Used Car Drowning

 

Buying a used car off the lot or even from a private seller is never a comfortable thing for most people. The last thing you want to do is spend a hefty chunk of change on a new ride, and then have to spend a pile more on repairing some kind of hidden, preexisting condition.

One major problem that really does exist is a used car that has been in a flood. A car that has been underwater is a car that could have some very extensive problems. These cars come from places where some kind of natural disaster has occurred that has submerged hundreds or perhaps thousands of cars at once. Hurricanes such as Katrina or Sandy are prime examples of storms that have decimated the automobile population in their respective areas.

Insurance companies pay out millions in claims to compensate the owners of these vehicles. The cars are then sold as totaled vehicles and given special salvage title status. Sometimes in the shuffle of moving this metal away from the scene, the insurance companies sell them to third parties that do everything from scrap them, to fix them and return them to the road.

A certain portion will get into the auto auction circuit where they will be sold as a running vehicle but it will carry the salvage title status. Some may have lost their salvage title status when they were transported across the country from state to state. Some may be damaged in a flood but they never receive the salvage title status because the insurance company paid out to fix it, rather than replace it. If the car is repaired that doesn't mean that it's as good as new.

With a flood car the potential for severe damage is huge, and that potential exists for every part or system within the vehicle. If water is in the engine for just a few days it can cause rust which may either result in immediate problems, leading to immediate engine failure, or it may result in premature engine failure over a longer period of time. Just enough time for someone to buy it thinking everything is fine.

Corrosion on the terminals of an electronic sensor.

Electronic systems are extremely susceptible to flood damage. Every car on the road has so much wiring and so many computer controlled systems that it is impossible for a flood car to escape electrical damage. Corrosion in electrical connectors or computerized control modules is extremely difficult and expensive to repair. Many electronic failures that result from flood damage might not show up for years after the car has been returned to service. You might say that water damage does not necessarily destroy the car right away so much as it causes the car to lose years off of its usable life.

Besides things such as a Carfax report, the way to tell if a car has been in a flood is to look for obvious things that you don’t see on any normal car. Look under the seats at the seat tracks for rust or corrosion. Nothing inside a car should ever show the least sign of rust. Look in the trunk where the spare tire is located for similar rust and corrosion. The spare tire well may end up holding water for several weeks after the flood. Hidden areas underneath carpet or the dash are great places to look for water damage. 

Rust on metal parts that are not exposed to the elements is not normal, water damage in the carpets and seats may show as water stains or even signs of mildew might be visible, especially if you live in a place that is humid. Even in very dry places water can stay trapped inside headlight and taillight assemblies forever. Sometimes moisture or condensation will appear behind an instrument cluster lens. Many times if the water does eventually dry out it may leave behind strange residues in places where you should never see them.

Under the hood, take a moment to disconnect some of the electrical connectors that you find. These connectors are weather resistant but they are not exactly water proof. When submerged they will fill up with water and all of the pins will corrode. If you see any scale buildup, or if the pins are anything other than shiny and new looking, then they have been wet.

Some used car dealers will sell flood cars very cheap and they may even inform you that it is a flood car. Do not take a chance on any of these even if they seem to run very well and the dealer assures you they are a great value. The dealer might have honestly checked the vehicle out thoroughly, but there is no way they can see every potential problem, even if they try.

If you find out that your vehicle has been in a flood, be prepared for the worst. This does not mean that the engine is going to blow up and leave stranded on the side of the road, but don’t be surprised if it does. When you get rid of the vehicle do not expect top dollar if you sell it, and you need to disclose the vehicle history to your potential buyers. Just like you they must be made aware, because when they buy that flooded car, they need to know what they are getting into.

Home of an American Icon

The following is an entry that I had written for this blog, and then the events of February 12, 2014 changed things a bit. I have left my original words intact, but then I decided to add an addendum with some of my thoughts on the events of that fateful day.

When you think of Kentucky you think of bluegrass, race horses, fried chicken, and maybe college basketball. Car guys and gals will think of the Chevy Corvette. Bowling Green, Kentucky in the south central part of the state is the unofficial home of one of America’s greatest automotive icons. Bowling Green is where the Corvette is manufactured and it is also the home of the National Corvette Museum.

