The Tape Deck is Officially Dead, Don't Ask for It Back

Well, once storage space is abundant (read: cheap) enough for me to rip all of my CDs at FULL quality (i.e. 750MB per disc), or for downloadable music to be of this quality, then I would tolerate not having a CD player in the car, but until then, I want one!

I say in a few years wireless/bluetooth media storage will be the next big thing and even memory sticks will be considered a cumbersome nuisance.

cincygt, I guess you have never heard of lossless compression. There is no reason to have audio in your car.

CD players are already on their way out. I see them being optional in newer models.

In the article I assume it should be "even as an option" rather than "event as an option"

Which car was the last to offer a tape deck, either as standard or optional equipment?

I am guessing model year 2018 (7 years) will see no CD players. By then streaming music players and hard drive storage in cars will be common place.

CD slot is already hidden behind the Nav screen in my car and inaccessible while in motion. So, if the music you want isn't one of the 6 in there, too bad.

Doesn't really matter though. I stream Pandora through my BB most of the time anyways.

Well, "lossless" compression is not the same as un-compressed. Also, there are those of us who still happen to grab a compact disc on the road and care to actually listen to is before ripping it via their PC to either their smartphone or ipod... Anyway, to each their own, right?

@lostboyz

Now tell me what car can play lossless files? Car's with hard-drives are great, I think Cadillac was a shining light when they started incorporating 40, and now 60gb hard-drives in their cars. But they only play two music files mp3 and acc. Neither is of any decent quality.

With storage at ridiculously low prices these days (terabyte hard drives are <$100) There's no reason not to include one in a luxury car. That problem is taken care of, now open up the usable file formats. I would LOVE to have the ability to play FLAC files or OGG files through the car's system. When a CD is 1440kbps and the standard mp3 is 192kbps you notice a difference. I have the option of either, and I will always play a CD in the car because the quality is so easily heard.

I am almost inclined to write to GM and ask why. WHY CAN'T YOU WRITE A COUPLE MORE LINES OF CODE SO I CAN PLAY MY FLAC FILES!!!!???

There are a lot of folks who cling to CDs because of the higher quality or because they simply aren't technologically able.

I think within five years we will see cars with no standard CD player - but I think that the option will remain for some time.

My car has a 5 or 6 in dash cd changer - it's never had a cd inside of it.

I think my Mazda3 has a CD player. Shrug. I haven't owned a CD since 2004.

It's a crying shame that folks have no idea how crappy how crappy compressed, especially anything 192K or below, music sounds.

The CD at 1440kbps comment above should open some eyes as to what you are missing.

Don't even get me started on that streaming music squeeze folks listen to.

@gergnv: Lexus GS was the last car to offer a tape deck according to the NY Times article.

I still buy CDs as I prefer to have a high quality back-up of all my music, but rip everything to my computer. I also make CD mixes and leave them in the car for when I'm too lazy to hook up the MP3 player.

I'd jump for joy if I ever had a car that could play FLAC files! I don't use itunes, but maybe some support apple's lossless codec?

Re: the last car that offered a tape deck, I believe the GS Lexus would be a candidate (and if they're being produced for MY11, I'd be surprised if the deck has been removed)

Well, I hope they still have CD players until I am too old to buy a new car. That might be 10 or 15 years down the line, if I live that long.

People haven't been buying cassette tapes for at least 15 years, maybe 20. CD sales have been declining but aren't gone. The last CD player as an option in any vehicle: two decades away. CDs, even mp3 CDs, are here for the relative long term.

@ptcdawg - some of us realize there's a difference and do not see the inconvenience/cost/value as worthwhile. Like a leather bound book it may have qualities a kindle will never have but in the end it's heavy, large, expensive and not easy to transport in quantity.

Lexus really offered a tape deck until last year?

My guess for last car with a tape deck was going to be the Mercury Grand Marquis.

Funny thing is, I just bought a Marantz turntable. It's almost entirely made of white lucite and it's absolutely stunning. I've never had a record player, and I'm really loving learning about it. It makes you interact with your music entirely differently than with compressed music files. Three songs, flip the record over. Clean the record, put the needle on the record.... it's pretty cool actually. And there's something about the interaction and the sound that I really like. I've had tape players before, and I don't like them at all. But they were much more portable than vinyl, that's for sure!

My car, an S4, doesn't have a dedicated CD player. It has a DVD drive for the nav system. It'll play CDs also, but I've never used it for that. The sound comes from one of three sources. Sirius/XM, my iPod in the glove box, or an SD card. I haven't bought a CD in at least ten years, or burnt one in at least seven.

Physical media is going to completely go away, except for vinyl. I think that there will always be enthusiasts who enjoy listening to music that way.

waltersobchak: You guessed right. In fact, there was a 2011 Grand Marquis with a tape deck! Of course, they stopped making them in the year 2010, so calendar-year-wise, it's still officially dead. Fun fact, the Grand Marquis still had a "smokers package" with ashtray and lighter.. now that's heritage!

Even though CDs in cars may become a relic (as well as MP3 CDs.. you can fit, what, 100-150 songs on one? whee), there is still a use for those five inch slots. First, many nav systems use DVDs for data (gradually being replaced by hard drives with USB/mem stick for updates). Second, what about DVD Audio and SACD? Both offer 5.1 surround sound, and there aren't nearly enough true 5.1 car stereos out there.. most just fake it with Dolby Prologic. Too bad the music library is so small.. consumers seem content with 2-channel lossy-CD quality.

lol @ you guys waxing eloquent about these....flac and ogg file formats....
there are people really use (or even care about) those?

anything over 92k bitrate mp3 works for me!

320 bits mp3 via iTunes - good enough for any good car system. Mp3 discs will extend CD players' life in cars, but only for a few extra years.

Even though I love my ipod, I still don't think that CD players are gonna disappear for a while. Personally, I still enjoy buying CDs instead of buying it on the internet, and its still nice to have a couple CDs bumming around in the car in case i forget my ipod nano on my way out the door.

i haven't adopted an ipod yet, i don't even know how to use one. CD players work just fine for me.

"It's a crying shame that folks have no idea how crappy how crappy compressed, especially anything 192K or below, music sounds. "

On my home stereo I can really tell, in my car not so much. Convenience carries more weight there.

Of course if I had a better car stereo then that might change.

It sounds like I am the only human who's likes having a copy of his music permanently sitting in each car so as not to have to bother with bringing a portable player along all the time ... I have too much stuff on my Droid to waste memory on music ...