or broken infrastructure etc.

I can't comment about such implications Down Under, but I can comment on the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. If the Internet here goes down due to broken infrastructure, then our problems will be greater than emergency warnings are generally designed to handle.

 

[mgescuro]

What happens if the internet goes down either through unavailable towers or broken infrastructure etc.

It happens.
Internet goes down, then you have cell service. If that's down, chances are power is also out. Which means there are probably larger problems to deal with than just internet being down.

 

[CaptainDan]

I'm still not ready for the coming zombie apocalypse. Anybody know where I can get a cricket bat?

 

[kmacleod]

I’m sure you can ask Sean…

 

[ksr]

The number of AM listeners is in decline, but it's still significantly higher than the number of Sirius/XM subscribers. So should the Sirius service also be removed?

I'm not a big AM listener. But why remove it? it just seems so unnecessary. I'm not worried about some apocalyptic event, but AM is just another listening choice.

As for the "but people have phones" argument, so you always must carry your phone with you 100% of the time? That's kind of sick really. It's like we're living in some dystopian sci-fi movie when you look around and see no one talking, heads down and focused on the little rectangle. I'm a bit of a contrarian I suppose. But I'm no luddite. I've worked in IT for close to four decades and I own all the modern stuff. But when I'm out with friends, I think you shoiuld interact with them, not some electronic device. When I get to where we're meeting, my phone stays in the car. And, heavens, there are actually times I just leave the thing at home.

 

[CaptainDan]

.... As for the "but people have phones" argument, so you always must carry your phone with you 100% of the time? That's kind of sick really. It's like we're living in some dystopian sci-fi movie when you look around and see no one talking, heads down and focused on the little rectangle. I'm a bit of a contrarian I suppose. But I'm no luddite. I've worked in IT for close to four decades and I own all the modern stuff. But when I'm out with friends, I think you shoiuld interact with them, not some electronic device. When I get to where we're meeting, my phone stays in the car. And, heavens, there are actually times I just leave the thing at home.

You carry your AM radio with you 100% of the time?

 

[mgescuro]

As for the "but people have phones" argument, so you always must carry your phone with you 100% of the time? That's kind of sick really. It's like we're living in some dystopian sci-fi movie when you look around and see no one talking, heads down and focused on the little rectangle. I'm a bit of a contrarian I suppose. But I'm no luddite. I've worked in IT for close to four decades and I own all the modern stuff. But when I'm out with friends, I think you shoiuld interact with them, not some electronic device. When I get to where we're meeting, my phone stays in the car. And, heavens, there are actually times I just leave the thing at home.

100% YES!!
Why would you ever want to leave your phone away from your possession like that?
That completely baffles me. it's quite possibly the dumbest thing anyone could ever do. Unless you carry around a dumbphone, then by all means, leave it behind.

I don't know about you, but everything in my life is tied to the phone. It's like leaving your wallet behind, if not worse!

 

[Neanderthal]

Some might say it's unnecessary. Yet some folks don't own a cellphone, nor want to or can't afford to. While I recognize that's only about 3% of Americans, do we just ignore them in an emergency? Get with the program or die?

Yes, uncool people should just go away.

OTOH, I rekkin there are a good number of cell phone addicts who are so busy taking selfies that they really don't know about other functions on that critter.

yeah but people like me think having infotainment systems rather than just a radio is not necessary either.

Ten fo dat. I'm plenty entertained by driving, watching and observing and avoiding the various nincompoops on the road who consider driving a secondary or often tertiary item to bother with while they're behind the wheel "driving."

100% YES!!
Why would you ever want to leave your phone away from your possession like that?
That completely baffles me. it's quite possibly the dumbest thing anyone could ever do. Unless you carry around a dumbphone, then by all means, leave it behind.

I don't know about you, but everything in my life is tied to the phone. It's like leaving your wallet behind, if not worse!

That's why I hate my phone so much.

 

[6cylinder]

100% YES!!
Why would you ever want to leave your phone away from your possession like that?
That completely baffles me. it's quite possibly the dumbest thing anyone could ever do. Unless you carry around a dumbphone, then by all means, leave it behind.

