Walking around this year’s Buffalo Auto Show got me thinking how things have changed over the years. Particularly the sound systems available in some of the new cars. Memories took me back to one of my first auto shows, which my dad took me to, held at the Masten Avenue Armory, where I think I sat in every car and took home one of every brochure offered—as any car-crazy 12-year-old would.

Some of those old brochures still reside down in my basement, and when I got home from this year’s show I went down and looked at a few. This was, of course, before cars had “sound systems.” They were radios fer cripe’s sake, and it didn’t take much to describe them in the brochure. (Some of you may be surprised to learn that back then most cars didn’t even come equipped with any kind of a radio as standard equipment. And a blank plate over the radio’s spot on the dashboard announced to the world just how cheap you were!)

The French decided to get right to the point in describing the optional sound system for their 1968 Renault 10. Under the options list was this one-word description: “radio.” Hey, you want it or not? The 1963 Checker brochure was just a bit more wordy in its description: “radio with antenna.” Now we’re talkin’! Not every copywriter was so stingy with their words. This one’s from the Buyer’s Digest of New Car Facts for 1965 (which was nothing more than a fancy name for Ford’s complete line brochure), in describing the Mustang’s options: “Pushbutton AM radio. Is completely transistorized and has printed circuit for longer life. Five pushbuttons may be preset to desired stations, and easily reset thereafter whenever you wish. $58.50.”

Wow! Where do I sign?

Things got more complicated by 1978, when Buick printed its brochure describing audio choices for their new Century: “There’s also quite an array of clocks and quality Delco radios. Availabilities include a dial clock; an AM-FM stereo radio with a digital readout for time, month, date, and elapsed driving time; a combination AM-FM stereo radio and cassette tape player; even an AM-FM stereo radio with a 40-channel CB. It comes with an automatic Triband power antenna.” Decisions, decisions.

Contrast that with this, from the official press release for the new 2009 Jaguar XF sedan: “The XF offers two levels of audio system, again all controlled through the touch-screen. The Jaguar 320-watt Premium Sound System has a DSP amplifier linked to nine speakers: eight premium door-mounted and (through clever packaging of the trunk area) a sub-woofer for enhanced bass. The Bowers & Wilkins 440-watt Surround Sound System has a remote amplifier with Dolby® Pro Logic® II 7.1 Surround Sound and 14 speakers.”

This goes on for two more paragraphs, so one gets the impression that this is quite a system. Funny, though, nowhere do they mention either pushbuttons or an antenna.

The 2008 Range Rover is also not too shy to drop brand names: “A 710-watt, 14-speaker Harman/Kardon® LOGIC 7® surround sound with a six-disc CD auto-changer is a premium system for a premium vehicle. Complete with steering wheel-mounted controls, a SIRIUS® Satellite Radio tuner and an auxiliary audio jack plug for a personal MP3 player, the Range Rover offers one of the most complete automotive sound systems out on the market today.”

I can’t help but wonder if any of these “premium audio systems” can match the fun quality of the under-dash eight-track tape player I installed in my 1967 Plymouth Barracuda when I was a mere 19-year-old way back when. It was certainly cheaper and less complicated—the perfect complement to my push-button AM radio (with antenna!).