The terms “General Motors” and “Innovation” aren’t often used together when referring to the 1980s. Successes were rare for GM during this period, and its US market share plummeted from 44% to 35%… but among the company’s achievements was a product that almost immediately changed how carmakers approached sound systems. Innovative and trend-setting, the Delco-GM/Bose Sound System was the kind of product that most companies can only dream about developing. And this was all made possible by a seemingly unlikely corporate alliance that endures to this day.
Introduced for the 1983 model year, the Delco/Bose sound system was the right product at the right time, as it capitalized on a crescendo of interest in auto sound that had been building for decades. The partnership that led to this innovation was an unlikely one. Behemoth General Motors, struggling in the fast-paced 1980s not to sink under its own weight and inertia… and 18-year old Bose Corporation, a small company that became a celebrated name in high fidelity by swimming against conventional wisdom. However odd the alliance may seem, this first mass-market collaboration between a carmaker and the audio industry changed the field of auto sound almost overnight. Prior to Delco/Bose, customers needed to install aftermarket systems in their cars to get first-rate sound; within just a few years, other manufacturers were chasing GM’s lead.
Motorola was an early leader in car radios – the name itself is a contraction of “Motor” and “Victrola”
Music and driving have always been complementary. Automobile radio became widely available in the 1930s, and the indulgence of listening-while-driving gradually trickled through the car market over the next several decades. But actual high fidelity was elusive, since cars – small, oddly-shaped enclosures surrounded by glass, metal, plastics and fabric – hardly lent themselves to acoustical perfection. People accepted sound distortion as a fact of life.
General Motors started developing radios in the 1930s, and had a captive company to do the work. Delco (originally Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company) had been manufacturing automotive componentry since 1909, and was acquired by GM in 1918. Delco became familiar to customers as a brand of everything from batteries to shock absorbers, but it’s radios that are relevant to today’s story. Delco was synonymous with radios in GM cars, which were often quality examples of auto sound in any given decade. Delco’s size and diversity of products provided unsurpassed economies of scale and expertise in electronics. For example, by the 1980s Delco Electronics was the world’s third-largest manufacturer of integrated circuits (a crucial ingredient of modern sound systems), behind only IBM and Western Electric.
Bose Corporation had much different beginnings. Philadelphia-born MIT professor Amar Bose grew frustrated with the poor sound quality of home audio speakers, so in 1964, at age 35, he founded his own company. His breakthrough came just four years later with the Bose 901 loudspeaker, different from other speakers of its time in every significant way. Most notably, it was a “direct/reflecting” speaker – meaning that much of the sound output was intended to be reflected off of walls, rather than aimed directly at the listener’s ears. In fact, each 901 speaker contained nine drivers – eight of which were aimed at walls.
The holy grail of home hi-fi systems was to replicate the sound of a concert hall. Yet Dr. Bose grasped that in actual concert halls, most of the sound that reaches the audience is reflected off walls and other surfaces. Bose’s speakers mimicked that pattern of sound propagation – and did so to critical acclaim. Among the 901’s benefits was that the speaker created a more “spacious” sound – making the listening room seem larger and the sound more realistic. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, the same theory held the promise to better car audio sound as well, but that was years in the future.
While the 1960s was the decade when home audio systems saw fantastic sales growth, for car audio, it was the 1970s. Cars got quieter, pre-recorded portable music (8-tracks and cassettes) became readily available, and old-style single-speaker radios were suddenly antiquated. But factory-installed audio systems were usually viewed as having poor sound quality. Consequently, the aftermarket auto sound industry grew… and grew… and grew.
Car stereo shops seemed to sprout up in every town, and by the early 1980s, US aftermarket car stereos formed a $2 billion per year industry. Many consumers would eschew factory audio options altogether in favor of more feature-laden aftermarket systems; in 1980, 17% of domestic cars and two-thirds of imports were sold without any kind of radio, and nearly two-thirds of all car buyers purchased some sort of aftermarket audio components.
Carmakers felt cut out of an increasingly lucrative game. Some manufacturers responded by offering a dizzying array of radio options (for instance, Ford’s 1982 LTD Crown Victoria offered nine different sound systems); yet many customers still chose aftermarket receivers and speakers for better sound quality.
Bose Corporation entered the auto sound fray in 1980, when the company debuted a receiver and speaker combination called the 1401. As one might expect from the company that pioneered direct/reflecting home audio technology, the 1401’s setup bore some similarities to Bose’s iconic 901 speakers. Specifically, the rear speakers were aimed towards the rear window, thus reflecting sound forward. The 1401 also featured active equalization (to provide optimal tonal balance), again similar to Bose home audio systems. With four 25-watt amplifiers and excellent speakers, this was an advanced system for its day, however Bose’s first foray into car audio was not a commercial success. Its significance is more apparent in retrospect: This was essentially a beta version of what would come about two years later – the Delco-GM/Bose system.
The story of our featured sound system began in 1979, when Dr. Bose himself approached Delco Electronics to discuss a potential collaboration between the two companies. In a process more reminiscent of the 1920s than the 1970s, the deal was consummated with a handshake – three years and $12 million of R&D followed (and eventually a formal contract, signed in 1982).
The goal was to provide Bose speakers customized for GM’s E/K-body cars – the Cadillac Seville and Eldorado, Buick Riviera and Oldsmobile Toronado, which were the flagships of their respective divisions. With these cars, Delco and Bose could find buyers with enough income to consider a high-dollar sound system, and the cars themselves had the luxury-car ambiance that would invite those buyers to listen to good music. Plus, the cars’ relatively spacious designs offered Bose sufficient options for speaker placement (Fisher Body also participated in the development process).
Much of this sound system’s innovation revolved around the Bose speakers, and the central character of many Delco/Bose ads was a red-faced mannequin nicknamed Morgan. Ads described how Morgan had microphones for ears, and that he helped “match the system components to the individual car.” This was not a marketing gimmick – Morgan really did hold the key to the system’s development.
