The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Well I just never!

"1956 Chrysler Corporation's Highway Hi-Fi automobile record player. This was a $200 option on 1956 only Chrysler, Imperial, Desoto, Dodge, and Plymouth models. About 18,000 players were made and used 16 ⅔ RPM 7" diameter records made by Columbia Records. A total of 42 different records were produced and were able to be played on it." I came across this service manual on ebay and was fascinated by the original product represented rather than the actual item being sold (That's why I posted here, rather than "Alerts.")

I never knew anything like this was ever made!

Anyone have/seen one? Was there ever a spring powered one? If not, what was Edison thinking? He knew Henry Ford!

If it was good enough for Mr. Welk...


Sure I've seen these things, and I'm not even of the right age. I think the auto companies, like Ford, made their own program material for the records.

Just look at that lovely metal dashboard and its chrome bezels.

When I was a young lad I was car crazy and made the rounds of all the new car dealers to drool and pick up their advertising booklets. I remember seeing one of these on a then brand new Chrysler and thinking what a snazzy development that was. Chrysler called them Highway Hi-Fi's. The snazzy new push-button transmission selector came out on Chrysler products that year too.

And yes, they did have beautiful dashboards--albeit you were toast if you head went into all that steel with much force.

Clay

There's a shiny chrome RCA AP-1 shown on page 160 (Fig.5-34) of Phonographs With Flair. The AP-1 was reportedly standard equipment on certain 1959-61 Plymouths, and played a stack of 45s upside down!

George P.

Beatle George Harrison loading 45's, early 1960's. So they had them in British cars as well, or his could have been custom install. John Lennon had one in his famous "psychedelic" painted Rolls Royce.

And dear old granny. Not MY granny, but anybody's perhaps.

FloridaClay wrote:And yes, they did have beautiful dashboards--albeit you were toast if you head went into all that steel with much force.

This is off-topic but relevant to that particular comment. We tend to think of cars of the 50s and 60s as being more solidly built than cars today. It's true that most had heavier gauge steel but they weren't very solid:

Crash test of 1959 Chevy Bel Air vs. 2009 Chevy Malibu.

That sure gives me pause when I'm driving my Model A or 1954 VW.

Gives me pause thinking about drivers speeding down the road in those death traps while cueing up little records with their right hand. And we think driving and texting is bad.

Highway Hi-Fi was an underdash Chrysler optional factory accessory unit and played proprietary media, little 7-inch records spinning super slowly (16-⅔ rpm) to extend playing time. It was offered only 1956 - 1959. The RCA and other-branded units that replaced it played standard 45s. None of them were very good, skipping a lot, and 4-track and then 8-track tapes doomed them all.

The "Highway Hi-Fi" name/logo is super cool, and I would love to put one in my '60 Chrysler New Yorker wagon, but it wasn't correct for that model year. Sigh.