Fender Car Audio System Debuts in VW

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Volkswagen has joined with Fender Musical Instruments to offer the “Fender Premium Audio System “ in some 2012 Volkswagen models.

And since car audio is not exactly Fender’s area of expertise, the iconic music company teamed with Panasonic Automotive Systems Co. to produce the sound system. Three years in the making, the 9-speaker system is “embedded in the vehicle’s design,” and it has “a unique sound that Americans will love,” says VW.

A press release describes the speakers as including front dual voice coils and producing “lower inter-modulation distortion and smooth mid-range response.”

VW president and CEO Jonathan Browning adds,“The best seat in the house is now behind the wheel of a Volkswagen.”

The first VW to offer the Fender system is a new Jetta GLI, which heads to dealers in the spring. It will be available in all other Jettas “later,” and will grace the new 2012 mid-size sedan and 2012 Beetle in the fall.

An additional description of the Fender system says, “It is harmonically complex, with extended range tweeters and properly voiced 16cm speakers revealing original instrumentation timbre and harmonic richness.”

Source: VW

Thanks J.

Photo via The German Car Blog

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5 Comments

  1. Seems to me that any powerful name from the music industry teamed in a car audio setup is a positive move to the car audio health overall. The declining car audio business can use all and any help it can get.

  2. FENDER AS IT SAYS KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT CAR AUDIO
    THEN TEAMS UP WITH PANASONIC WHICH PULLED OUT OF CAR AUDIO
    ONLY THING THEY MADE GOOD WAS RADIOS.
    SO AS COMMENTS SAID ABOVE CONSUMER IS DUPPED BY POPULAR NAME.
    AND CONSUMER DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THESE SPEAKERS
    THEY PUT IN THESE CARS COST PENNIES ON THE DOLLARS
    BECAUSE IF THEY WERE TO PUT A REAL SOUND SYSTEM IN
    IT COST AT LEAST $1,000 BEFORE VW AND THE CAR DEALER
    MARKED UP THE PRICE TO CONSUMER COSTING THEM
    AT LEAST TRIPLE THEN IT WOULD BE WAY OVER PRICED THEN.
    EITHER WAY CONSUMER LOOSES AND SO DOES AFTERMARKET.

  3. So true that the OEM is putting out better gear but adding on to these high end OEM setups has always been quite compelling

  4. Nobody is telling consumers a compelling reason to visit aftermarket dealers, so automakers are simply being smart. Improved, but still largely inferior sound systems seem pretty good to a consumer that doesn’t know any better. We have no one to blame but ourselves, the industry as a whole. The best products, services and innovations mean nothing if the consumer isn’t aware of it, or understands it.

  5. Awesome! Another marquis brand attaching their name to another anemic sounding OEM system. Or, in other words, another car NOT making its way over to my store or yours.

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