Where words fail, the expression goes, music speaks. This has never been more true than it is in the Info Age, when mobile devices and smart phones can handle anyone’s music library, at home or on the road. The automobile makers, at home and abroad, were among the first to understand the changes that were taking place in the world of the music listener and they responded accordingly. Soon enough, all new vehicles will come off the line USB equipped.

Rocking and Rolling

Music and cars went hand in hand from the very beginning. Jazz, raccoon coats and the Stutz Bearcat all blended together seamlessly. By the late 1930s, Robert Johnson was singing about his Terraplane. A generation later, Chuck Berry was cruisin’ along in his automobile. From there, it seemed like a natural progression to the Little Old Lady From Pasadena, carrying over to Sammy Hagar’s inability to drive 55 miles per hour.

Darwinian Advancements

Through all of this, the delivery of sound itself went through its own evolution. AM radio was the first medium, soon to be followed by FM, and then came the 8-track player. That was soon replaced by the cassette tape player, which gave in to compact discs before too much longer. All had their issues, and even CD now appears to be going by the wayside with the advent of mp3 players and digitized content.

USB ports are already entering the market as standard options on newer cars, trucks and SUVs, offering connectivity to all manner of media devices, including GPS devices. Furthermore, the power from the vehicle is also used to charge up iPods and other players that can be charged via USB. The car stereo will even display the media information (such as song titles and artists). For those cars not already equipped with USB ports, there are a number of aftermarket products which can run through the car’s lighter, and several websites offer DIY tutorials on how to wire a USB port directly into your vehicle electronics.

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