I don't know about you, but everything in my life is tied to the phone. It's like leaving your wallet behind, if not worse!

Slightly off topic. I imagine you and Greg Burr are closely following the SVB run. News smells fishy.
Do you think disgruntled tech talent might leak related phone (or other) communications by people involved?
-A balance sheet with liquid assets... capital raise fails?
-Was the Thursday stock decline an honest market move?
-Becker hoped clients would keep calm... who pushed hardest for a run?
-Where do the running companies turn... who benefits?

https://disclosure.spglobal.com/ratings/en/regulatory/article/-/view/type/HTML/id/2958379

SVB Financial's attempts to raise capital failed, in talks for sale - report (NASDAQ:SIVB)

SVB Financial (SIVB) has reportedly failed in attempts to raise capital, and has started talks to sell itself, CNBC reported Friday, citing unnamed sources.Large financial institutions...

seekingalpha.com

 

[Digmor Crusher]

100% YES!!
Why would you ever want to leave your phone away from your possession like that?
That completely baffles me. it's quite possibly the dumbest thing anyone could ever do. Unless you carry around a dumbphone, then by all means, leave it behind.

I don't know about you, but everything in my life is tied to the phone. It's like leaving your wallet behind, if not worse!

My phone sits on my coffee table about 95% of the time, occasionally I may take it for a walk. I refuse to be tied to a phone 24/7.

 

[1958carnut]

My phone sits on my coffee table about 95% of the time, occasionally I may take it for a walk. I refuse to be tied to a phone 24/7.

Like me, it's in my pocket all weekend but only there just un case. It's not something I need to be glued to.

 

[ksr]

You carry your AM radio with you 100% of the time?

My cars do.

 

[ksr]

100% YES!!
Why would you ever want to leave your phone away from your possession like that?
That completely baffles me. it's quite possibly the dumbest thing anyone could ever do. Unless you carry around a dumbphone, then by all means, leave it behind.

I don't know about you, but everything in my life is tied to the phone. It's like leaving your wallet behind, if not worse!

That's just sad.

i'm not claiming not to be a heavy user of my smartphone. I have a curious mind. Things pop into my head all the time. "Where else have I seen that actor? (this happens a lot when watching TV)" "What were Fran Tarkenton's stats?" "What's on that restaurant's menu?" Yesterday, one sudden curiosity was "Why do some people think vinyl sounds better than CDs? (interesting answers actually)" I pop out the phone and look it up.

Now, when I'm in a restaurant alone having breakfast or lunch, I'm sitting there like all the other drones, eyes focused on the little rectangle. It's the modern newspaper.

But I don't need the thing to live. Like I said, when I'm out with friends, I leave it in the car or at home. I interact with my friends. When I'm biking or playing golf, or taking my dog for a walk, I don't carry it (unless I'm on-call for my job). I don't need or want the interruption. I'm old enough to have experienced life pre-mobile phone. Quite often I was incommunicado for many hours. Yet here I am, alive and well 25 or so years later. Sometimes I'll ignore a call and get questioned by the person later, "Why didn't you answer?" Any my response occassionally is, "I own my cell phone. It does not own me."

There was a time when I was never without my phone. Maybe part of that was the newness of the tech. At some point, I decided that it was just a kind of weird to be so glued to this thing. As I've said, I'm a bit of a contrarin. Maybe it was just seeing people everywhere - in restaurants, parks, cars, theaters, stadiums, concerts**, etc. - all glued to their phones and not engaging in the world around them. I gradually started carrying it less. I still have it on me most of the time. It's rare that I drive somewhere without it. But I've become much less tethered to it and it's a good thing. Try tossing it aside once in a while. You might find it liberating.


** The concert thing really bugs me. It seems like the majority of the audiences these days are more concerned with recording the show on their phones than in actually watching the show. So they pay perhaps hundreds for a ticket, really don't pay attention, and at the end of the night have a phone full of video with poor sound quality that they might show a few minutes of to their friends in a "Guess who I saw last night!?" boast. Just bizarre.

 

[CaptainDan]

My cars do.

With the AM radio turned on? Because it can't warn you of any emergencies if it's not with you and turned on.