When the car radio still had to satisfy safety and style ...
Do you drive different modern cars from time to time? Do you manage to operate the car radio straight away? Or do you sometimes wonder where to switch it on or off, how to change the station, etc.?
Around 50 years ago, the standard installation slot began to boom and the position in the dashboard also became more and more similar. The radio was usually mounted in the middle between the driver and front passenger, operated via two large rotary knobs - one for volume, one for station selection - and a few pushbuttons for station presets. That was it.
Anyone could operate it immediately and without taking their eyes off the road for long.
Today, almost everything in the car is standardized. The blinker is always on the left, the ignition lock is usually on the right of the steering wheel, the pedals are always the same. Even the light switch is largely fitted in the same way. Only the radio has become a consumer electronics computer and this is where the ergonomists and technicians of the car and accessory manufacturers can still let off steam ...
Blaupunkt made clear statements in 1966 as to why the radio should be standardized:
- For ease of use
- Because of internal safety
- Because of the employees' freedom of movement
- Because it fits in stylistically
Nothing has really changed in this respect, except that the approach to the subject is obviously different today ...
Here is all the advertising from back then, which is of course also available in the archive in high resolution :
P.S. Try operating a modern car radio with gloves on ...
