I.C.E. : IN-CAR ENTERTAINMENT
THE BEGINNING, WHAT’S CURRENT AND WHAT THE FUTURE MAY HOLD

Speakers have come a long way in the range and clarity of music that they can emit. Also, speaker size has slowly progressed, going from 8 inches all the way up to 18 inches for subwoofers. Let’s not forget the different-size speakers for mid- and high-range music. This leaves almost unlimited combinations and possibilities for installing and designing a simple—or insanely complex—in-car entertainment system. Most stereo systems of earlier days were designed with aftermarket mid- and high-range speakers located in the stock quarter panel, with a rectangular or square subwoofer enclosure mounted in your trunk or the hatch of your vehicle. These were generally made out of wood. A lot has changed since those days, because we now have enclosures made from fiberglass, Plexiglas and all sorts of different molded materials. Enclosures have also evolved from simple shapes to creations that are truly works of art.

Speakers are mounted in places never thought possible, such as floorboards and even floor-to-ceiling in the rear. Some audio enthusiasts take out the backseat to stuff in more speakers. Another trend is custom speaker enclosures and kick panels. The wonders of today’s sub speaker enclosures almost boggle the mind. We see vehicles stuffed with speakers from wall to wall. Then there are those cars with a simple, clean design—a sub or two and a good set of mid- and high-range speakers, which still gets the job done.

One of the great things about the advancements in the audio visual industry is that no matter what you want done to your car, if you can imagine it and you have the cash, it can be done. This simply wasn’t the case in the past. If you go to a big show today, you would be hard pressed to find two cars with the same stereo design and setup.

It’s a wonderful accomplishment to work hard and save your money to design the stereo of your dreams for your hot car. When you get your dream system, you must also remember that it is just as important to keep your system yours. This is where you must take a good, hard look at auto security. Years ago, alarms were very basic. This was good, but as car thieves became more advanced, they secured devices capable of reading the alarm codes that were sent from the alarm control to the car. So, even though you set the alarm, they could punch the code and bypass it, then steal your vehicle. This lead to the development of code-hopping alarms, which change codes over and over so as to never emit a frequency that will get detected, due to the millions of combinations available.

As always, however, we as consumers wanted more so we could set ourselves apart from the rest of the crowd. Alarm companies now make alarms capable of doing trick things such as rolling the windows up and down, turning on the stereo and even controlling the volume. On cold nights, we can even start our cars from handheld remotes. You now have many options, even when it comes to keeping your car safe.

Remember this simple rule for in-car entertainment: As with so many other things in life, you get what you pay for. In this game, it really does hold true for every component we have discussed here. Do your research and go with a reputable company that has been in the industry for some time. There is usually a good reason that it has been around so long. Most of all, enjoy what you have worked so hard for. After all, what you are creating is an entertainment system.