Time was that factory car stereos were generally sh!t, a couple paper cones and 15w with no Bass, aftermarket audio was far superior. Drop a grand or two in a good brand and you’d have a concert-level experience. Still can.
Carmakers have upped their game in recent years, but I’ve only found a few premium cars that compare to an aftermarket system.
When I was in high school in the 1980s, my first car was a VW Van and it was one big speaker by the time I was done. I didn't normally play it loud ... but if someone in a muscle-car pulled alongside and "challenged" me with their stereo ... well, let's just say they were waaaaaaay out of their league. LOL
I did all the VW install myself. It's easy to work in the older VWs Vans if you have a few screwdrivers and wrenches. If you can get to the original wiring harness ... it's just a matter of following the instructions for hooking the new stereo in to the existing wiring. But that VW didn't have an original stereo, so I had to pop out the "place holder" dash piece and run all the wiring. The older VW Vans had plenty of space to run wiring, though, so it wasn't too difficult.
yep added a CD player and an input for my Little thing that has 500 digital songs on it, can't remember what you call it. Also updated all four speakers for higher output and clarity of sound. Plus the player has a lot more watts.
My motoring, like that of most of my friends, goes back to when car radios and cassette-players were separate units, so if you wanted both you had to find somewhere to fit the second unit. That was easy in my Bedford CA van - the inboard bulge of the wheel-arch had a flat top, so I screwed it to that.
Around the same time, a couple I know had started to earn enough money to replace their ageing Austin Minis (the real ones, not those BMW travesties you see now!). Living in a small village with no bus services, and working some distances away in different places, they needed a reliable car each. Ali plumped for a new, but bottom-of-the-range, small Vauxhall (Viva?). The salesman offered her the Approved Options, including a radio or... no radio.
"I'd like a cassette-player please", Alison told me she asked the salesman.
"Sorry Madam, but a cassette-player's not an Approved Extra for this model," replied the man, probably thinking "she's only a slip of a girl, won't know anything about cars."
He'd not bargained for her reply. "I'd like a cassette-player please, and I know it fits in the same way as the radio!"
Amazing how quickly a cassette-player can be "approved" by a car salesman who realises he is about lose the sale of an entire car for the sake of an optional-extra!
Many times in many cars. First one was a 68 Ford Fairlane - got rid of the AM Radio and put in a AM/FM with a disc player. From Pup days in Highschool thru my time in the Corps I was always buying new "Used Cars". Most required/needed an Audio upgrade desperately. Been a long while since those days however
Zack 