According to MSNBC it would appear auto industry trade publication Automotive News is reporting that a lot of auto manufacturers are pondering having in-dash CD players go the way of the 8-track players.
With content and computing power migrating to smartphones, which can now channel music, navigation and other applications to relatively simple and low-cost onboard infotainment systems, CD players are becoming increasingly irrelevant in cars, the report says.
Automakers also want to get rid of optical drives -- that is, CD or DVD players -- because they are expensive and appeal mainly to older motorists, according to the report.
Indeed, the 2013 Chevrolet Sonic RS, which debuted this week at the Detroit auto show and will go on sale in the United States this summer features an optional MyLink infotainment system that lets motorists make hands-free phone calls, listen to MP3 music and get route guidance by linking their smartphones to the vehicle's infotainment system. But no CD player, Automotive News said.
“We asked potential Sonic and Spark customers what they were looking for in infotainment,” Sara LeBlanc, MyLink's global infotainment program manager, told Automotive News. “They were very worried about cost. They said to us: ‘Get rid of the CD player. We don’t use it.’”
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