Old Guy checking in: no, they weren’t. They were saving themselves fifty bucks by checking the “No radio: -50.00” box on the form.
I’m responding to “Seems like it's the new norm, like how radio became the norm in cars after some time. I bet people were complaining about that in the same way you are now.”
In 1975, there was no danger your radio would become obsolete or outdated at anywhere near the speed that an awful touchscreen tablet built into your car in 2020 will. So, I’m not referring to buying a car now with an AM/FM radio. I’m not sure what one would use that for other than as an AUX input.
Many of the devices in cars currently have bugs, poor interface, slow performance, and are generally inferior to modern phones. So, continuing to perform as they do now is not a relief.
It’s like having a phone from 2014 built into ... uh, your car. I’ve upgraded my real phones and tablets 3-4 times since then, despite that the old ones still functioned same as they did when new.
One example is that it’s difficult to pair iPhones with some cars from a few years ago. What happens when software updates make me unable to connect to the Bluetooth in my car? I doubt that Ford or GM is going to release a timely update.
You might ask: why do people upgrade computing devices that still function?
They're starting to put cars on the same obsolescence train as consumer electronics. This is on a device that costs a helluva lot more. I suppose that EVs have the same issue.
The parts situation is going to be interesting. Lacking standardized design and only a limited number of years of guaranteed (and high cost) replacements, it should be interesting in a decade. Cars a tough environment and I'm afraid that wrecking yards will see a lot of usage in terms of both cars become obsolete/unfixable and as sources of spare parts.
It's interesting that the original sin of pushing towards this situation is the mandatory backup camera. Once the screen and a tolerably fast embedded system get installed, cost reduction leads you to a monolithic place for car controls. The modern fascination with cell phones probably helps the population go along.
I would think the best solution for this is to have swappable, upgradable tablets. Maybe basic operations built in, and a dock for a tablet that you could change whenever.
For any of this to function well, the manufacturers either have to work closely with competent consumer software companies, or become one themselves. It reminds me of the situation where cell phone carriers are expected to update the ROM on your old android phone, and often don’t do so regularly, because they’re not competent software or hardware companies.