Finding myself in this part of the country recently I planned a visit to this motoring mecca. When I was a little kid one of the first statements I ever made on a routine basis was, “Neat car!” According to my mother I would usually shout this phrase excitedly whenever a Corvette would drive by. As you can imagine visiting the town that’s the home of the Corvette would be a priority.

 

The Indy Corvette Concept. This was
on my wall in poster form in 1987.

The Corvette was introduced by Chevrolet back in 1953. At 60 years old the Corvette is the longest running car model sold in the United States. The model has been offered every year except 1983 because of a major redesign that was not quite ready. In the Fall of 2013 Chevrolet released the 7^th generation of this iconic sports car.

The Corvette is fantastic because it has always given excellent bang for the buck. Performance wise, it has always been competitive with cars that were and are much more expensive. The Corvette has always kept up with the likes of Ferrari and Porsche and it has done so at a fraction of the cost.

The National Corvette Museum is right next to Interstate 65 on the east side of town. This is the biggest museum in the country dedicated to one single model. The museum is amazing in the way it chronicles everything the Corvette has ever been. The plant where they build the Corvette is just north of the museum. Because of poor timing and my usual bad luck, I was unable to tour the factory. With the recent advent of the 7th generation Corvette, the factory was in the process of retooling and rolling out the new model so they were not allowing tours for much of the past year.

The museum however was one of a kind and definitely made the visit to Bowling Green worthwhile since I was in the area. The museum starts out with the history of the Corvette, and what a history it is. Considering how long the car has been in production there is much to see and they show you everything. Every model that has been produced over the years can be seen in the history section. Many famous people involved in developing the Corvette or other celebrity enthusiasts have their cars on display. Zora Arkus-Duntov, perhaps the most influential engineer in Corvette development only ever owned one Corvette in his life and you can see it on display.

 

The only Corvtte that Zora Arkus-Duntov ever
personally owned. A not so exciting 1974.

A section of the museum dedicated to Corvette development and engineering has displays on what GM has done over the years to keep this vehicle on the cutting edge of automotive performance. This part of the museum displays many of the original concept vehicles that Corvette engineers developed over the years, in order to try new ideas and see how they work. My personal favorite in this section was either the original C6 that set a new lap record time at the Nurburgring in Germany, or the Indy Corvette concept that brought back memories of the posters on my bedroom wall when I was a child.

The Performance section of the museum is dedicated to the many racing iterations of the corvette and contains many of the original racing versions of the Corvette. In the late 50s the world of motorsport realized they had a great car for racing so since that time many different racing classes have existed that use the Corvette. This section also had many different engines on display. For a motorhead such as myself seeing the various Corvette engines souped-up for racing is a treat. My long suffering wife is a saint in places like this.

 

The 2009 ZR1 That set a Nurburgring lap time record.

Perhaps my favorite room in the museum was the Skydome. Under this modern vaulted structure many interesting and unique corvettes can be found. High performance Lingenfelters and Callaways, both leaders in aftermarket Corvette performance. Several Indy 500 pace cars are also on display. The only 1983 Corvette ever made is on display. The 1983 model year was skipped because they were gearing up for major changes for the 1984 model year. Too many cool things to list were found under the dome.

The National Corvette Museum is open nearly every day, and hosts many special events each year. This museum is truly amazing for a car lover. So if you think Corvette whenever you think of Kentucky, you will enjoy spending some time in Bowling Green.

The only 1983 Corvette ever made. That year was skipped while Chevy tried to work out all the particulars for the change to the new C4 Corvette.

The skydome is the best part of the museum.

A line of pace cars from the Indianapolis 500.

1953, The first of them all.

A 1967 Convertible.