Morgan was positioned in various seating positions of each E- and K-body model at Delco’s Indiana research facility. Throughout the R&D process, the mannequin’s ear-microphones recorded sounds from the under-development audio equipment, and this information was then transmitted to Bose’s Massachusetts headquarters. Acoustical engineers then used this data to develop the sound system’s most innovative aspect – speakers with a novel sound radiation pattern.
Bose considered the optimal placement for front speakers to be in the lower door panels. But speaker placement accounts for only part of this system’s success. In most 1980s car stereo systems, a driver or passenger would mostly hear sound coming from the nearest speaker, meaning that any kind of genuine stereo effect was lost – and no amount of fiddling with balance controls could compensate for that. Bose’s solution was to aim most of the output from the front passenger-side speaker towards the driver (and vice-versa). This process, following a theory called sound imaging, effectively tricked the listeners’ ears into perceiving that a given sound source was located somewhere else. In this case, Bose adjusted speaker output so that both driver and passenger were treated to an acoustical “sweet spot,” and this was possible because the mannequin-head microphones directed Bose engineers to the precise placement and output to provide the effect of perfect stereo. Such “psychoacoustics” achieved a true stereo perspective that was missing from all other car-audio setups of the day.
Each of the system’s four speaker modules contained its own 25-watt two-state amplifier, a 4” helical voice coil wide-range drive unit, and a vented enclosure. Modules were surrounded by foam and fiberglass in order to minimize distortion and unwanted resonance. Interestingly for the era, there were no tweeters or woofers, and the four small-but-powerful amplifiers provided a combined 100 watts in an unconventional way (instead of the more common single trunk-mounted amp). But every unconventional aspect of this system had a purpose. The individual amps, for instance, enabled Bose to better adjust the spatial control circuitry, which was essential to the system’s success.
Source: Stereo Review, June, 1983.
This was the first audio system custom-tailored to specific cars, a process that was mind-numbingly complex, as illustrated by a story told by Joe Veranth, Bose’s vice president of engineering. As one of the engineering team’s goals was to provide a relatively flat frequency response at all seating positions, equalization had to be precisely adjusted. One would assume that the all-important acoustical “equalization curves” for the three E-body coupes would be similar, since the cars were nearly carbon copies of each other. But surprisingly, Bose engineers measured equalization curves that differed by as much as 12 dB. Veranth attributed this variance to almost imperceptible differences in the cars’ rear parcel shelves and other minor trim changes. In acoustical engineering, even minute variations in a listening environment can alter how sounds are heard, so the sound system had to be adjusted differently for all three E-body coupes.
Oldsmobile Toronado door panel with Bose speaker
A relentless exercise of moving and adjusting the speakers continued late in the development process, as one small adjustment in something like circuitry or equalization would shift the speakers’ directional characteristics. For example, GM wanted speaker grille material to match the door fabric, which necessitated another round of adjusting the equalization, which in turn affected the optimal speaker placement. Thus, it’s little wonder that it took three years to design a car stereo.
But this work paid off. Automotive and audiophile journalists were invited to preview the final results shortly before the 1983 models hit showrooms. It’s impossible to find a review of this system that’s not amazingly enthusiastic. For example, Stereo Review’s editor wrote “I didn’t know how good the sound in a car could be until I heard the Delco-GM/Bose Music System.” Prominent consumer electronics expert Leonard Feldman said “It’s as good or better than the best home systems I’ve heard.” Road & Track’s reviewer raved about the system, despite his “best efforts to dislike, distrust, and generally poke holes” in anything sold by General Motors.
The sound from one of these systems was balanced, smooth and deep – with a luxurious sound that matched that of high-quality home audio systems of the day. Simply put, this produced the richest sound imaginable from a car stereo – and that it was from a factory-installed unit was simply remarkable.
It was also very simple to use. The receivers themselves looked rather ordinary, despite the fact that this was the most complex car stereo of its day. There was no graphic equalizer (since equalization was done electronically) and no left-right balance control (due to the complex sound imaging) – no unnecessary controls to distract the driver. Just turn it on, and enjoy. And since it was factory installed, the overall appearance was well-coordinated with the cars’ interior design (the aforementioned upholstered speaker grilles looked much better than often-unsightly aftermarket speakers).
For 1983, the Delco-GM/Bose sound system was offered as an $895 option on the E/K-body cars, and later on the 1984 Corvette.
While its quality was unquestioned, no one knew whether customers would spring for an $895 factory sound system. On one hand, this appeared as somewhat of a bargain, since mid-grade sound systems from companies such as Kenwood, Marantz or Sanyo typically retailed between $300 and $600, and very high-end receivers such as the Blaupunkt Berlin 8000 cost well over $1,000… not including installation. However, $895 was still a hefty sum, and the market for high-end factory-supplied systems was untested. Given that, the E/K-body cars were a good place to start. Relatively high sticker prices (most Eldorados & Sevilles sold in the mid-$20,000 range, while Rivieras and Toronados cost less) meant that the option stayed under 5% of the total purchase price.
Source: Wall Street Journal, Aug. 29, 1983
Initial sales expectations were modest, with GM predicting between 10-15% of E/K-body buyers would choose the Delco/Bose option. However, during 1983, nearly a quarter of Seville/Eldorado buyers chose it, 20% of Toronado buyers, and 15% of Riviera buyers. When the option was extended to the ’84 Corvette, the early take rate was a startling 81%. With those numbers, the concept proved to be a success.
Success meant that GM could move ahead with greater availability. By 1985 the option was extended to GM C-body cars (i.e., Buick Electra), and from there quickly filtered down through more of the company’s vast model range. The Delco-GM/Bose system was incrementally improved with each new model, but the core concept stayed the same, and continued to receive outstanding reviews.
