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Like the demise of 8 tracks, cassette tape, and CD players in your dash, it looks like AM radio has also been served a formal notice.

Realistically, unless you have made other entertainment provisions or are content with your Packard trips having nothing more than news, religion, country music or an assortment of foreign language stations as your companion, AM has been gone for some time.

This excerpt from the lead in to a lengthy article in todays paper explaining the reasons Ford made their decision is probably the first, or at least the largest, of many more that will make the same decision.

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Doing the internal conversion on my '54 radio was great for me. Everything functions externally like the original radio. But with the addition of FM and Bluetooth. 90% of the time, I never need to put up the antenna to get my local FM stations.

It amuses me every time I get in the Packard for a drive, and I hear "Bluetooth Connected" from the speaker when I start the car.

Also great when I get a phone call while I am driving, as I can keep my hands on the wheel. Also, I can stream music from my phone via the Bluetooth to the radio.

Lots of options over the din of AM talk radio.

I've decided that the 37 won't have a radio. No point in a convertible with the wind noise. This is why there is a radio delete plate in the dash that was wood grained with the rest of it.

I have the "Redi-Rad" so I can play anything I can get on my phone through my radio. But I still listen to AM on occasion as baseball games, etc. Also a lot of "international" music is on the AM and it's actually fun to listen to as well. People do wonder, though, when a Packard drives by with the windows down and Bollywood is playing.

I have heard that the main reason that all auto manufacturers will not carry AM band on radio receivers soon is that the coming electric versions cannot receive it over the EMI generated by the electric motor.
Bob J.

I think they're just cheap. AM has programming available nowhere else. News, diverse local and syndicated commentary, local ads and local news, local emergency communications, local weather/emergency programming, and more.

FM is an information desert, and largely an entertainment desert.

Many areas are still fringe FM reception areas where FM programming is limited and signal strength is often too weak to be useful.

Satellite radio is expensive, and mostly free of any informational programming, local/area news. etc.

I have a late model Jeep ragtop that is just lousey with modern electronics. The AM portion of the radio seems to be a poor quality afterthought, but it is free of any significant interference from the vehicle's systems, even on distant stations.

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That's correct. While I'm sure there will be cost savings, a cheap AM tuner is under a dollar, whereas even with how powerful and cheap computers are, today's car radios infotainment systems cost even more than the radio in your Packard, adjusted for inflation.

The problem with AM is inherent, that it's amplitude modulation. That means ANY radio interference at that frequency will cause distortion, whereas FM is much more resistant the carrier frequency itself. I think of the Steely Dan song: FM, no static at all!

Here is an example of an AM signal being distorted by a tesla coil:youtu.be/CIqxOu8sgjA

Remember that electric cars don't just have motors, they also have motor drivers to control the speed and torque, probably done with MOSFET switching. This fast switching combined with the looping in the motors I imagine is the main source of interference.

Obviously you can make a car with these shielded, but that's where the real expense is. The car market is very competitive, and if Ford can save a couple hundred dollars on a $50,000 car by removing AM radio, well, they just did.

Variable speed drives on large 3 phase A/C motors generate a lot of RF interference and can send it for miles down power lines.

If automotive motor controllers generate that kind of intense RF, I expect that studies will soon show that the RF exposure is a human cancer risk,and massive lawsuits to erupt.

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I doubt that. At my work we make/sell much higher capacity VFD's than would be found in electric vehicles (up to 15kW drives and 45kW motors) and there is no cancer risk. Let's not forget these are partly the same frequencies as AM has been broadcasting for a century.

XERF Radio in Cuidad Acuna, Coahuila, Mexico used to blast a claimed 1,000,000 watts at "1570 KC on everybody's radio dial". They pretty much were on everybodys' radio dial, too.

As for the blame game, powerlines, cell phones, assorted food colorants, aluminum cookware, meat, and much more have been targeted by "Experts" asserting mortal danger. Somehow, I've survived all that and the asbestos, too. Psst! Don't go near the baby powder!!!!

With digital equipment, there's already a phone app for that...(AM reception) negates need for hardware.

More importantly, what's the status of the AM radio licenses, maybe they anticipate them going way of the buggy whip and "tubes"? (FM was mainly for tranmitter distance increase.) Most of these AMs now are run by religious or other small independent groups, not the major media. I can't recall the last time I listened to AM. After those imported rotary tuner 9V transistor radios of the '60s, it never did sound good to me, but that was all we had unless you lived in/near a big city. Once FM caught on, the esoteric stereo freak movement took off.
AM was OK in the convertible with the "stereo" speaker option. Not to mention, many "reverbs" were sold then.
What is a "shame" is mandated digital TV over the air. Analog didn't pixelate with bad reception.
Have fun.