Addendum:

On February 12, 2014 a massive sinkhole opened up underneath the skydome portion of the National Corvette Museum. The hole appears to be about 40 ft. wide and about 20 ft. deep. No one was hurt in this horrible tragedy because the floor gave way early in the morning while nobody was around. The sinkhole swallowed 8 rare and collectible Corvettes:

2009 ZR1 "Blue Devil"

1993 ZR1 Spyder (one of a kind)

1962 Convertible

1984 PPG pacecar (one of a kind)

1993 40th Anniversay Edition

1992 1 Millionth Corvette (one of a kind) 

2001 Mallett Hammer Z06

2009 1.5 Millionth Corvette (one of a kind)

All of the other cars in the skydome escaped without damage, and museum personnel were able to remove some other especially rare cars such as the only 1983 Corvette ever built. The museum has posted many different videos of the sinkhole and the evacuation of the remaining cars from the skydome so that fans such as myself could be unproductive at work while we are wrapped up in seeing everything that happened. They even had engineers and geologists from Western Kentucky University fly a drone down into the hole to inspect the situation. These videos are also posted on YouTube.

The Blue Devil front and center, in the hole. The white one on the left is the 1 millionth corvette, it is now in the hole;
The white one with the black stripes is the 1.5 millionth, it is in the hole; The one up on the stand in back with the hood open in the ZR1 Spyder, in the hole. The center of the hole seems to be right where the blue one is sitting, its surprising that it ended up on top. This is a photo I took on my visit. 

This part of Kentucky has massive limestone layers just under the surface of the Earth. Limestone, combined with run off from all the rain they receive annually creates massive, seemingly endless caves that extend everywhere underground. Mammoth Cave National Park is the longest cave system in the world and is located about 30 minutes from Bowling Green. When you drive through the area on I-65, much of the green fields and rolling hills are pock marked with sinkholes. Imagine driving across the surface of a giant golf ball.

This event is tragic because the cars that were swallowed up in the earth are rare, collectible, valuable, and just fun to see. To think of something that should be pampered getting treated with so much disrespect is difficult. Not to mention that any car guy out there who would love to own one of these fine machines, just can't fathom the idea of throwing them out with the trash as Mother Earth has done. The total value of the cars is hard to estimate exactly but it's in the millions. The most valuable of them all being the 1992 1 Millionth Corvette which is probably worth about 400k.

One person commenting on one of the websites reporting on this story stated that this was an act of God because he loves the new C7 Corvette so much that he wants to erase all evidence of previous generations because they have been deemed unworthy. I think that God would not be so cruel to commit such an atrocity and that this could only have been done by the Devil. He can't go into a Chevy dealership and buy one so he figured he would selfishly try and draw one down into the depths of Hell. Considering that 3 of the swallowed cars are not visible at all in any of the pictures or video, maybe he succeeded.

Having been to the museum and seen most of these cars on display, the entire ordeal became personal. The skydome was the best part of the museum. I immediately had to go back through my pictures to see if  had photos of the cars that are now in the hole. When I was there they had a large Lingenfelter display that had since been rotated out so many of the cars in photos were no longer in the skydome. A few of the cars that went into the pit were not in my photos but most of them were.

While it is tragic to see these machines in the hole, they are just machines however, and GM has already stepped forward ans stated they will do whatever it take to restore them. I think there is a good chance that a few on top can be fixed rather easily but those that are on the bottom are completely buried and may be so badly damaged that it might be pointless the try and save them. If that's the case then they should be put back on display as they are. As a monument to the day the Earth opened up and consumed these American icons. Experts that have been called in by the museum have not determined when or how they will be able to repair the floor, but they say the overall structure of the building is okay...that's what they thought when they built the place.

Those aren't Hotwheels in the sand box.

The lift went into the hole with the 40th Anniversary Corvette, and the 1962 Corvette. All the cars in this photo did not go into the hole, they were part of a Lingenfelter Corvette display that had been rotated out.

Too Much Stuff

I remember the first really fancy car my father bought for the family. It was a 1985 Pontiac Parisienne station wagon. This car was the “Safari” edition meaning that it was loaded. It had power everything. Steering, brakes, windows, locks, seats, all power assisted. The air conditioning worked extremely well. It had a really nice stereo with a cassette deck that was smart enough to know where to stop before the next song when you hit the fast-forward button. This ride was top of the line, or so it seemed.

This Pontiac didn't have anti-lock brakes. It didn't have a satellite navigation system. It didn't have Bluetooth. None of the doors opened or closed themselves with a push of a button. It didn't have any automated lighting systems, and it didn't have keyless entry or an alarm system. It didn't have a smart key that you could leave in your pocket allowing you to start the car by pushing a button on the dash. By today’s standards it didn't have anything special or unique, but it was still a comfortable car to drive.

