Dear mid-60s Buick audiophiles,
While trying in vain to answer a question about speakers on this forum I stumbled across a serious change in a company that used to upgrade existing classic car radios with modern features. Antique Automotive Radio has changed from upgrading existing radios to creating their own line of very realistic looking stereos in housings used by the auto makers of the times:
http://www.antiqueautomobileradio.com/Given how tough the economy is these days, these folks must be doing something right. One of the retailers I was familiar with has also started to carry their stereos:
http://www.classiccarstereos.com/Thus far, they aren't making any products for Buicks, but they are expanding rapidly and have made products for every other GM line besides Buick and Cadillac. So a Buick product may not be far away.
Judging from the photos these guys are much more serious about creating an exact replica of a radio that would have been installed in a car at the factory, but with modern features. As with their radio conversions, they are pushing Bluetooth technology which makes a lot of sense in a classic car. Most of us have to carry a smart phone for other reasons, why not use that same device to supply the music wirelessly? What is a convenience in a modern car, is a great way to have modern features without leaving anything that looks out of place on a classic.
At the moment it is an outfit simply to keep an eye on. Perhaps that will change someday. It might be possible to even influence their next model. At the bottom of their website they write:
We are always interested in buying cores with good cosmetics.
Does anyone have a 1965 Buick A-Body radio that is dead, but still looks good on the outside?
Food for thought! . . . Edouard
