The coming expansive–and expensive–car dashboard
[This was my weekly column for GlobalNews.ca. – AC]
I still remember the Delco AM radio in my dad’s 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 that sat smack in the middle of the dash with its two knobs. The one on the left set the volume as well as turned it off and on. It had an inner ring on the same knob stalk that controlled “tone” (left to turn down the bass and right to turn up the treble; it was useless). The one on the right was for tuning in stations. Cranking it sent an indicator across the dial.
Once you found the station you were looking for, you pulled out one of the five slat-like buttons on the front of the unit and then pushed it all the way back in, mechanically creating a memory for the tuning indicator. When you had all five buttons programmed, flipping from station to station was as easy as pushing the corresponding button which responded with a hearty ka-CHUNK.
There was a lot of fighting over that radio because it was the only entertainment device available in the car. How times have changed — and continue to change.
I was reminded of that old Delco while attending a couple of panels at Canadian Music Week in Toronto this month. Dashboard times are a-changin’ and changin’ fast.