All you need for traveling in comfort and style.

Sometimes it seems that all of the features we demand in our cars have gotten to be a little out of control. How many of these crazy features do we need, and of those that drive cars equipped with such things, how many people actually use them? I would bet most extra features found on cars today get used very little, and I would also bet most people who don’t use these features wouldn't be willing to part with them.

Computer controls make so many of these systems and features possible. This is both good and bad. Good, because it’s awfully nice to have someone or something turn off your dome light automatically when you accidentally leave your door open. Bad, because if you have a problem with the dome light not functioning properly and a computer is ultimately in charge of the controls, you might have bigger problems than just a bad bulb.

Government mandated whistles and bells make up a substantial part of these new features that we find all around us as we drive down the road. Here are just a few of the things that the government requires in the name of safety. These are things that you cannot opt out of when checking the options on your new car: Anti-lock brakes, airbags (at least six them), occupant classification systems, active seat belt restraints, anti-skid control, and tire pressure monitors.

The 17 in. touchscreen control center found in the high-tech Tesla Model S.
Do we need this kind of thing just to turn the A/C on?

These things are effective in their respective tasks but they add complexity and expense to even the most entry level vehicle, and of course every one of these things is computer controlled.  The cost of all these amazing features is a big issue that is sometimes ignored. Even if the addition of the various convenience features didn't increase the likelihood of system failure and expensive repair, they certainly make for expensive manufacturing.

No one is suggesting that we stop equipping vehicles with safety features or things that make driving easier or more fun, but is there a point where this should end? Think of that new car you had 15 or 20 years ago. Didn't it do everything that you could ever ask a car to do?

I don’t think that we need to go back more than 20 years because many of the advances of that day made cars perform their primary function better. Things like fuel injection and computer controlled transmissions really do help you get from point A to point B more efficiently. Stuff like Bluetooth and automatically deploying running boards have nothing to do with the vehicle providing conveyance for its passengers. But then, perhaps in another 15 to 20 years Bluetooth will mean everything to us.

So we must question our values in the realm of automobile function. Is all of this stuff worth the hassle, and there is definitely hassle, or should we cut out the nonsense and get back to basics? Since I can’t imagine anyone wanting to go back to the way things used to be, let’s hope that the complexities of today’s new cars don’t turn into the expensive repair bills of tomorrow’s used cars.   

Accessories as You Like Them

Program this light if you want.

Cars today are jam packed with whistles and bells of every manner. This is true both literally and figuratively. Of course we the consumers have brought this upon ourselves because we like being surrounded by fancy features.

The number of warning lights, chimes, beeps, and other sights and sounds has reached a level where most people don’t even know what some of them mean. Many times theses warning buzzers will sound at times that can make the driver completely insane.

All new cars and trucks have many other features that are now more automated then they used to be. Things like power door locks that lock automatically when the vehicle exceeds five miles per hour, and unlock the doors when the transmission is shifted back into park are very common on all new cars.

Something most people do not know is that many of these features can be customized in the way they operate. If you don’t like the way the seat belt warning beeps at you every thirty second when you are not wearing your seat belt, it can be set to a mode that only allows the light to come on once after the car is first started and then shut off never to bother you again.

Things like automatic doors locks can be completely disabled if you like. Maybe you want the doors to lock when you shift into drive instead of when you hit 5 miles per hour. Most cars can have this type of thing changed very easily.

Since everything on cars and trucks today is computer controlled, it is very simple to give the computer different instructions on how and when to automatically activate one system or another. Besides programming things like power windows and door locks, other things can be changed such as what size tire you have on the vehicle. The size of the tire relates to function and accuracy of the speedometer. If you have a truck on which you install bigger tires your speedometer is now going to be off a couple of miles per hour. However, the bigger tire size can be programmed into the computer that calculates speed and then your speedometer will be accurate again.

Generally speaking there are two different ways to program these features. The easiest and perhaps best way is to use a scan tool. This is the device that the auto shop uses to communicate with the various computers on your vehicle for diagnostic purposes. On today’s cars these tools can be used for programming purposes as well. The factory scan tool that the dealerships have will always have to most capability when it comes to making these types of changes.

