Berlin
Almost every new car today is equipped with a radio and CD player, a
far cry from the car radio unveiled at a Berlin exhibition on Aug
19, 1932.
Developed by Blaupunkt, the AS 5 even had remote control fitted to
the steering wheel. But this was a necessity at the time as it was
so large that it didn't fit into the dashboard, according to
Blaupunkt spokesman Joachim Siedler.
The 15 kg
gadget had to be stored in the car where it could not be seen and
the remote control was mounted near the steering wheel.
But Blaupunkt was not the first manufacturer to come out with a car
radio. A Model T-Ford was fitted with a radio 85 years ago in the US
and the first industrially produced radio came out 80 years ago in
Philadelphia and was called Philco Transitone.
These first radios were real luxury items at the time.
"The Blaupunkt AS 5 sold for 465 German Reichsmark," says Joachim
Siedler, which at the time was the equivalent of a third of the
price of a small motorcar. Nevertheless, some 400 people bought the
AS 5.
It took some time for the car radio to become a mass product.
"Philips for the first time offered a radio for the mass market in
1947," according to Eva Appold of the Siemens-VDO car parts
supplier.
Some 1,000 units of these early D 78 A radios were manufactured
every month. But the real technological step forward came two years
later.
"It was a real milestone in the history of the car radio in 1949
when the units were reduced in size so that they could fit into the
dashboard," says Roland Stehle of the German Association of
Entertainment and Communication Electronics (GFU) based in
Frankfurt.
After several years of stagnation, progress came in leaps and
bounds. "The next milestone came in 1952 with the introduction of
the short-wave radio that led to a significantly improved sound
quality," Stehle said.
The ensuing years were marked by regular improvements and brought
the car radio up to it's contemporary standard. In the 1960s, the
radios came in stereo quality and with a cassette player.
In the 1970s, the ARI system was introduced in Europe bringing
up-to-date traffic information with a special acoustic signal.
Another revolution came in the 1980s with the first CD-Players.
Meanwhile, the car radio has become just one part of the
infotainment system in a modern car, sharing its place with
navigation and other systems.
"Currently the big issue is a further improvement of sound quality,"
says Eva Appold from Siemens-VDO. Digital technology will gradually
replace current reception technology, she pointed out.
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Berlin