For General Motors, its affiliation with Bose was a much-needed success in what otherwise was a brutal decade. In fact, since that time, GM has been at or near the top of auto sound among major manufacturers. And the Bose partnership continues to this day – while the number of speakers and features have grown, the same premise of customization that created outstanding sound in Sevilles and Rivieras continues to succeed in Escalades and Enclaves.
Even more significantly, this system had a profound effect on the overall car market. Within just five years, Ford had partnered with JBL; Chrysler with Infinity; and Nissan, Acura and Audi with Bose (whose GM contract wasn’t exclusive). Among all manufacturers, sound systems quit being an afterthought, and instead became a significant selling point. By the end of the decade, the proportion of new US cars sold without radios plummeted to near zero, and the average car of 1990 had a better sound system than even most costly cars from the pre-Delco/Bose era.
The Delco-GM/Bose sound system created reverberations throughout both the auto and audio industries… it’s tough to think of an automotive component that so quickly changed consumer products. Bose’s expertise, along with General Motors’ production capabilities, created a unique partnership. This was the right product, at the right time, developed by the right companies. And the next time you think that GM was completely moribund in the 1980s, just turn up the volume and enjoy the significance of one of The General’s greatest hits.
A very excellent and enjoyable read Eric! I’ve heard “GM-Delco/Bose” referenced in literature countless times over the years, but it’s one of those things I’ve never really thought about.
I remember hearing the Delco/Bose system in an 84 Corvette and was very impressed. I had been installing high end after market sound systems for 10 years. You still could by superior aftermarket systems, but Delco/Bose forced all manufactures to up their game.
My mother’s 1977 Lincoln Town Car had a decent-sounding stereo system. I was a little surprised that it seemed to have a little more “power” than her previous cars.
The funny thing I remember about the Delco/Bose system is that it was an option on the 1985 Olds Calais and Buick Somerset. Cars which started around $8-$9K with an optional stereo system at 10% of the base price. I have to wonder how many of these rolled off the assembly line with a $900 stereo.
It was definitely odd that the Calais & Somerset got the Delco/Bose option. But I wonder if the reason is that GM once thought that those cars would replace the larger G-bodies (Cutlass Supreme, etc.)? I’m not sure when (of if, for that matter), GM dropped that idea, but I can see a scenario where the R&D work on the sound system was well under way, and might as well just continue at that point. Just a guess.
In my Consumer Guide price list, the Delco/Bose option for the ’86 Calais is listed at $875 — so like you said, I can’t fathom that setup would have found many takers.
Brilliant article, Eric! When I read the headline, I thought of a bunch of “talking points” I hoped it would cover, and you touched on all of them! Well done!
Off topic, but one funny/odd thing about Bose… I work in the professional audio industry, from live concerts to sound reinforcement for small conference rooms, and Bose has an absolutely horrible reputation in my field. There’s a saying, “No highs, no lows, must be Bose.” Not really sure how a company that’s so renowned in home/car audio screwed up their Professional line so badly.
i’ve wondered the same thing. i think that bose knows how to make a very good product for non-audiophiles. good packaging/design, easy setup, high build quality. the audio sound is good but it’s not great. my musician brother loves his bose 901s that he’s had since the 80s. they do sound very full but when you close your eyes, there is no stereo image. you can’t really create a proper stereo image in a car so it’s a good environment for their technology.
Hi, Evan. I think if you check out the current – and much broader offering from Bose Professional – you’ll find that my colleagues on that side of the business have really stepped up their game.
Sound quality is ultimately a very subjective judgement; if charts, graphs and THD measurements could better take into account how humans process sound, Dr. Bose would never have ventured into the audio business. Thankfully that’s not the case, but that’s a story for another day! Cheers!
Prior to Bose, GM cars executed a unique concept in auto stereo. One channel went to front speakers with the 2nd channel going to the rear. To enjoy the stereo effect, you had to turn your head sideways. That probably didn’t do much for traffic safety.
Other makes separated channels to the left and right. GM’s pre-stereo units delivered a rich sound via the old monaural AM radios like the Buick Sonomatic. A later GM innovation was the reverb unit that slightly delayed the sound to the rear speaker giving a bit of an echo effect. Not stereo, but an attempt to improve on monaural that was soon replaced by true stereo.
GM flubbed that transition with their front to rear stereo separation. The units didn’t sound terrible, but they didn’t come close to delivering stereo either. GM really needs something like Bose to regain their car audio leadership.
Had to chuckle at your comment.
My Dad’s 1970 Olds Ninety-Eight not only had this form of “sideways stereo,” but the rear speaker was offset to the passenger side of the package shelf. So in effect, true stereo was achieved at the midpoint of an imaginary diagonal line that extended from the middle of the base of the windshield to the passenger-side C-pillar. I guess the front seat passenger enjoyed the effect when turning his or her head to look into the rear seat!
Maybe the offset positioning of the rear speaker was done to avoid damage when the spare tire was accessed or reinstalled.
It’s easy to say how non-stereo the two-speaker GM systems sound when you haven’t listened to one. It seems wrong so it must be, huh?
The stereo separation in the ’78 Firebird I was driving yesterday is surprising and the factory unit sounds just as good as the four-speaker unit in another ’80 Firebird in the rotation.
Back in the day, a popular pastime among audio conscious young soldiers was comparing car sounds. None of us were experts, but we did a lot of parking lot listen and compare tests. The consensus was GM back to front systems delivered inferior stereo separation.
The consensus wasn’t unanimous. It never is. As evenings progressed, more beer blurred differences between competitive systems while opinions got more heated.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion. I’m glad you were satisfied with the stereo separation in the Firebird.
