Weekly survey: Does your car have a CD player? Do you even know?
I got a new car recently, a brand new 2021 model. Over the weekend, I discovered something astonishing after two months of ownership: it came with an in-dash CD player. Frankly, I was shocked. My last car–a 2018–didn’t have one and frankly, I didn’t miss it. And its absence didn’t surprise me since manufactures have been quietly omitting CD players since about 2016 in many models.
Once I found out, I thought I’d check my wife’s Honda CR-V. It had one, too. We’ve had the car for two years and neither of us had any idea it was there. That shows you how much either of us is playing CDs in the car these days.
So here’s my question: Does your car have a factory CD player in the dash? Here are your choices:
Last year I bought a 1999 Tahoe LT for a project vehicle, and actually added a new CD player to it. With streaming, bluetooth , and satellite radio. My daily drive is a 2021 Jeep Gladiator, and definitely no CD player. I replace my daily every year, and haven’t had a vehicle with a CD player since 2019.
I actually work in the auto industry, and work with all of the brands available in Canada. I see very few vehicles come through here with CD.
My 2018 Subaru Impreza has one. I have had the same two CDs in the car since I got it: Vampire Weekend’s Modern Vampires of the City and David Bowie’s The Next Day. It does not get much use. Listen mostly to the radio, terrestrial or Sirius XM. Longer trips I hook up my phone and stream from YouTube Music. I did listen to the Bowie album on a trip last week.
Mine has a CD player, 2016 Nissan Rogue. After the free Sirius XM 6 month teaser I could not go back to local radio. This also made the CD player obsolete. Hair Nation, Classic Rewind, Classic Vinyl, Lithium, Ozzy’s Boneyard, Liquid Metal, YEAH!
Both of ours do and both get used every time I am in the car. The car is where I do my CD listening