These tools can not only be used to program the function of a warning light or buzzer, but they can also be used to program major accessories. A feature such as cruise control can easily be added to a vehicle that did not come equipped with it from the factory. All that must be done is to have the switch installed in the steering wheel or the dash, and then use the scan tool to tell the engine control computer to enable cruise control programming. All of the other hardware the cruise control needs to operate is already there serving other purposes. With the correct switches and the correct programming, these components can then be used by the computer to provide cruise control.

The other way to make more minor changes to accessories is to follow a special programming sequence. Using things such as the ignition switch and power window or door lock switches, or maybe the park brake lever or climate control buttons. An example of how a programming sequences would work with these devices might be something such as: turn on the ignition switch, hit the unlock button, turn the ignition switch off, turn the ignition switch back on, hit the lock button, then pull and release the park brake lever two times and listen for the dash to beep at you. Once the dash beeps at you the vehicle is in programming mode and you can push the fan speed up switch to make your selection. Once the selection is made, turn the ignition switch off to reset the system.

This sounds like some kind of crazy secret code and perhaps it is, but it provides a way to program these features without having to use a special scan tool. Once in a while the owner’s manual will actually tell you how to do some of these things but most of the time it won’t. These programming sequences can usually be found online, but the best place to find them is in the factory service manual. Sometimes even this will not have the information on programming. Sometimes these things are only known to the engineers.

Watching a movie on this screen might be hazardous
to your health.

For example a few auto manufacturers who shall remain nameless, have some models equipped with navigation systems and rear seat DVD players. When movies are played and showing on the screen for the rear seat passengers, if you know the proper programming sequence you can make the movie play on the navigation screen where front seat passengers can also see it. The manufacturers made this possible for the purpose of performing network data bus diagnostics. The service manual won’t tell you any of this but the information is easily found online.

So if you have some whistle or bell on your vehicle that annoys you, or just doesn't work the way you wish it would. Do a little research and find out if it can be changed. If you paid so much money for this car you ought to have the accessories work the way you would like them too. 

Indy, America’s Racing Paradise

Just about any self-respecting car nut will tell you they have a bucket list of places they must visit to pay homage to these silly machines they love. Chances are the list would include places like the Henry Ford Museum, in Dearborn, Michigan, or perhaps attending speed week at the Bonneville Salt Flats of Utah’s west desert. Another amazing place that would have to be on the list would be the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Hall of Fame Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana. Recently, the car nut that writes this column was able to visit this sacred ground while vacationing with the family. This was a great destination for the family, even my moody teenage daughter had a good time there.

The Brickyard as it is affectionately known was originally built in 1909 by a couple of early car nuts. Why is it that anytime some new technology hits the market, it’s not long before someone decides to see how fast it will go? The track was dirt to begin with but was almost immediately repaved with bricks, 3.2 million bricks to be precise. This is why it is called the brickyard. Over time the bricks were slowly replaced with asphalt until 1961 when the last of the bricks were paved over.

The famous bricks of the "Brickyard."

Today the start/finish line is marked with three feet of the original bricks. Since 1996 it has become customary for the winner of any of the races that take place on this circuit to ceremoniously stoop down to kiss the bricks before ascending the winner’s podium. Of course yours truly was not about to be left out. Although I didn't win a race at Indy, I did feel the need to participate in this sacred right while touring the facilities.

This track hosts three big races each year: the Indianapolis 500 of the Indy Car Series, The Brickyard 400 of NASCAR, and the Indianapolis GP of the MotoGP motorcycle racing series. In the past the American Grand Prix of Formula One has also been held there, but that race now happens elsewhere.

Of these big events the one with the most history is of course the Indy 500. Other than a few years during times of world war this event has occurred every year for over 100 years. Because of the history and tradition that surrounds this race; the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has a museum and hall of fame dedicated to the driver’s and their machines that have won this historic race.

Vintage racers in the Hall of Fame Museum.
These were all winners 100 years ago.