The history and development of car radios seem like another great topic for a CC article. They were always an expensive, high-profit option, but the flip-side of that was they were extremely reliable and had generally solid performance. Who could forget the infamous Chrysler radios of 1968-70 with metal thumbwheels that got so hot they’d burn your finger tips? Or the GM embedded windshield antennas of the same timeframe where reception would cut in and out with every sweep of the wipers if it was raining?
And, now, we have Apple Carplay and Android Auto. Just the other day I decided to give AA a try. I don’t think it is good enough to replace my in-car nav unit, but I can definitely see the appeal on lower-trim vehicles.
I’ve never heard of the front-rear left-right split. If I remember correctly, GM called their system “crossfire stereo”, which would seem to imply that left and right were switched in the rear from their placement in the front. That arrangement does give more of a stereo effect than having the same left-right arrangement for both (with which the driver often hears mostly the left channel and the passenger hears mostly the right), but some would call it unnatural.
This is a great article. Eric, as always, the amount of research you do is amazing and it’s really paid off here. I remember seeing these ads back in the day but at the time I really didn’t comprehend it all.
Also, thank you for bringing GM’s biggest success of the 1980s to light.
Tremendous article Eric! And I have the Bose setup in my 1991 Cadillac Sedan deVille, (https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/coal-capsule/coal-1991-cadillac-sedan-de-ville-i-cant-help-myself/) and even almost 30 years later those speakers sound great. Delco car radios, up until the end of the 1990’s, always had the best tuners in them for selectivity and sensitivity.
Like Evan, I work in audio (broadcasting) – and Bose has a better reputation for marketing than actual sound (“all highs, no lows, must be Bose!”)….much like Beats does today.
Thank you again – best way to enjoy my morning coffee is with Curbside
Thanks very much — and I’m glad you enjoyed the article, especially given your audio background. I remember reading about your DeVille… and I’m glad to hear the speakers still sound good. I was curious to get someone’s perspective on that… whether the system has aged well over a few decades.
With “Beats” it’s all lows and no highs. I guess it balances out.
Eric, this article is nothing short of impressive, for you not only covered the technical and sales successes of the Bose/GM venture, you also touched upon an aspect lost to many: Namely, how the Bose audio system drove improvements in OEM sound systems throughout the industry. Now if we could only get back to the simple user interface that was a hallmark of the early Delco/Bose systems.
Over the years, I’ve heard very few criticisms of Bose systems, and usually from know-it-all, contrarian audio DIYers who declared the system as “crap” for no specific reason, perhaps to justify their more powerful (quantity) aftermarket systems that produced inferior sound (quality). Oh, and I’m sure that some in the business of selling and installing aftermarket systems immediately declared Bose systems to be junk, as well.
Bose is not necessarily bad, they just tend to be overpriced considering the components and performance. This is why they don’t publish all their specs.
Bose typically sounds reasonably good. You can do better for less money, but it takes some knowledge and effort.
Thanks very much!
Regarding the criticisms of Bose’s consumer products, I read quite a few audiophile websites in researching this piece, and was struck by the sometimes virulent criticisms of Bose products. Much of it sounds an awful lot like criticisms of, say, Toyota products that one reads on car-enthusiast websites.
It seems to me that Bose and Toyota have a lot of similarities — they both make generally high-quality products that are good values, but are certainly not cheap… and those products have more capability than what the vast majority of people actually need. However, a small-but-vocal minority can’t stand the stuff because it’s a) mass-marketed, and b) not quite as polished as products that cost a lot more.
Both Evan and Tom above make comments about Bose quality from their experiences in the professional audio industry, which may be somewhat different, but as far as regular consumer products go, a lot of the comments I’ve read about Bose’s current offerings seem fit the mold of what you’ve mentioned.
As much as I crack jokes about Bose, the two vehicles I have owned with their systems (91 deVille and 2001 Mazda 626) sounded amazing. Their headphones aren’t to my liking, but to each their own. Say “MDR–7506” and you’ve said it all about broadcast headphones..
The Wave Radio however sounds as good as advertised, if expensive. I think that is where the contention comes from – the marketing and the price.
An excellent article! I remember these coming out but do not recall ever experiencing one firsthand.
I think the other thing that moved car audio to the next level in the 70s was the wide availability of FM broadcasts. AM radio was great for picking up signals from far away in the middle of the night but with FM the broadcasts increased sound quality exponentially.
The funny thing is that I had equated Delco radios with crap, at least before the Bose connection. The AM/FM/Stereo radio in my mother’s 74 LeMans was never very good sounding. My experience was that in the pre-high end days it was Chrysler whose systems seemed to sound the best. Our 80 Horizon and 77 New Yorker both had excellent systems. Mom’s 85 Crown Vic had one as bad as the 74 LeMans.
Interesting history lesson!
My dad’s 1991 Cadillac Seville had the Delco/Bose Gold system in it. I recall around 1999 he wanted to upgrade to a receiver that had CD capabilities and Best Buy turned him down. They said that OEM system was too complex and they didn’t want to touch it! For the better, I suppose – the car because increasingly unreliable and two years later was scrapped.
I was going to say that the Delco-Bose systems with their combination speaker and amp units were the start of making it hard to install aftermarket equipment.
Back in the 90’s, the Bose systems in the 1980’s cars we all had in high school got no respect. Of course, we all wanted CD players and subwoofers in the trunk, and a factory system – no matter how good, just wasn’t cool. The Bose stuff was a pain because it was basically all incompatible with anything aftermarket so you basically had to rip it all out and replace everything. Of course that was the end goal, but on a high schooler’s budget you’re going to have to do it more piecemeal. I remember you could take the speakers apart (with the integrated amps), and bypass the amp and drive the speakers with your own amp or aftermarket headunit. It wasn’t the best, but it worked until you could afford to replace the speakers.
