Automobile Revolutions
Mike Leitao ~ 10/02/2025
Cars are truly a modern wonder. If you ever step back to really think about how incredible all the technology and engineering that goes into something most people use on a daily basis, and is one of the most important things in their lives. We have developed cars so much too, with them having backup cameras, built in GPS, self parking or driving, the list goes on and on. Yet, we sit here, in 2025 still having cars with radio. I get that some people like the radio, they like tuning into the random sports radio station to hear the same guys talk about nothing all day every day or for some reason, feel a deep connection with a random radio station for no apparent reason. But lets all be real here, radio’s have outstayed their welcome and that happened a long time ago. No normal person is using the radio nowadays, whether it's Spotify or Apple Music or some other music streaming service, basically everyone who drives a car has an app on their phone they rely on for music. And honestly, it makes sense. I decided to listen to the radio this morning on my way into work, solely to see if it was really as dumb and pointless as I thought. I will admit, I thought wrong. It was worse than I had originally thought. I spent around half my drive listening to random ads about the most random shit. Then I would hear one song to then be instantly cut off by the radio host doing random nonsense for around the same time one song took. On my 25 minute commute, I heard maybe 3 songs in total. That is around 9 minutes of songs, or around 36% of my drive with actual music. If I would have just plugged in Spotify, it would have been 100% since I have premium, but even if I didn’t, it still would have been roughly 90% of my drive with music which is wildly better than the radio. Add in the fact that with most music streaming apps I have the ability to pick my songs compared to the radio where I am at the mercy of the station, and more often than not it is the same 10 songs on repeat for months on end. It is clear radio is no longer needed, but never one to present a problem without a solution, I have thought of a list of potential replacements for the radio that would make cars much better.
1. TVs:
Let us get the obvious one out of the way, with the way modern cars already have huge screens that put some TVs to shame, we might as well go all the way and have them act as full blown TVs at this point. I can already hear the comments, “oh it would cause more distracted driving which would lead to more accidents which would lead to more deaths”. That’s crazy, I don’t remember saying anything about making cars safer. Yes, this would undoubtedly make cars much more dangerous and cause car accidents to skyrocket. But this is not really for the average driver, this is for those drivers in New York and Los Angeles who spend their hour and a half commute almost fully in stopped traffic. Imagine how nice it would be to be able to catch up on shows while you are sitting in traffic? It would make all that time spent in traffic fly by so quick and it would make long commutes due to traffic much more enjoyable. If you are really worried about more accidents, then the simple solution is just to make it so the TV only works at a stop or at super low speeds. That way, it works for the traffic jams, but no one is going 90 down the turnpike while watching Rick and Morty.
2. Oven/Stove
The average car engine gets to around 220 degrees. Obviously, that is not enough to be a reliable source of cooking, but why not figure out a way to make up the other 100 to 200 degrees some other way and then bam you can have a fully functional oven or stove in your car. Just open the windows and start cooking up some steak. This would heavily improve efficiency, being able to cook and drive at the same time would help people have more free time in their lives, as they could start dinner on their commute home from work so that by the time they walked in the front door they have dinner ready to be served. Running late in the morning? Good thing you can make breakfast on your way into the office. Hell, let’s add a coffee machine in here too so people can get their mornings off to a strong start in the car so by the time work actually starts they are ready to go. The short term options are good, but the roadtrip applications are top tier. Being able to cook your meals while you drive on a road trip means less stops which means getting to your destination much quicker. This also opens up road trip snacks to a whole another level which will lead to more exciting road trips. If this was a thing, I could totally see rich people paying for private driving chiefs so they were able to get 5 star quality meals while traveling among destinations, so this would be nice for all people, and would result in a new driving market of car chiefs. Even having this available for new food delivery services would cause an economic spike that could only lead to good things. To be honest, this may be my best idea yet.
3. Fridge
Let us stick with food here. A fridge may be more difficult to maintain due to needing to be cooled the entire time, but that only implies that you are going to keep things in it overnight or while the car is off. If you just plan to use the fridge while driving, then you really just need the capability to cool quickly. This is once again at its best for long drives or road trips, being able to keep drinks cold would eliminate the need for bringing coolers and icepacks which are honestly pretty inefficient and take up space. The fridge would most likely be the most helpful of these suggestions, as it would be the easiest to use and having the ability to keep items cold is more helpful than being able to watch TV at stops or cooking food. As a constant Red Bull drinker, having the ability to have a cold Red Bull on standby for long drives just makes me a happier man. Similarly to the oven/stove, this would also come with potential for business ideas. Being able to confidently buy and deliver drinks that would actually be cold, and not just watered down lukewarm drinks that are not enjoyable would once again only lead to good things.
Fuck the radio, all it provides is a waste of space and nothing else. Replacing it with something of value would provide many drivers with much more enjoyment while driving. If you asked any human who drives if they would rather have a radio they don’t use, or a TV they could watch during traffic, or an oven to whip up a quick meal, or a fridge to keep beverages cold, all of them would pick an item that is not the radio. You might ask yourself, what is the engineering behind it? I don’t know, I’m not an engineer, I’m just a guy who makes up wild ideas on the internet and expects someone else to do the real work.
