Building on the announcement from the fall NAB Radio Show regarding dealer-installed HD-R receivers, Ford now says it will include HD Radio as standard or optional equipment in Ford, Mercury and Lincoln vehicles in calendar year 2009.
Ibiquity President/CEO Bob Struble told me he believes other automakers will follow.
On the floor, one engineer told me 2009 seems far away while another said, “The steady growth we’re seeing in HD Radio will be accelerated.”
Meanwhile, in a first for CES, the head of a U.S automaker delivered a keynote address — and arrived on the stage in a car.
General Motors Chairman/CEO Rick Wagoner used the occasion to introduce two cars not yet on the market, the Chevy Volt and Cadillac Provoq. The Volt is an electric car while the Provoq is hydrogen-fueled.
Wagoner said cars are becoming less mechanical and more like computers with sophisticated electronics.
I asked him afterwards if GM is considering equipping factory-installed HD Radios in the dash like Ford.
