The History of Riding with Tunes
One of the best feelings in the world is zipping down a highway in a swift car, singing along to one of your favourite tunes. Whether it be road-tripping with your parents as a child, heading on holiday with friends in your twenties, making your way on honeymoon in a second-hand car as newlyweds, or speeding off on a well-deserved getaway as a married couple, there is a sheer joy to rolling down the windows, having the wind in your hair and belting out a great song at the top of your lungs. It is one of life’s rare and inimitable joys.
Naturally, the first cars that took to the road did not roll off the production line with a cool set of speakers and Apple CarPlay all wired up and ready to go. As with most of the technology that we take for granted today, the evolution of music in cars took a while. Here’s a quick rundown of how it happened.
- 1922 The first car radio is fitted in a car. It’s antenna covered the entire roof, and it had huge speakers and batteries that were housed behind the seats.
- 1930 The first dashboard radio (the Motorola, taken from ‘motorised Victrola’) is installed, with push-button tuning arriving later in the decade.
- 1960s Eight tracks become popular as a mode of music in most vehicles.
- 1970s The tape deck arrives on the scene and supersedes the eight-track.
- 1987 The first CD player is installed in a car, although CDs have been around since 1982.
- 2000s The car-tech industry explodes and vehicle owners are able to choose from a constantly-evolving lineup of music options, including internet radio, satellite radio, USB, Bluetooth, in-dash memory cards, etc.
- 2018+ The world is our oyster! We can choose to listen via cassette (if you’re old school like that), CD player, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and more!
DID YOU KNOW? The first CD that was made available for commercial purchase in the USA was ‘Born in the U.S.A’, a Bruce Springsteen album released in 1984. However, the title of the first ever commercial CD goes to ’52nd Street’, Billy Joel’s album that hit the shelves in this fresh new format in Japan in 1982.
So, there you have it – the evolution of music in cars in a nutshell. If you’re currently in the market for a compact second-hand vehicle with good mileage, an attractive price tag (and great audio!), visit www.group1cars.co.za for an unbeatable selection of quality pre-loved vehicles, or get in touch with a representative at one of our dealerships nationwide directly.