The factory Bose system in my Infiniti sounds pretty decent. And after 20 years everything still is in good working order, which I can hardly complain about.
I wonder if Dilworth wanted her to touch the Wonder Bar.
The look in Dilworth’s eyes says he desperately wanted to.
Another very informative and well-researched article, Eric!
The Delco-Bose collaboration was perhaps the most successful example of the Detroit Three improving the content and quality of their cars while increasing pricing and profits. It was a timely move, as automotive pricing models were forcibly and dramatically changed in the mid-1980s under competitive pressure from the Japanese automakers. Faced with the “voluntary” import quotas, the Japanese increased the revenue earned from each car by adopting a fully-equipped, few options menu for most of their model lines. Nobody wanted to drive a stripper any more or pay $150-$200 for a lousy AM radio. The Delco-Bose sound systems represented a real upgrade from the standard radio and proved the market acceptance of high priced electronics. This later paved the way for the introduction of similar options like navigation systems, infotainment, etc.
Wow, that was hugely in-depth and an unexpected topic from a historically Ford guy. Great job! Like most others I’d seen ads and the label but wasn’t aware what all went into it, much like when you see Harman-Kardon, Beats, JBL, or Alpine labels in a car today, who knows if there was actually any work done or if it’s just more or less stuff off the shelf and jammed into the car while fluffing the price up. Very interesting, thanks!
Minor nit, but when you describe Delco as one of the largest manufacturers of Integrated Circuits, did you mean Printed Circuits? Even in the eighties, I would have expected Intel and other chip companies to be ahead of Delco for semiconductor IC’s, though the sheer volume of cars means a lot of PC boards (copper circuitry on phenolic or fiberglass).
Good question. I looked up the original source where I got that information from, and it was attributed to Delco Assistant General Sales Manager Al Mattaliano. The original quote from the 1982 magazine is below — from an article discussing aftermarket sound systems:
I looked up another source on this — a 1984 publication called “International Competitiveness in Electronics.” This seems to verify what Mattaliano claimed. It lists the top 10 manufacturers of integrated circuits from 1982 in a table. IBM was #1 (by far), followed by Western Electric and Delco. Hewlett-Packard was a close #4, followed by Honeywell & NCR.
Wow, that is pretty amazing, though the first source does list captive (for in-house use) volumes , as opposed to merchant (selling chips on the open market). Either way, I wonder if GM even makes or even uses custom chips for anything now, or just buys from Delphi and other component companies. Thanks for providing the reference – sorry to question it!
No problem at all. Interestingly, the list doesn’t change much regarding captive vs. non-captive production. The only firm in the top 5 that produced small amounts of captive IC was Honeywell (at 10-20%).
Enormous numbers of ICs were used in audio equipment in the 80s–the ubiquitous graphic equalizers usually had lots of ICs; cassette decks with Dolby noise reduction; receivers with ever-increasing features along with simpler-to-manufacture designs; other audio processing equipment (DBX compressor/expanders, ambience-generating equipment, click and pop reducers, etc.). CD players, when they came out, used lots of ICs.
My TourX has the optional upmarket BOSE system and honestly I wanted it initially for the upgrade to an 8in screen over the 7 in base screen.
However I have never had an upmarket stereo in a car before. Truthfully I LOVE it. I’ve adjusted the projection to be aimed at the dead center of the car even though I’m alone on my commute most of the time. I can’t even use half the power that is available on a regular basis. My only gripe is that it’s a 7 speaker system with 2 on the A pillar, 1 center channel speaker on the dash and 2 on the front door panels with 2 on the rear doors. I feel like there should be something near the back seat passengers heads. But again I’m happy.
I’m amazed when I surf the Regal forums and find the audio snobs investing thousands in ripping out the BOSE system or switching the subwoofer in the spare tire well. And usually getting poor results for their time, effort, and dollars.
The funny thing is having experienced higher end car audio, I’ll never go back. This makes me want to experience Genesis Harmon Kardon or Volvo’s Bang & Olson system.
My car has a bose panaray system with 34 speakers. I am not sure if it is really better than the 14 speaker system my previous crossover had, but the car is much quieter than the crossover on concrete pavement. I think most higher end cars these days have a decent sound system as standard equipment.
We were very pleasantly surprised by the JBL system in our Camry. My experience with JBL many years ago (a pair of L100s or something very similar in a classroom) was that JBL specialized in very forward, nails-on-a-chalkboard sound that did no favors to the classical music played for us in our classes. The system in our car turned out to be very smooth in audio quality–deep, powerful bass; smooth, accurate midrange; and extended, again smooth treble. It’s very much up to sorting out the most complex orchestrations, choral textures, operatic voices, pipe organ registrations, and bass drum thwacks, and can play very, very loud.
The JBL system in my Tacoma sounds OK, but I’d gladly trade it for the standard audio, as the subwoofer and amp take up more than half of the hidden back seat storage space. Unfortunately the JBL head unit and wiring are different so it’s not an easy job to rip out the space-hogging hardware.
With the improvements in vehicle acoustics, sound deadening, and sound systems, I wonder if this explains the blaringly loud emergency vehicle sirens and horns these days. I mean, some of them sound as if the decibel level is up to that of a freight train horn.
My ’79 Chevy Monte Carlo has a 3-speaker system, two on the rear shelf and one in the center of the dash. It never sounded very good, merely adequate. But back then any kind of decent sound was a marvel. In the early 1980s everybody was trying to do something to upgrade sound. I remember going to a junkyard looking to pull a decent pair of aftermarket speakers. I ended up with two huge 3-way Sparkomatics in the rear shelf and promptly blew the original center front speaker, but it was STILL a huge improvement! Then I picked up a used Japanese radio unit that had a cassette player, and I was really in business. Prior to that, I carried a boombox in the trunk to play tapes. Bose? Yeah, we heard of it, but it was out of our league. Kids used to break into newer cars to steal those.
