The cassette player, uh, played an important role in the evolution of car cabins.
In 1955, Chrysler revolutionised the concept of in-car entertainment by installing a phonograph player in one of its automobile models. An eight-track player followed, and it gained a greater following. But it was the radio/cassette player that really changed the way we motorists amuse ourselves on the road.
The player’s popularity sparked a need to have some sort of mounting standard in cars. It became known as the DIN size for the dashboard, even though it wasn’t specifically meant for radio/cassette players, but for communication equipment instead.
It was the “precision” Germans who came up with the exact measurements for the car radio/cassette player. DIN refers to Germany’s Institute of Standards, which is responsible for, uh, standardising standards. They have a DIN standard for nearly everything, whether it’s the size of sockets or the length of one’s sideburns (hmmm, probably not).
Until the DIN standard came along, radio/cassette player manufacturers made sets in any size they wanted, fitting only selected car models.
The DIN standard only established the length and width of the recess’ front end, making it possible to create a “universal fit” player that’s either single-DIN size or double-DIN. To this day, these DIN conventions still rule, and we have the radio/cassette player to thank for it.
We bet you “DIN” know that.
