, 12 tweets, 4 min read Read on Twitter
either a 1959 or 1960 Cadillac, the under-dash record player is an accessory Norelco/Phillips (only Chrysler had a dealer option vinyl player). I'd guess the photo is much earlier than 1968. #DavesCarIDService
RCA made its own car vinyl system, using an "ultra microgroove" format (16 2/3 rpm, with groove spacing only 1/3 of a regular record) which allowed an entire LP to be put on a 7-inch single. These are crazy rare, and only about 40 LPs were ever released in the format
wacky Chicago appliance dealer Earl "Madman" Muntz pioneered the in-car 4 track cartridge tape player in 1962, which basically killed off car vinyl player. 4-tracks were already in use at radio stations for playing ad jingles
Madman Muntz also briefly (1951) had his own car company in Chicago, making the Muntz Jet. Only about 50 of these remain, and I've ridden in a couple of them. Best feature is the mentally ill Napoleon hubcaps and horn button
They are actually a pretty nice car, designed by race car guru Frank Kurtis, and were available with a Cadillac OHV 331 or a Lincoln 337 flathead. Top speed was >110 mph
In any case, Madman Muntz's 4 track was quickly eclipsed by the 8 track format, which became a Ford factory option in 1966. I've got a first-year factory 8 track player in my '66 TBird
Subsequent premieres of factory audio systems:

Cassette player: Mercedes, 1971
CD player: Mercedes, 1987
MP3 player: not sure, but accessory players were available around 1997
Bluetooth/streaming: Chrysler, 2000
The 4-track/8-track cartridge infinite tape loop system also influenced the computer industry. IBM introduced its first "hypertape" cartridge format for magnetic data storage in 1961
and then there was the granddaddy of them all: Paul Galvin's 5T71, the first practical car radio, introduced in 1930 and made in Chicago. He called it the Motorola, a mashup of "motor" and "Victrola," and the company went on to bigger things.
Factory 8 track in my 66 TBird, loaded with some Neil Diamond for taking my lady to the supper club
Mr & Mrs Iowahawk on date night (artist's conception)
Garcon - a whiskey sour for me and a grasshopper for the lady, then two Surf & Turfs medium rare s'il vous plait
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