Wow Eric, this was an excellent piece! I’ve always been fascinated how the factory systems have improved so much making the aftermarket stereos a moot (mute ;o) point.
In my own personal experience, and within this timeline of my own COALs, this has been so true. From the ’73 Ford LTD’s Philco? AM Only radio (wherein I installed a Pioneer system with a whopping 4 watts per channel!). This got transferred to my first new car, a ’79 Futura that came with NO radio. I think I had Jensen speakers. Wow… total blasts from the past!
FFWD (and yes, that pun was intended)… my ’97 Grand Prix GTP had whatever GM used for their last cassette stereo (the following year was CD standard in the GTP). That unit had an equalizer I could play with, but this car had the distinction of being the last car with any installed aftermarket audio. My wife at the time, a tech at a Pontiac dealer, installed a 10 disk changer in the trunk (SONY I think) and integrated it into the stereo. It sounded great… for the times….
FFWD again to the current cars:
The 2007 Mustang has the Shaker 500 system. I thought this was the best ever until…
My 2016 Civic. 10 Speakers. Apple CarPlay. USB for MP3s. CD(s)? – We don’t need no stinking CD(s)… and apparently, the car companies feel the same way. Are they even offered anymore? I can play stuff from my iPad using it as an iPod. It sounds like a concert hall in that little car. AND it was all standard with the EX-T model.
Heck, even my wife’s 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer came standard with a Rockford Fosgate system with a sub-woofer in the trunk… From the Factory that way!
Your article summed up this change in the industry that we’ve probably all observed, but really paid no mind. Are there even optional audio packages anymore? Nearly $901 (see what I did there? ;o) for the Delco Bose system (about 2,300 adjusted) seems crazy today.
$901… I like that.
True that it seem like a crazy amount to spend, but these days folks have found other things to spend their money on. Instead of car or home stereo systems, people pay gobs of money for mobile devices and their data plans, etc., all of which serve a similar purpose (entertainment) as car stereos did in the 1980s.
Also, why spend big money for stereo components when everything that gets played today comes through horrid MP3 and other formats that lose high amounts of fidelity in exchange for convenience and reasonable file sizes.
I remember being wowed by the highs and lows that came from digital sources back in the 80s. Now kids are wowed by the fidelity that comes from vinyl records being played by not-very-expensive turntables and played through not-very-expensive speakers.
Like many things technology has largely made cheap speakers and components close to as good as those of high end components of the 80s. Hardcore audiophiles will differ but just no good reason to spend that kind of money on car audio in this day and age. Audio fidelity is one of those things that is so subjective and full of myths and meaningless buzzwords like “warm” and “crunch”, and I think people just don’t notice or care anymore. The irony is even in the fidelity obsessed 80s most were using cassette decks!
And even if you did you could still put together an great aftermarket system for a fraction of the cost of those high end factory packages using name brand components. My Alpine stereo, Alpine amp, Pioneer speakers and JL components cost just shy of $400 combined. This stuff would have been way bigger bucks in the early 80s.
The Bose system was one of the only bright spots for the General in the 1980s.
Extremely enjoyable write up! With every car I’ve owned since 1981 a new audio system to replace the factory setup was a must. Geez what I could have done with almost $900. Typical upgrade with speakers was only about $250 to achieve greatly improved sound. As an engineer and considering the trunk and door environments I have to wonder why the amps were placed at each speaker and not under the dash or in a sealed box elsewhere.
I think it was because Bose tended to use 4.5″ 1 ohm drivers for which every extra inch of speaker wiring meant a little more power wasted (or a little more money wasted on heavy gauge wiring). The low impedance made some sense in the 901s, assuming they were wired in series, but the only advantage I can imagine for their car systems was a slight reduction in voice coil mass.
These systems were a home run for GM.
Really good quality hardware. Solid feeling and long lasting.
They cost a lot back then, but it cost a lot to get premium sound anyway in the 80s.
It was nice to hear something like Pink Floyd or Alan Parsons, with a lot of production in the recordings, played on a system that did them justice.
I rented an Acadia for a week last year with the Bose.
I thought it was disappointing and sounded artificial.
I would go so far as to say that similar to much consumer audio, they traded sound quality for “features”.
Just my 2 cents.
An audiophile friend with the Bose in his Terrain really likes it tho, thinks I’m crazy.
Well, in reality no sound system is going to please everyone. I prefer to listen to most systems with the bass, treble, fade, and balance all set in the middle, but I’ll get into rental cars, or fleet cars at the office, with the settings all over the place. I guess that different ears want to hear different sounds.
And then there’s the possibility that the Bose system in your rental was not working properly.
Wow, what an incredible article! Ironically enough, I’m a sound lover–have had many good stereos through the years, but also, my love of sound extends to audio production and recording/ producing records (mixing, equalization, balancing, etc) and the whole psychoacoustics thing where I’ve always sought to make things sound as good as they can on the widest variety of stereos (a very long and complicated process that’s too extensive to get into here, but I felt I’d mention it in passing).
Car audio has always fascinated me, as well, probably because it’s such a difficult environment to really have a perfect sound in. It’s one of the worst environments to listen to music in, if you’re an audiophile; you have to accept that it will be compromised. When I’m cruising on a Sunday with the music loud and the windows rolled down, I accept it for what it is: fun. Because if not, I’d be like “well there goes the 80-120 Hz on the kick drum…..literally out the window”, hahaha.
I know that some producers and artists listen to their album mixes on car stereos. Not me…..I’d be constantly second guessing it. Many stereo systems aren’t neutral at all and the low end or top end is very hyped. So then, you’re trying to back off of the frequencies that those stereo systems are pushing artificially. I usually try to listen to the stereos with no EQ with a recording that I’m really familiar with and have listened to it on a variety of systems, and then find out what their sonic tendencies are.
