Collector Car/Cars We Remember; Music to our ears, beginning in 1956

By Greg Zyla —

Q: Hey Greg, I just found out who had the very first record players in automobiles from the Chevy SSR site. I think you would be interested. It was a Chrysler. Dave M., Sayre, Pa.

A: Dave, thanks for this info as I do remember long, long ago that a resident in my hometown of Ranshaw, Pa., had a DeSoto that had a record player in it! Being that I was only seven years old, I was so impressed. He used to stop at my grandfather’s store, and I would help put groceries in the back seat. The owner played the music for me, and I couldn’t believe it.

I did some further research and found that Dr. Peter Goldmark of CBS Laboratories developed the operation. Goldmark was also the inventor of the LP record.

Chrysler offered the record player as a factory-installed option in all 1956 Chrysler vehicles. Unlike the regular records millions played in their houses, the Chrysler auto record player played special 7-inch records at 16 2/3 RPM, allowing up to 45 minutes of music per side. The records used ultra-microgroove technology to reduce skipping while driving.

The records were pumped through the car’s existing radio amplifier and speakers and was the first serious attempt that allowed drivers choices when it came to their favorite music and appeared long before 8-track tapes, cassette tapes, CDs, or streaming.

Unfortunately, skipping was still prevalent on bumpy roads, so the option only lasted a few years. Other companies like RCA Victor and Norelco later tried similar systems, but Chrysler was the pioneer. Offered until 1959 on all five Chrysler offerings (Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler, Imperial). CBS-Columbia built the initial unit.

Perhaps the main reason for the record player’s demise was thanks to Earl “Madman” Muntz, whom I’ve written about in the past. Muntz developed the very first 4-track tape system in 1962, called the Muntz 4-Track. Muntz was famous for his Muntz Jet automobile, which he sold in the early 1950s.

I had the pleasure of meeting Madman Muntz at a drag race when I was pal-ing around with my good friend, the late Woody Hatten, who worked for Super Stock and Drag Illustrated magazine in the early ’80s at Englishtown, New Jersey.

By that time, the guy who owned Lear Jets, namely John Lear, invented the 8-track tape, which was initially offered by Motorola as a self-installed add-on, similar to Muntz. However, Lear signed with RCA and Ford, and the next thing you know, Ford was the first to offer the 8-track player in 1965 in Mustang, Thunderbird, and Lincoln models. The rest is history.

I still have several boxes of 8-track tapes and had a Motorola installed at a little electric store in 1968 while living in Vineland, NJ., in my ’67 GTX.

Talk about “coolsville.” There was nothing like it.

In summary, by 1970, all the major automakers offered 8-track tape options, but like everything else, when the cassette tapes arrived, they were not only cheaper than 8-tracks, they were compact. Ford again was the first to offer a cassette player from 1970 to 1971, followed by the other manufacturers by 1975 as factory or dealer-installed options.

The cassettes lasted until the 1990s in popularity, but in 1986, a Lincoln Town Car offered the first factory CD player. CDs then took over the market, and for over 30 years, CDs were pretty much standard equipment in most cars. Just two years ago, in 2024, Subaru, Honda/Acura and new Nissan/Infiniti vehicles still offered them, much to the pleasant surprise of the baby boomers who by then had 100s of CDs.

Today it’s MP3 streaming, and who knows what’s coming tomorrow.

I still love my 6-player CD in my 2008 GMC Envoy, with the DVD option, too, for backseat passengers who want to watch a movie.

My Impala Memories

Q: Greg, I have not seen many or any Impalas around. I don’t know how many were built.

In 1964 the Big 3 and Big 4 (AMC) started putting big blocks and small blocks into intermediate-sized cars, and the Pony Car era was born.

My uncle had a 1961 Chevy, not a SS but a good-looking car. Not a Biscayne or a Del Ray? Maybe a Bel Air. Either way, a good-looking automobile finished in beige.

I don’t recall if it had the Chevrolet signature three tail lights or two. — John Hannon, Connecticut.

A: John, since my dad purchased a brand new 1961 Belair, seafoam green, straight six stove bolt, I can tell you the Belair had some chrome trim along the side and two tail lights. The Biscayne had no chrome at all and two rear tail lights, but the Biscayne’s rear gear taillight was integrated into the taillight closest to the center of the trunk. If you had an Impala, regardless of the model, it had three taillights. As for the Delray, it was not offered in 1961. The Biscayne replaced the Delray as the entry-level Chevy in 1960.

(Greg Zyla is a syndicated auto columnist who welcomes reader input on collector cars and auto nostalgia at extramile_2000@yahoo.com) or snail mail at Greg Zyla, Roosevelt St., Sayre, Pa. 18840.)