World Radio Day
World Radio Day, an international day celebrated on February 13th of each year, was designated by UNESCO on November 3, 2011.
In 1920, Lee de Forest was an American inventor of the Audion Vacuum tube, a key component of live radio broadcasting. It was offered as a factory-installed option on December 1928 on a model J Duesenberg. www.forums.aaca.org
​In 1930, Paul and Joseph Galvin introduced the expensive $130 unit, world’s 1st commercially successful car radio unit (Model A Deluxe coupe cost $540) that could be installed in autos; since they had no registration, they just parked the car outside and turned up the volume! They renamed the Motorola radio and Galvin Manufacturing changed their name to Motorola. ​ www.caranddriver.com
In 1953, the Becker company unveiled the Mexico model, which featured FM stereo and a fully automatic station scan. it is often considered the first high-end car radio, which was included in most cars by this time. People also wanted the option to play their music. www.drivespark.com
In 1955 to 1961, Chrysler debuted an in-car, under the dash, record player called the Highway Hi-Fi, but it was discontinued due to its reliance on specialized 7-inch records and issues with skipping. Two years later the tape cassette was invented.
Highway Hi-Fi is now a collectible among hardcore Chrysler fans. www.autoevolution.com
In 1965, Ford and Motorola jointly introduced the eight-track tape player, which was later supplanted by cassette tape players in the 1970s and 1980s.
​The first in-car CD player was the Pioneer CDX-1, which was introduced in 1984, and CD players became standard in the 1990s.
In the 2000s, satellite radio was introduced; its ability to broadcast clearly over an entire continent and the sheer amount of stations available made it a fan-favorite for in-car listening.
Today many people still listen to in-dash radios, but many sync their phones to their car radios and play music through services like Pandora and Spotify.
This radio was constructed by Car Toys in 2025 to fit a 1957 Ford Fairlane's site of the original radio and it is connected by Bluetooth to listen to Pandora.