Long story short, this was likely sort of what the GM engineers were going through, when trying to balance the sounds. Bass frequencies get hit/ reduced the hardest when the windows are opened, so then do you as a manufacturer automatically overcompensate for that by making the bass louder?
I have some pretty high end stuff at home that I bought in the ‘70’s (Sansui receiver, Klipsch speakers, Thorens turntable) that still sounds great, but the ELS system in my Acura sounds better. This is with all windows closed, of course, but all that engineering tech laden sound, albeit artificially produced, sure sounds great.
Back in the late ‘50’s Chrysler Corp. cars offered “Highway Hi-Fi” as an option. It was a phonograph that utilized special 7 inch records and a high pressure stylus. It proved troublesome and was dropped after a few years.
I fall firmly into the “meh” catagory with the modem Bose auto applications I’ve been in. Parents own a two year old Mazda CX-5 with the Bose system. Good, but certainly no wow factor. Considering it has a dedicated subwoofer, the bass isn’t all that good, actually. This probably stems from the fact that I’ve been exposed to extremely good factory car setups. Go listen to what a Dynaudio equipped Volvo can do. That will wow you. Then listen to a Bang & Olfson one; suddenly you’ll be thinking the Dynaudio one really wasn’t that great!
Even the standard audio systems sound pretty good these days. Even the ProMaster has tweeters in the A pillars.
Great article! I think it was A & M records that back in the day had a stationary car “cabin” in the parking lot that could be used to listen to recordings through a single speaker sound system so artists, producers and engineers could hear how a recording would sound to a large percentage of the listening public. Of course, the best mix for that would not be the best for a nice stereo system.
In my first car, a 1966 VW Beetle, I replaced the Sapphire IV AM radio with an Audiovox AM/FM/Cassette unit wired to two 6 by 9 speakers mounted in a carpet covered plywood piece I built myself. Had to use a 12 volt converter since the 1966 VWs were still 6 volt. When I bought a 1983 GTi I ordered it without a sound system and spent more for the Sony XR-75B and Blaupunkt amp than the Beetle had cost. But it did sound good.
Anyone else notice that in these days of standard integrated navigation/computer/audio systems it is impossible (almost) to add aftermarket components? Our Mini/Juke/CX-3 of the last 10y confirm this, last car w/an aftermarket system was our 2005 Matrix…
The Big Three were fairly aggressive about audio upgrades between roughly 1964 and 1968 with the introduction of AM-FM, reverberators, AM-FM stereo and 8-track stereo tape. Then, they seemed to get stuck at a basic low-wattage 4 speaker stereo design that didn’t change much until GM Bose shook things up in the early ’80s, with Ford JBL and Chrysler Infinity soon following.
As mentioned by the article and several here, there was an amazing abandonment by the domestics of a lucrative market for upgrades during the 1970s. I can recall replacing the factory four-speaker AM-FM stereo in my 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Brougham with an all Alpine system; head unit with digital tuning and cassette, a serious speaker upgrade, and trunk mounted amplifier. I’m not an audiophile, but to me the difference was astounding.
I got pretty good at stereo installations, moving the Alpine equipment into several succeeding vehicles, always carefully replacing the factory equipment back into the old car before selling it.
Lately, the auto manufacturers have taken to hiding their better audio upgrades behind paywalls consisting of tech packages. Take our damn “driver aid” package or suffer the consequences. As an “upper mid-trim” car buyer, this is most frustrating.
Bose takes its knocks, and they’ve usually been sort of silly pricey, but I’ll admit I’m still enjoying my circa 2008 Bose 3-2-1 home system with its compact Accoustimass module hidden behind my corner entertainment center. I like it a lot better than all the crazy wire and speakers running everywhere “surround sound” systems that were popular then. The system has been completely reliable through 11 years of heavy use by our family.
Excellent piece. It brought me back to memories of my early attempts to get aftermarket systems for my cars. Generally I tried to go with Pioneer receiver/players, but I can’t recall the names of the speakers. As for the rear package shelf speakers, I had some that were flat and reflected off the back window, and I had others that mounted on top of the shelf and faced forward. The latter ones were stolen within a year.
I haven’t had an aftermarket system sine maybe 2000, so they have all upped their game. These days for music I mostly use the USB port with music from my own CD’s. I fear that may be the next casualty in automotive audio with the push to subscription services or satellite.
Thank You Eric for the crear article!! In 1986 we visited Epcot Center and in the World of Motion attraction (somewhere I still have the brochure), I sat in a Cadillac deVille and was astounded from the impressive sound from the stereo, which I am sure was a Delco-Bose.
I was 12 years old, and in Colombia my country at the time imports were restricted and cars were very expensive, so for me it was all the more impressive.
A friend of mine bought his uncle’s nearly brand new ’87 or ’88 Vette, can’t remmeber what year anymore, after his uncle decided he didn’t like it. It had the Delco/Bose stereo in it and it sounded great, as long as the engine was running and the windows were up. I always felt like it had something not quite right about it, but it was better than any factory set up I had heard.
It was obvious to me and his poor wife he had some hearing loss as he would crank the treble up to the point I didn’t want to ride with him. I wonder what the B&O setup in his new Bullitt sounds like? I think I can guess, as I’m sure his hearing is much worse now at 70 than it was at about 40.
I have the Harman Kardon system in my ’18 Challenger, and I can’t say I love it. Like the Bose setup in that old Corvette, something is off about it. The bass is nearly perfect, but at the volume I can stand to listen to it at, it doesn’t sound good at all. if I run it up to the point I can’t take it for long, it sounds….OK. I’m very temped to change the dash speakers out and see what happens. On my old Challenger with the Boston Acoustic system, switching the dash speakers to JL’s was magical. If my present car’s mids and high end sounded like the old one’s did, with it’s great bass and vastly less buzzy interior, I would be very happy, but the way my car sounds now, it’s the one disappointment I have in it.
