Well, that was fast — and we’re not talking about the performance of the 2024 Ford Mustang. Well, sort of.
The Detroit automaker revealed Tuesday that it will now include AM radio in its upcoming cars, reversing a controversial earlier decision to discontinue the option in its 2024 Mustang. It would have been the company’s first gas-powered model to be marketed without the feature, following the lead of electric car makers like Tesla.
CEO Jim Farley made the announcement on Twitter.
“After speaking with policy leaders about the importance of AM broadcast radio as a part of the emergency alert system, we’ve decided to include it on all 2024 @Ford & @LincolnMotorCo vehicles,” Farley wrote. “For any owners of Ford EVs without AM broadcast capability, we’ll offer a software update.”
He continued, “Customers can currently listen to AM radio content in a variety of ways in our vehicles — including via streaming — and we will continue to innovate to deliver even better in-vehicle entertainment and emergency notification options in the future.”
After speaking with policy leaders about the importance of AM broadcast radio as a part of the emergency alert system, we've decided to include it on all 2024 @Ford & @LincolnMotorCo vehicles. For any owners of Ford EVs without AM broadcast capability, we’ll offer a software…
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) May 23, 2023
Acknowledging the speed at which the company changed direction, he added, “Thanks to our product development and manufacturing teams for their quick response to make this change for our customers.”
In his column this week, Metro Times contributor Joe Lapointe covered the controversy, pointing out that the decision irked some conservative talk radio-loving Republicans.
But they also had allies on the other side of the aisle too, with Democrats like U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer from New Jersey supporting the “AM for Every Vehicle Act,” arguing terrestrial radio serves an important function relaying local news and information during emergencies.
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