Ford has announced it will offer HD Digital Radio as a dealer-installed option on most of its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles for the 2008 model year. Although Ford failed to mention which models will not be available with the HD Radio option, the automaker did say the technology can be retrofitted to many 2005, 2006 and 2007 Ford vehicles. Ford has yet to release pricing for the HD Radio option.
HD Radio offers better sound quality than conventional radio and also allows for the transmission of additional data — such as text and even additional channels. Currently, 1,500 radio stations in the U.S. broadcast in HD and, unlike satellite radio, there is no subscription fees.
BMW was one of the first automakers to offer HD Radio but, unlike Ford, the option is only available on select models.



09/26, 2:15 PM
posted by:
jackjimturkey
Could convince some to pick a ford over another car she considers a close rival, but it won’t pull change the mind of someone who’s decided on something else.
09/26, 2:19 PM
posted by:
A4
HD radio is a joke, nobody should waste their money on it. Satellite is so much better, and HD should be an industry standard, and will be in the future, just like TV.
09/26, 2:20 PM
posted by:
A4
Get sirius and youll forget about regular FM – HD or not. ill leave it at that.
09/26, 2:26 PM
posted by:
autonut
I hope it will be available on ‘08 Focus! Great automobile deserves great sound.
09/26, 2:44 PM
posted by:
LP640
wow i can just see it, there’ll be riots down at the local ford dealer as people will be slaying each other just to get their hands on a xxxxty Ford with crap HD radio
09/26, 2:58 PM
posted by:
R1GHT30U5
Ah HD radio… nothing better than paying more money to hear those commercials in wonderful high definition!!!
09/26, 4:18 PM
posted by:
driver54
Dang it, the average IQ for LLN posters just dropped 20 points. We almost got to 100, then 1487 came back.
09/26, 4:41 PM
posted by:
Driven
BMWs option is factory installed. Much better than having some Ford dealer (read: high school dropout in the add-ons department) tear apart your car to add HD Radio.
09/26, 5:48 PM
posted by:
Madcapp
Its simply time all auto manufacturers offered HD radio.
09/26, 7:33 PM
posted by:
jackjimturkey
a4: I’m seriously thinking about getting Sirius. But I already get Tom L. and Savage, so who knows if I’d ever listen to it?
driver 54: i wish they’d stop deleting GMSales’ posts, as appears to have happened here.
09/26, 7:56 PM
posted by:
1c3d0g
This is so MUCH better than any other radio system, terrestial or otherwise. I don’t know about you, but paying for getting radio stations really does suck.
09/26, 8:08 PM
posted by:
tripleonefive
Heres an idea Ford, why not make a car that has attractive styling, a great price and great build quality?
The people who buy Fords can’t afford a better foreign product anyway so they wont care about options such as HD XM radio and navigation. Why bother ?
09/26, 8:35 PM
posted by:
2008PowerStrokeF450Lariat
i got sirius with my superduty but i can’t listen to it since i live in germany
09/26, 9:05 PM
posted by:
sik59rt
if any of you have ever listened to HD radio then you know how much better it is than satellite radio’s quality. i have XM and i have two HD radios. although not all areas offer HD radio, it turns FM into CD quality and AM into FM quality. plus the ability to multicast, meaning 1 radio station can have 3 different types of music playing is great too. granted Ibiquity has been slow in advertising but with my company’s push with Best Buy in offering the cheapest aftermarket HD radio on the market, you will start to see it become more and more popular. a lot of high end car manufacturers offer it as a option from the factory this will soon move down to all manufacturers.
if you are a commuter and dont want to pay for satellite radio, then look into HD radio.
plus being that it can be added on to a existing Ford radio without the need for a extra antenna is great….but hey maybe im just a bit biased because my company manufacturers HD radio products.
09/26, 9:39 PM
posted by:
deutschetouring1337
Screw that we want Bluetooth radios with A2DP support!!!!
09/26, 9:59 PM
posted by:
Brendino
A4 – we can’t all afford satellite.
having a one-time fee for a dealer-installed item that supposedly is pretty neat? sounds good to me.
no, it isn’t a deal-maker, and I don’t think Ford is construing it as such. You all reacted the same way when they talked about the gas nozzle without the cap…these are just little improvements that’ll add to the overall appeal in the end.
09/26, 10:54 PM
posted by:
A4
satellite is just as cheap if not cheaper than HD radio. If you cant afford satellite, youve got bigger fish to fry than if your FM reception is CD quality or not. You can get a basic receiver for less than $50 and spend $10-12 a month, $120 a year, or $500 for a lifetime subscription. I guarantee a dealer installed HD radio will go for AT LEAST $400-500 dollars, so youd be surprised at what you can “afford”
09/26, 10:57 PM
posted by:
A4
and if i had to choose between slightly better sound quality or getting rid of commercials every 3 songs, not to mention better variety, and more importantly ADDITIONAL variety on top of FM radio, i think i could spare a little sound quality. Youre not getting anything extra with HD radio, youre just getting a little sound quality, not any new channels, not any less commercials. And not even every station is HD. Its a waste.
09/26, 11:24 PM
posted by:
sik59rt
you do get less commercials on the multi cast channels. and HD radios start at $149 and go up from there.
and if you dont like, then shut the f up and dont listen to it or talk about how you arent going to buy one.
there are over 3000 stations throughout the US that have signed up to support HD radio. currently 700 stations nationwide are broadcasting in HD
and the sound quality is more than “slighty better” but im sure you know that since youve listened to it..oh, whats that, you havent? thanks for your opinion.
09/27, 11:20 AM
posted by:
jackjimturkey
tripleonefluffer: What vehicle do you think you’ll find in more milliuonaires’ homes than any other. Ford F-150.
” Three in ten millionaires drive the F-150. Another 25% drive the Ford Explorer sports utility vehicle. ”
–”The Millionaire Next Door”
by Thomas Stanley & William Danko
Dim-witted communist elitist!
09/27, 12:10 PM
posted by:
Driven
JJT, the Millionaire Next door is a ten year old book based on data collected over 20 years. That means its data collected from 1977 to 1997. Over that time being a millionaire has become no big deal. Most people reach a million or more before they retire. Plus the MND preaches about people that scrimp and save their entire life so an average salary will equal a million bucks worth of homes & investments when they retire. Of course most of those people drive F-150s & Explorers because they are scrimping every penny to become a millionaire. These aren’t the truly smart people that make mega millions from good business decisions. That book is about average joes saving every buck.
Billionaires and millionaires with 8 and 9 figures are the elite now. Seven figure millionaires are a dime a dozen because its easier to obtain and it doesn’t go very far in todays world. The truly wealthy dont overwhelmingly drive F-150s.
All the MND stats are out of date and worthless given the new rich over the past decade since the book has been written. In the 10 years since that book was written there are 70% more billinaires in the world and millionaires are up more than 600%.
09/28, 12:16 AM
posted by:
sik59rt
it was 9 years…geez come on now. 1 year makes a difference
09/28, 11:51 AM
posted by:
jackjimturkey
Driven: I’ll look up more recent stats. Are you a millionaire, if they’re a doime a dozen? hell, even counting my exurban home, I’m not a millionaire
09/29, 3:14 PM
posted by:
BLISS
SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD IDEA….GO