http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/27/better-sound-in-volvos-hd-radio-standard-in-2009/ Autoblog Comments for Better sound in Volvos: HD radio standard in 2009 http://www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/27/better-sound-in-volvos-hd-radio-standard-in-2009/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/27/better-sound-in-volvos-hd-radio-standard-in-2009/
I'd rather take the huge variety of choices available on Sirius and XM instead of channel hopping trying to miss commercials on FM/AM stations. And BTW, HD-AM has been canned for the time being due to massive bleedover to other channels. So much for that half of the spectrum getting any improvements.

I do find it ironic many of the Autoblog bloggers seem to have a vendetta against Satellite Radio, even though it can now be found standard on many of these new cars we talk about. Ford just announced a renewed partnership with Sirius, and put the penetration rate at 70% of all cars produced being equipped with it. Thats a pretty big deal, and apparently many people are enjoying these 3 and 6 month free trials enough that they are dropping the bucks when it comes time to renew.]]>Nov 27th 2007 8:04PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/27/better-sound-in-volvos-hd-radio-standard-in-2009/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/27/better-sound-in-volvos-hd-radio-standard-in-2009/
Sattelite is cool, don't get me wrong, but there's always room for variety, so being able to choose between standard AM/FM and HD content is cool. ]]>Nov 27th 2007 8:19PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/27/better-sound-in-volvos-hd-radio-standard-in-2009/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/27/better-sound-in-volvos-hd-radio-standard-in-2009/
And I wasn't just calling you out. I have seen some other posts from the bloggers that at least I felt were bashing on XM/Sirius. And the fanboys of satrad such as myself are pretty hardcore about it, though I will be the first to admit its flaws, just like you said.]]>Nov 27th 2007 8:56PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/27/better-sound-in-volvos-hd-radio-standard-in-2009/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/27/better-sound-in-volvos-hd-radio-standard-in-2009/
And one web site reports that Ford is considering selling its Volvo auto division to BMW, which is already an Ibiquity licensee, too. Yep, it's "another brand." A financially troubled brand. One that's being shopped to help stop the bleeding at Ford, along with Jaguar, Aston-Martin, et al. One with a negligible world market share.

Now, if GM, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, or Daimler-Chrysler announce HD as a standard feature on factory audio systems, you'll have a real story. What happens when consumers found out that HD Radio just doesn't work:

“Is HD Radio Toast?”

“There are serious issues of coverage. Early adopters who bought HD radios report serious drop-outs, poor coverage, and interference. The engineers of Ibiquity may argue otherwise and defend the system, but the industry has a serious PR problem with the very people we need to get the word out on HD... In other words, everything you can find on the regular FM dial... The word has already gotten out about HD Radio. People who have already bought an HD Radio are telling others of their experience (mostly bad) and no amount of marketing will reverse this.”

http://www.fmqb.com/article.asp?id=487772]]>Nov 27th 2007 9:16PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/27/better-sound-in-volvos-hd-radio-standard-in-2009/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/27/better-sound-in-volvos-hd-radio-standard-in-2009/Nov 28th 2007 10:14AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/27/better-sound-in-volvos-hd-radio-standard-in-2009/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/27/better-sound-in-volvos-hd-radio-standard-in-2009/
The couple weeks here in Detroit when I was in a rental, I tried commercial radio again. Basically, this: in the morning, you don't get music on any local stations, it's all these "morning shows" (you know, the same show in your city, with different names). Plus, I listened to the popular morning show here and it's basically the same shtick as it was 6 years ago when I moved away. The one morning I timed 13 straight minutes of commercials. Ugh. So that's what made me a satellite radio convert. Definitely worth the $13/mo to me. That and my XM stations play wherever I go, where with HD I still have to find stations when I travel.

Plus I'm reading the rates drop should this merger go through, down to $6.95 for a basic package. I honestly don't know how anybody listens to commercial radio anymore. I don't think HD will do anything to slow the rush to satellite. ]]>Nov 27th 2007 10:13PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/27/better-sound-in-volvos-hd-radio-standard-in-2009/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/27/better-sound-in-volvos-hd-radio-standard-in-2009/
http://hdradiofarce.blogspot.com/]]>Feb 4th 2008 6:32AM