Chrysler Highway Hi-Fi

Region

United States

Associated With

Chrysler Corporation - manufacturer

Defining Feature

Under-dash phonograph using proprietary 16⅔-rpm seven-inch records

Status

Discontinued - original format reported through the 1957 model year

Overview

Chrysler Highway Hi-Fi put a record player beneath the dashboard of selected 1956 cars in the United States.

Developed through a CBS Laboratories–Chrysler programme, it played special seven-inch 16⅔-rpm discs through the car radio’s amplifier and speaker. The compact records were pressed for the system by Columbia Records.

Chrysler announced the accessory in September 1955 for its 1956 range. Chrysler 300 Club research reports that the original option ended with the 1957 model year. A later RCA Victor player used standard 45-rpm records and was a separate system.

Why It Mattered

Highway Hi-Fi offered motorists a choice of recorded programmes beyond what a radio station happened to broadcast. Chrysler advertised up to 45 minutes of music or an hour of speech per side, but that extended listening depended on a dedicated record format. Taking a collection on the road meant buying into a particular combination of car accessory and specially pressed discs.

Installed Beneath the Dashboard

• Chrysler’s press release dated 12 September 1955 announced Highway Hi-Fi for its 1956 cars.
• The option was offered for 1956 Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler and Imperial models.
• Its turntable sat below the instrument panel and played through the car radio’s amplifier and speaker system.

Records Made for the System

• The original player used specially pressed seven-inch Chrysler records at 16⅔ rpm, rather than ordinary consumer 45s.
• Period descriptions gave up to forty-five minutes of music per side; Chrysler advertising also claimed up to one hour for speech material.
• Goldmark’s December 1955 engineering account described a counterbalanced pickup arm and rubber shockmount system; these are the developer’s descriptions, not independent road-test findings.

A Distinct Later Player

• The National Park Service reproduces page 7 of a 1960 Plymouth accessories booklet showing an RCA Victor “45” phonograph; that later player was separate from the proprietary Highway Hi-Fi format.
• A Chrysler 300 Club correction reports that the original 16⅔-rpm option continued through the 1957 model year.
• A circa-1957 Columbia Hall of Fame Highway Hi-Fi disc survives as a catalogued seven-inch Chrysler Corporation and Columbia Records object.

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