[rolivercoffee]

I remember really wanting this at the time. Amazing how jarring the design of the radio is in comparison to the rest of the interior. Also, interesting how they didn't think to design their own entertainment system because... cars had third party entertainment systems that's just the way it was!

[dsr_]

Cars should have third-party entertainment systems. Everything about 'infotainment' systems is a terrible idea, because integrating something that changes three to five times in the life of the vehicle is stupid.

Put a nicely anchored 1/4-20 UNC mount in two or three locations, put a USB port that speaks the standard audio protocol next to each one, and connect those to an integrated DSP/amplifier suitable for the car's speakers and microphones. It will be good for three times the life of the car, and make everyone's lives easier.

[gregmac]

> Cars should have third-party entertainment systems. Everything about 'infotainment' systems is a terrible idea, because integrating something that changes three to five times in the life of the vehicle is stupid.

In my mind this has been largely solved for the past few years with Android Auto / Carplay. It would be nice if there was a true standard, but at the same time, there's only two phone operating systems so it works.

If you're not familiar with it, there are some huge benefits of the way it works:

* The system updates with your phone, not your car. Applies to both hardware and software.

* Data plans are also tied to your phone, which you presumably have anyway.

* Preferences are personal; my partner and I each get our own music, podcasts, and suggested destinations.

* Personally I love that my music/podcasts follow me around. I can browse and start listening to something in the car, then hours later throw in my wireless ear buds and continue from where I was while I mow the lawn.

There is also some level of upgradability from the car side, too: I recently added a wireless android auto adapter to my 2016 car. It was under $100, plugs into USB, and once I got it paired to my phone, I basically get in and start the car and in a few seconds the UI is there.

What I am skeptical about is that this will continue to be solved for the next few years: there's always that chance that Google will outright kill it, or Apple/Samsung/whoever will become exclusive to a single car manufacturer, or the manufacturers will somehow bungle this up with a subscription model of some sort.

[numpad0]

Every cars produced from 1970s until yesterday afternoon have one of that kind of standard mounting, colloquially called 1DIN and 2DIN form factors. It's the shape of old car radios and cassette player front panels. If you've ever wondered if it's actually removable or it's just such an extremely uniform and coincidental choice of aesthetics, it's actually a standard slot. And there are endless aftermarket options. Very few cars lacked support for it, but it's since been de facto deprecated and being replaced by Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

> 1/4-20 UNC

ISO M8.

[coldpie]

Just use a 3.5mm jack. We solved this decades ago.

[Max-q]

I used to think this. But the quality and integration of the infotainment in new cars, for example Tesla, is so much better than any extern unit I have tested, that now I really appreciate the systems coming with the car.

I used to change the unit, amp and all speakers. Now my new car is just working nicely unmodified.

[mcculley]

You need more than "the standard audio protocol". The infotainment system should know a lot about the car's state (e.g., RPM, turn signal activated/deactivated).

[BucketsMcG]

Actually at the time Ford's in-car entertainment was more integrated than most. Unlike others, they fitted own-brand audio systems which were either non-standard shapes and hard to replace, or they were built in entirely. I think what we see here's just an afterthought that got added late in the design process.

[majormajor]

> Also, interesting how they didn't think to design their own entertainment system because... cars had third party entertainment systems that's just the way it was!

This was rarely true in 1999, at least in the US.

They often had ones that were standard DIN or double-DIN size, but they were usually manufacturer-branded and styled with buttons that matched the rest of the car.

But if you google image search a 1999 Ford Taurus interior you'll see that not everyone was even then still sticking to the easily-swappable standard. Compare to 1999 Camry, which had standard size but came out of the factory with a Toyota-skinned radio of one sort or another depending on options.

[nobleach]

In 1999 we still hadn't realized the wonder of reading mp3/wma files burned onto a CD. Aiwa was the first brand I remember opening that up. USB slots were next.