Jim Farley, Ford’s president and chief executive officer, wrote in a social media post on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 that the company is reversing its decision to phase out the AM range after speaking with government policy leaders who are concerned about maintaining the emergency alerts that are often broadcast on AM. station.
Mark Humphrey/AP
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Mark Humphrey/AP
Jim Farley, Ford’s president and chief executive officer, wrote in a social media post on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 that the company is reversing its decision to phase out the AM range after speaking with government policy leaders who are concerned about maintaining the emergency alerts that are often broadcast on AM. station.
Mark Humphrey/AP
DETROIT — Finally, owners of new Ford vehicles will be able to tune in to AM radio in their cars, trucks and SUVs.
CEO Jim Farley wrote in social media posts on Tuesday that the company is reversing its decision to remove the band after speaking with government policy leaders who were concerned. about keeping up with the emergency alerts that are usually broadcast on AM stations.
“We’ve decided to include it in all 2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles,” Farley wrote on Twitter and LinkedIn. “For any Ford electric vehicle owners who don’t have AM broadcast capability, we’ll provide a software update” to restore it, Farley wrote.
The move comes after a bipartisan group of federal lawmakers introduced a bill calling on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require AM on new vehicles at no additional cost. .
Sponsors of the “AM for All Vehicles Act” cited public safety concerns, noting AM’s historic role in transmitting critical information in an emergency, such as natural disasters, especially in rural areas.
Senator Edward Markey, D-Mass., one of the bill’s sponsors, said eight out of 20 major automakers including Ford, BMW and Tesla have pulled limits from new vehicles.
“Ford’s reversal reflects a late recognition of the importance of AM radio, but there are still too many automakers going in the wrong direction,” Markey said in a written statement Tuesday. He said Congress should still pass the bill to keep access to the band.
Spokesman Alan Hall said Ford removed AM from the 2023 Mustang Mach-e and F-150 Lightning 2023 electric pickup trucks after data collected from the vehicles showed less than 5% of customers heard it. Electrical noise and reduced cost and complexity in manufacturing also play an important role.
The company has also removed it from the 2024 gasoline-powered Mustang, but will add it back before any muscle cars are delivered, Hall said.
Electric vehicles will receive an online software update to bring AM back to vehicles, Hall said, and Ford will continue to include the feature in future vehicles as it looks at innovative ways to bring it out. emergency warning.
Ford and others also suggest that internet radio or other communication tools could replace AM radio. But Markey and others have pointed to situations where motorists may not be able to access the internet.
The Federal Communications Commission and National Association of Broadcasters praised the legislation, which was also endorsed by Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Representative Josh Gottheimer, DN.J., Representative Tom Kean, Jr., RN.J., Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., Among others.
However, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a US trade group representing major automakers including Ford and BMW, criticized the bill, calling AM radio’s mandate unnecessary.
The trade group pointed to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, which can deliver safety alerts over AM, FM, satellite radio and internet-based — as well. like over a mobile network.
The union said the bill prioritizes a technology that competes with other communication options.
BMW said in a statement that if the bill passes, the automaker will review the language and decide what to do next. Messages were left seeking comment from Tesla.
According to data from the National Association of Broadcasters and Nielsen, more than 80 million people in the US listen to AM radio each month.
