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What makes it so great? I can't remember listening to AM radio in decades. Surely it would make more sense to install an aftermarket AM if you listen to it rather than force everyone else to buy one too?

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I often rent cars, and drive north of where Burning Man is. The only option for any inbound communication to my vehicle is AM radio (except sometimes there is the barker channel for satellite radio in some cars).

Emergency communication.

Why not also add a requirement to receive NOAA Weather Radio, too?

Because there isn't an infrastructure, as there is with AM radio, to have a radiation hardered transmitter and backup power in every geographic area.

Gee, if only we had some sort of other high-availability comms system we could use. Maybe divide the country up into geographic cells and put a transmitter in each one that sends out alerts to portable devices that people carry on them. You could even make the comms two-way so you could call for help if required. I wonder why no-one's ever thought of that?

Incidentally, I have never in my entire life received any kind of alert over AM radio. I have however received several on my phone, generally over incoming severe weather.

The mistake they made with these stations was to put them only on VHF around 160-170 MHz, which leaves massive gaps in coverage.

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