The museum houses most of the original winning cars from the last century, all displayed side by side. The evolution of the race cars at Indy is very easy to see as you walk up and down the many aisles. I was told by one of the guides working in the museum that all of the cars still run, and are still just as track worthy as they were on the day when they won the coveted Borg-Warner trophy.

They said the cars are taken out on the track occasionally to burn the cobwebs out of them, and for photo ops. One of the old race cars was on the track a couple of years ago and suffered a major engine failure. No problem, the museum employs mechanics to take care of such things and they were able to get everything repaired, even though they had to custom fabricate a few of the parts that were needed.

When visiting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway you can check out the museum, go for a ride around the track with a tour guide, or you can do the deluxe tour. Obviously the latter is a must for anyone who really wants to see the facilities. This all inclusive tour takes you out on the track where you can get out and wander up and down the main stretch, kiss the bricks, and tour the various media centers and garages.

If you are a truly devoted fan you would come back Memorial Day weekend to be one of the quarter million fans in the stands watching the Indy 500. I suppose that will be the next thing on my list.

The fastest car to ever turn a lap at Indy.  This happened back in the late 90's when they still allowed turbocharging.

View of the main straight from the luxury suites.

The Borg-Warner Trophy. For the winner of the Indy 500.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway control room. Nobody goes in or out of this room one the race begins. Notice all
of the VCRs below the monitors. Nothing is recorded digitally so the official record of the race cannot be tampered
with or secretly transmitted out of the room for tampering.

The famous Gasoline Alley. This is where the garages are located.

The back stretch.

The start/finish line. The line of bricks goes all the way through the pits.

The media room where reporters from around the world keep track of the race. Your humble blogger is pictured. 

Where winners and losers get a chance to tell the tale to the media.

Headed towards turn 1. The tower shows who is currently winning and losing.

The world famous Pagoda.

Forever Fluid

One of the top priorities of automotive engineers today is to make vehicles that require less maintenance. In this they have done an excellent job making cars last a long time without all the routine visits to the mechanic for nothing more than preventative maintenance. When a vehicle requires less maintenance it is cheaper for the owner, and less of a hassle. The auto manufacturers know that people want to buy cars that require less maintenance so they have engineered them this way.

Spark plug changes are only due every 100k miles or so, drive belts last a very long time, and even the old oil change really doesn't need to be performed as often as it used to be. The modern automobile is the most trouble free, and maintenance free contraption ever built by the hand of man. Heavy-duty trucks, heavy equipment, and other similar vehicles of the modern era are not as trouble free, and maintenance free as the automobile.

Lately however, it seems as if engineers have taken things a little too far when it comes to reducing preventative maintenance. Now, it is very common for a vehicle to have lifetime fluids. This means that some of the fluids on some vehicles are said to be good for the life of the vehicle. One of the most common lifetime fluids is transmission fluid.

With advanced technology in the processing of petroleum products we now have many types of automotive fluids that are labeled synthetic. This title usually refers to the way they are produced. Advanced processing methods give the end product better properties for performing the function for which it was designed. One of the abilities of these new synthetic fluids is greater longevity in the gear box or other mechanical assembly where it works to reduce friction and condition parts. These fluids do last longer.

The term lifetime in reference to fluids is somewhat misleading, and really rather vague. What is the definition of lifetime? Are they talking about the life of the vehicle, the life of the owner, or maybe just the life of the warranty? Maybe they mean the lifetime of the fluid itself. As if to say the fluid has a lifetime, and they are proposing that the fluid doesn't need to be changed until its life has run out. That would be very misleading.

The other thing that is a bit beguiling is many times forever fluid only applies to vehicles that follow the normal maintenance schedule. Most vehicles still use a normal and a severe maintenance schedule. The idea is to follow the one that applies to you. Of course based on the definition of each schedule just about everyone is severe.

The problem with lifetime fluid in this case is the normal schedule calls many fluids lifetime fill. So if you live in Florida and never drive too fast, or too slow, or too little, or too much, then you never have to replace the transmission fluid, or the differential fluid, or the power steering fluid. If you are severe like 99% of drivers, the fluid must be changed according to the recommended interval.

