Audi of America joined a growing list of car makers that will offer HD Radio as standard equipment in new cars.Audi will include HD Radio on many of its vehicles starting in calendar 2010 for the 2011 model year, it said. Other companies offering HD Radio as a standard feature in at least one model include Hyundai, Ford and Volvo.
Other luxury car makers who offer HD Radio as an option include Mercedes Benz, BMW and Jaguar.
Currently approximately 1,800 AM/FM stations broadcast in HD Radio and there are now 900 multicast (extra) HD Radio channels on the FM dial.
Now let's make sure we fill all that air time with some really good music or slice the many different genres so thin that we have individual channels for individual groups -- why not?
Why not indeed!
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"BMW HD Radio™ Troubleshooting Guide"
"The HD-Radio™ sound keeps switching between Digital and Analog audio quality. HD-Radio™ Indicator keeps turning on and off... The current BMW HD-Radio™ system does not support multicasting."
http://tinyurl.com/3j8oc7
"JAGUAR SHELVES HD RADIO INDEFINITELY"
"He showed a factory bulletin advising all dealers that Jaguar has pulled HD from its audio packages indefinitely, citing owner objections and bring-backs of new vehicles with complaints about radio performance."
http://tinyurl.com/3ktd97
"HD Radio’s Last Stand"
"For example, Volvo sent out a press release earlier this year about making HD Radio standard across their 2009 models. Well I just bought a 2009 Volvo, and guess what? No HD Radio. Furthermore, nobody I've spoken to at Volvo Cars North America even knows what HD Radio is, much less why their cars don't come with it, even though they were supposed to."
http://tinyurl.com/5j3mez
"DEAD AIR: Radio’s Great Leap Forward stalling in the Valley" December 5, 2007
"Nearly two years after the Valley’s four Clear Channel stations went HD, several high-end car manufacturers have promised to offer HD radios as an option on new models. But while Ford announced in September that it offers the radios as dealer-installed upgrades — as have Mini, Volvo, Jaguar and BMW — local Ford and Lincoln dealers had not heard of HD and said they don’t offer the option."
http://tinyurl.com/6gwdj4
Lots-of-lick!