General Motors wants to reach young car buyers but the youth of today are not really interested in broadcast radio, nor even what’s in the dashboard, according to GM’s Dr. Frankie James, Managing Director of its Advanced Technology Office in Silicon Valley.
What young people are interested in is getting their smartphone to integrate with the car.
In an audio recording of the interview with Radio Ink magazine, Dr. James said, “They are not really asking for that much on the dashboard. They are really asking about the integration of the devices they already have and the content they are already consuming.”
She added, “So one of the things that comes up, for example, is the popularity of the in-dash nav system. They are expensive to start with; they have their advantages; good points, but there’s a lot of people saying, ‘ I have a nav app on my phone; that’s what I want to use, let’s talk about making that work as opposed to in-dash nav.’”
She said that young people are not listening to radio, or even broadcast TV, and they are “not even necessarily using iTunes that much.” What they like are Internet streaming services “or they go to YouTube to listen to music…” she added.
An article from Radio Ink said a panelist at a conference this month declared that two car makers will stop putting AM/FM in the car radio in two years.
However, both General Motors and Ford have since denied any plans to delete AM/FM.
We also contacted one of the panelists, analyst Thilo Koslowski of Gartner, who said, there is a lot of discussion by car makers on what to eliminate or keep in the radio. He added, “ Nobody is eliminating AM/FM yet, but the focus is definitely expanding to internet radio.”
Source: Radio Ink, CEoutlook
@bobbg – Excellent comments, don’t think it will ever happen, but I’d be in favor of it!!!
How about a Blank Hole in the Dash that covers a 2 din opening, 16 ga speakers wires and an Ant on the roof, but no speakers, or amp or anything. then give the option for the buyer to add his own stuff or pay for factory gear to be added at the dealership when the cars new or even 10 years later.
Then the factory can offer things like internet radio, Skyp Via radio and or anything else you can do with a full dash mounted PC system including a keyboard. Something you can add to later Via USB or HDMI to the rear seats or overhead. Some will buy the factory system and others will opt for an aftermarket system they have or go buy new that works with what they have or can add onto.
Oh and I’m talking PC, but as for age I’m 53 and a lot of older people will opt for that, its not just the young making buying decisions a lot of the fresh out of collage don’t have job’s yet and or have a ton of student loans they have to pay back and can’t afford a factory radio, but lowering the price of the car might give them the chance to buy one.
Less Bells and whistles might just work out for you.
I’d like to keep my power windows either way!
I’ve seen factory stereo systems cost as much as 2k and up, more on top of the price of a car. You used to be able to buy a whole car for that much, in my lifetime at that!