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From AM Radio to CarPlay: A Short History of Car Entertainment

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In-car entertainment has changed from a single crackly radio station to screens that stream music, podcasts and navigation from a phone. Each step reflected the technology of its time and changed how people spend time on the road.

1930: the first car radios

In 1930 the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation sold one of the first commercially successful car radios under the Motorola name, a combination of "motor" and "Victrola." It cost about as much as a sizable fraction of a new car's price, and installation was complicated. Several US states considered banning car radios as a dangerous distraction, a debate that would return with every new technology.

1950s to 1960s: FM and transistors

Transistor radios, smaller and more reliable than earlier tube designs, made car radios cheaper and more common. FM radio, with better sound quality, began appearing in cars in the 1950s and became widespread in the following decades, helped by the growth of FM music stations.

1965: the 8-track

In 1965 Ford offered the 8-track tape player, developed by Bill Lear's company, as an option in its cars. For the first time, drivers could choose their own music. The cartridges were bulky and often switched tracks in the middle of songs, but they were popular for about a decade.

1970s and 1980s: the cassette

Compact cassettes, smaller and more flexible than 8-tracks, became the standard. Drivers could record their own mixtapes, and auto-reverse decks played both sides without flipping the tape. Cassette players stayed in many cars into the 2000s.

1980s to 2000s: CDs

Car CD players appeared in the mid-1980s and became common in the 1990s, offering better sound and instant track skipping. Early players were sensitive to bumps, so anti-skip memory buffers were added. Multi-disc changers in the trunk held six or more CDs.

2000s: satellite radio and digital music

XM Satellite Radio launched in the US in 2001 and Sirius soon after; the two merged in 2008. Satellite radio offered hundreds of channels with the same stations coast to coast. At the same time, auxiliary inputs, USB ports and Bluetooth let drivers play music from MP3 players and phones.

2010s: phone mirroring

Apple CarPlay launched in 2014 and Android Auto in 2015. Both project a simplified version of the phone's apps onto the car's screen, so drivers can use navigation, messages and music with voice control. They quickly became among the features buyers most wanted, and most new cars now offer them, increasingly wirelessly.

2020s: big screens and built-in apps

Many new cars now have large touchscreens with built-in navigation, streaming apps and voice assistants, and some run Google's Android Automotive operating system with apps installed directly in the car. Some manufacturers have moved away from phone mirroring: General Motors announced in 2023 that its future electric vehicles would drop CarPlay and Android Auto in favor of its own built-in system, a decision that drew criticism from customers. Rear-seat screens and in-car gaming are available in some models, mostly for passengers or while parked and charging.

Distraction: the long-running concern

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that distracted driving claims thousands of lives a year in the US. NHTSA has issued voluntary guidelines for car infotainment systems, recommending that tasks be completable in short glances of no more than two seconds at a time. Research by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has found that some infotainment tasks, especially programming navigation and texting by touchscreen, take drivers' attention away for far longer than that.

Physical buttons are making a comeback

After years of moving controls onto touchscreens, some manufacturers have brought back physical buttons and knobs for frequently used functions such as volume and climate control. Euro NCAP, the European safety rating program, announced that from 2026 it would expect physical controls for key functions like indicators and hazard lights to earn top safety scores.

Tips for safer listening

  • Set up navigation, playlists and podcasts before you start driving.
  • Use voice commands rather than touchscreen menus while moving.
  • Turn on "driving focus" or "do not disturb while driving" on your phone.
  • Keep volume at a level where you can still hear sirens and horns.