Some vehicles literally do not give any recommendation on the service interval of their lifetime fluids. The engineers literally mean to say that the fluid never wears out. This of course cannot be true but to the original owner of the vehicle who keeps it for 10 years or 120k miles they really do not need to worry about fluid service.

So, if you purchase a vehicle with transmission fluid that is lifetime fill, when do you need to possibly have the fluid serviced anyway? A reasonable interval for servicing just about any type of alleged lifetime fluid is about 100k miles. This is not really all that bad because it might mean that the average used car buyer still has to only service the fluids of this vehicle maybe once in the time they own it. Automotive engineers have done a good job of reducing maintenance costs on cars, but they will never eliminate the need for fluid service.  

The Death of the CD Player

No CD slot here.

Car audio goes back a long way. Ever since Motorola made the first car radio back in 1930, we have enjoyed listening to just about anything while driving down the road. In the 50’s Chrysler even tried putting record players in many of their high end models. These required a very smooth road and some even had a special rotational speed that required you to buy records form the dealership. They were not your standard 45’s. It’s hard to imagine driving along listening to a stack of vinyl while trying to avoid even the smallest bumps in the road.

When I was a kid, and I mean a little kid, I remember cruising around in the old Dodge van that mom drove listening to 8 track tapes purchased from a local second hand store. The likes of Barry Manilow, Barbara Streisand, and the soundtrack to the Broadway show Hair could be heard loud, and somewhat clear from the two speakers in the dash. We even had a random speaker attached to a wire just floating freely under the back seat of the van. I used to lay on the floor underneath the 3rd seat with my ear to this speaker, rocking out as any 8 year old would. 

Nothing like getting lost on the eight tracks
of one continuous tape.

Now before you get the idea that I am that old, I need to remind you my parents drive really old cars. Growing up in the 80’s the old cars had 8 track players and the newer, fancier cars had cassette decks. Before long we too had a cassette deck in our Pontiac Parisienne station wagon. The U2, Joshua Tree album sounded really good, as did Depeche Mode, Metallica, and the sound track from the Phantom of the Opera. We listened to a wide variety of music. 

I don’t remember exactly, but I think that I had moved out of the house by the time my parents had a car new enough to be equipped with a CD player, in fact I’m fairly certain that I bought a car new enough to have a CD player before my parents ever did. This medium, and the stereo in which it plays, has been standard equipment on most vehicle for a much longer time period that anything else, but now that is slowly changing.

The CD player is dead as the standard audio player of choice in cars today. Honestly it has been dead for a few years now. I can’t remember the last time I used the CD player in any of my cars, I’m pretty sure it’s been years. Today we are to the point where auto manufacturers and even the aftermarket stereo manufacturers are selling car stereos that have no compact disc player.

The CD long box. In case you are
too young to remember

Some cars like the new Jeep Cherokee or any Cadillac, still offer a CD player but its hidden somewhere out of the way and no longer mounted in the dash. If you buy something like a Chevy Spark, or a Kia Soul there is no option for the optical audio drive. These cars come with more modern ways of listening to music, or “books on tape.” Cars such as the Spark are designed and built for the youngest drivers among us and this generation is comprised of people who have probably never purchased a CD from a music store and definitely have no idea what a “long box” is.

For many years now most new cars have been equipped with auxiliary audio jacks that allow any MP3 player to play through the stereo. USB ports are also common on most models to allow a direct interface between the car stereo and your iPod or thumb drive. Why carry a big stack of CDs when you can just carry a tiny iPod Shuffle.

Getting even more modern than this, now many cars are equipped with infotainment systems capable of streaming audio via cell phone and Bluetooth. Paring your phone to the car allows you to take advantage of services and apps such as Pandora or I Heart Radio. Some cars even come with a very large flash type hard drive so you can transfer all of your audio and even video files to the car where they are permanently available for play back through the stereo and rear seat video entertainment systems.

Not CD slot here. 2014 Kia Soul

The death of the car CD player will be somewhat slow as it’s expected to be available for a few more years, particularly in vehicles meant for the more seasoned driver. The cassette player died a slow death as well back in the day. The last year this feature was offered in any new car was 2010 and its amazing it lasted that long. I think the CD player will be gone by 2017. I guess we will all have to move on. At least AM and FM hasn’t changed…yet.