That’s interesting about your Harman Kardon system. I have it in my ’18 300c and I couldn’t be happier. In my opinion, the mids and highs are natural sounding, not overly bright and perfect for my ears. I agree with you on the bass, it’s just about perfect. At 57, I’ve owned many cars and consider the HK in mine, to be the best sounding yet. I also had the Boston Acoustic system in a previous Challanger and that was a decent sounding system.
I don’t know much about Harmon Kardon car audio systems, but one thing that always makes the bass sound “a little off” to my ears is the presence of a wave guide enclosure. The delay makes the bass sound out of sync; I remember renting a Dodge Dynasty with whatever top-of-the-line system they had (Infinity?) at the time and it sounded as if the bass were coming from another car. I believe there was a serpentine wave guide in the trunk. I’ve had the same complaint with Bose wave radios, though I don’t thing it would apply to most of their car systems.
I just wanted to say that I loved the premise and execution of this great article. Needs to be given a number in the CC “Greatest Hits” canon.
Thank you very much Joseph, and others who have commented here. This was a fun (though complex) piece to research & write, so I’m very glad that folks have enjoyed reading it.
But what car is the Motorola couple driving? Love the fur coat!
Great story. I would be fascinated to hear about the organizational dynamics between a huge company like GM and a small tech company like Bose. Kinda like Ford v Ferrari I would guess.
What ever happened to AM Radio quality in cars though, it seems they cheapened the AM Tuner to add other features. Driving through New Mexico on I-40 there was a large ‘Dead zone’ of NO FM available. The AM Tuner with scan function was unusable. It would stop every 10KHz because of static. Totally useless. Fun watching the FM Scan endlessly rolling through the frequencies trying to find a signal though.
AM reception varies widely in the 3 makes I currently have. And if you are in the Boston area you really need to be able to get 740 AM.
I think a lot of AM stations have also weakened their transmissions. The one from my hometown, WOWO, was a 50,000 watt clear channel station that could be heard all over the US at night. It sold its clear channel rights years ago and now can barely be heard in the city at night when power turns down from normal (not strong) daytime broadcasts. Also I think the lack of big metal mast antennas has hurt AM reception, though I base this on anecdotal experience.
Oh yes, WOWO from Ft. Wayne. Back in the mid-sixties my little 7 transistor Zenith would pull it in to our Maryland home late at night. Stations CKLW in Canada, WLS in Chicago and WABC in NY were also favorites. It was like opening a window into another world. Of course WCAO in Baltimore was hugely popular, with something like a 65 ratings share back in the day.
Many AM tuners have awful reception these days due to a few factors
1) Increased electrical noise due to more and more electronics in the car (and more high voltage power lines)
2) Subpar antennas (the nubs or in glass antennas are awful on AM and not much better on FM)
3) Horrible frequency response – most rolloff any audio above 5 kHz since they believe most AM stations are running a talk format as a way to combat interference. The latest NRSC standard adopted by the FCC allows AM stations to go out to 10.2 kHZ (FM goes out to 15 kHz, and CDs to 22.05 kHz).
I had an AMAX AM/FM/Cassette tuner in my 1996 Cadillac DeVille, and oldies music on AM sounded AMAZING – 1340 WMID in Atlantic City and 740 CZFM in Toronto are my two benchmarks for an AM radio, and they sounded almost FM in quality.
Want good AM? Buy a 94-99 Cadillac…
Road noise has a lot to do with the enjoyment of the sound system. The type of pavement has a great effect on road noise produced by the tires.
It’s a Long Road to Quieter Pavement
https://engineering.nd.edu/news-publications/pressreleases/2016/its-a-long-road-to-quieter-pavement
A great article—perhaps the most complete one I’ve seen on the Delco-GM/Bose systems, with much useful context,
Articles like this cause me to rethink Curbside. I typically come here to see the errant Plymouth Cricket or VW Caddy article — and I love this. But there’s actual journalism at work in this article, in a period when click-bait top ten lists abound. Bravo Eric. Bravo CC.
A really great article and an enjoyable read. The Bose system really was a watershed development; GM was really the first automaker to acknowledge that “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” and GM not only joined ‘em but outdid them. However, I think it’s fair to mention that developing a superior system was not GM’s first corporate response to the loss of profit from the fashion for installing after-market systems.
GM’s first approach was to simply try and make it very difficult to install an aftermarket system, the idea being if you wanted a car stereo it was going to be from the factory…or nothin.
How did they this? By making the space allotted in the dash for the head unit vertical, so that nothing aftermarket would fit. Rather a curmudgeonly approach, but when you control 40 percent of the car market…
Here’s a picture of the dash from a Chevy Citation
I never tried it, but it seemed as if a conventional radio would fit the Citation as long as you could live with the dial numbers off by 90 degrees, not a big deal in my eyes. In any case, there were a number of earlier examples of odd-shaped radios, like the 1960s Cadillacs with both knobs to the left of the dial, and I think Ford had an odd-shaped radio in its late 1960s full-sized cars. Hard to tell with each example how much of the intention was anti-competitive and how much was pure gimmickry.
I have a 1985 Seville it has the Bose set up and factory stereo I would like to keep the Bose speakers in it and put a after market cd stereo in it do I have to do anything special to mate the system together
I heard my first ever Bose system in a 1985 Corvette, I was 25 years old then and I have been sold by the remarkable sound it delivered since then. To this day, I am a true believer on the sound Bose delivers. My home is full of Bose products from Headphones, Ear budes, Radios, Bluetooth Radios, Soundbars, Home theater TV Soundsystems, and I have my kids sold on Bose Products as well, they also have their own inventory of Bose items. Thank you for delivering the best sound out there.