[alfa] concours-correct '70s vintage radios, etc

["John Hertzman" <johnhertzman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

After I suggested, with no hard evidence, that "The two most prominent radio brand-names at the time were Blaupunkt, for market mainstream quality, and Becker, for no-hold-barred top quality", Biba wrote "I'd say vice versa", citing as evidence a Blaupunkt ad in his files and the absence of any Becker brochure there. Squishy evidence, I'd think, but restorer's scholarly choice; YMMV.
 
My opinion was based on little more than the claims and frequencies of remembered ads in Road & Track, equally weak anecdotal evidence. I'm not a car-audio guy, a restorer, or a concours contestant, let alone a vintage-car purist. Before my new Becker in my new Giulia Super in '67 I had had just one car radio, an original tube-type static source in a '36 Ford, but Biba and curiosity prompted some low-level rooting around.
 
The audio cassette, which gave great impetus to both stereo and car audio, was developed by Philips for stenography purposes in 1963, and entered production in Germany in 1965; in 1969 Becker introduced an integrated single-unit cassette-stereo radio, and added the convenience of auto reverse in 1975.
 
Blaupunkt's corporate history stretches back to 1923, but not necessarily in radios; it is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Robert Bosch, started as a manufacturer of headphones. The Bosch-subsidiary origin and status suggests, to me, generally respectable but not necessarily superb market quality. I own and like Bosch tools, but like others better. 
 
Becker is a younger company, started in 1948 as a car-radio manufacturer and adopted a year later by Daimler-Benz as the supplier for factory-installed radios in Mercedes cars. Daimler also approved units by Blaupunkt, Telefunken, and Philips for dealer installation, but the factory-installation imprimatur probably accounted for Becker's reputation among those who held high opinions of Mercedes. Whether of greater, equal, or lesser quality the Blaupunkts were more likely to be found in Opels, Volkswagens, and other less pretentious makes.
 
Possibilities for further digging start with the Blaupunkt website (www.blaupunkt.com), the Becker site (www.beckerautosund.com), and a Mercedes Owners Club site, www.mbzponton.org/valueadded/other/radio.htm. The mbz site has interesting illustrations, and lists eleven Becker, three Blaupunkt, and one Telefunken models frequently found in MB cars of the period.
 
All this leaves unanswered the question which to use in a vintage Alfa? In the US market, the advertising in Road & Track probably carried considerable weight; the choices were probably influenced by an Alfa owner's attitudes about connoisseurship and value. Once the car slid down the depreciation curve 'good enough' would probably have been good enough. I would draw some analogy with paint jobs, but as always YMMV. 
 
I've left out the radios of the late seventies and eighties. Milanos had factory radios (Clarions?) as did 164s (Fujitsu? whatever) but for several years ARI offered various Alfa-badged radios from unidentified sources, but I doubt that any of them were very highly regarded. They would probably do to fill holes in dashboards.
 
Enjoy yours, 
 
John H.
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