My daily driver is a 2014 GMC Yukon and it's equipped with the factory-installed entertainment package that includes a folding DVD screen affixed to the headliner. It has become a way of life for my six-year-old daughter, Sofia, and three-year-old son, Rocco. Whenever we take family road trips, a selection of family-friendly movies accompanies us, but I also enjoy playing older movies from my youth while driving around the city with them.
The CB radio popularity boom of the '70s forced GM to develop its own line of CB radios to give new-vehicle buyers a high quality option directly from the factory. The corporation took placed ads like this in automotive, trucking, and radio fan magazines of the era to publicize its offering.
It probably comes as no surprise that Rocco enjoys watching movies like American Graffiti and Smokey and The Bandit. We had Smokey and The Bandit playing in the Yukon recently one day as we ran errands, and Sofia accompanied us. A favorite line of Rocco's is when Sheriff Justice first encounters Bandit on the highway and calls out, "Breaker, Breaker to the Bandit" over the CB radio. He repeats it just as ol' Buford does each time.
My inquisitive daughter asked me to explain what the characters in the movie were talking to each other on. I had to stop for a moment and think of a meaningful way to define such "ancient" technology to a child who's world hasn't ever been without the regular ability to watch DVDs or make/receive hands-free cell phone calls via Bluetooth to/from mom or a grandparent the instant we need them or they need us as we drive along! I did my best to provide an reasonable explanation.
Fast forward to this past weekend. As I was in the garage changing the oil in my '76 Trans Am, my mind drifted toward how challenging it had to be for Pontiac's designers and engineers to keep the second-gen Firebird modern and on trend for the 12 model years that it remained in production. That ultimately led to such comfort and convenience features as cloth seating, cruise control, a trip odometer, and a CB radio. That then caused me to reflect on the conversation I had with Sofia just days earlier.
Pontiac released this press photo to help publicize the availability of its factory-installed CB radio packages during the late '70s. (Photo courtesy of General Motors)
In my 41 year old mind, I can understand why and how CB radios were once so popular. It's amazing to think that the consumer need was once so great that GM's Delco division developed its own CB radio packages for factory installations. Pontiac introduced its CB radio in '77 and it remained on the option list through the early '80s.
While cloth interior, cruise control, and trip odometers are as much a part of modern vehicles as infotainment systems, technology has relegated the CB radio to the aftermarket once again. Although a small-but-dedicated following of nostalgic passenger car drivers can be found on air waves at any given time, CB radio use is largely limited to commercial equipment.
I have always been perplexed by the fact that for as popular as the CB radio was in its day, and how movies like Smokey and The Bandit exemplified it, finding a vintage Pontiac with a factory-installed package, or even an aftermarket unit seems an rare occurrence today. It took my young daughter to help me realize that today's world generally relates to the usefulness of a CB radio about as much as it does that 8-track tape player mounted on the transmission tunnel!