[mtanenbaum]

OK, so I am not a Millennial, but most Millennials can afford an EV Bolt! No one asked me if CD players aren't needed in new higher end cars! At least make it an option! I subscribe to continuing education lecture CD's. Now I can't play them in my new Bolt, like I can in my Volt. Wazzup with that. My Educational CD vendor doesn't offer the lecture series on a Flash drive, which I assume would play in the Bolt USB slots, so that's not an option. I have to figure out how to use my Galaxy S7 cell to play from the internet. This just doesn't seem right to me. Why give up tried and true CD technology. After all it's not an 8 track tape! What about my Cracker Barrel CD audiobooks when I travel. Oh, Cruel World! Please bring CD players back in 2018 and after!

 

[DaV8or]

Get one of these.

It's a portable DVD/CD player that has a AUX out you can plug into the Bolt's infotainment system. It can also be powered by a car adaptor.

$59 at Amazon

 

[DaV8or]

The other option is to rip your CDs at home on your computer into MP3 files and then put them on a thumb drive.

 

[shotel]

...or copy the CD's from your PC to your cell phone, and listen in the car via Bluetooth or with a headset.

 

[redpoint5]

Wait, you get the stuff on CD when they offer online content you can play on an Android?

I can't be bothered to mess with physical media anymore. By the time I could afford CDs, MP3s were already a thing, so I've never owned CDs.

It takes about 2 minutes to rip a CD. I'd make an MP3 copy and huck the CD in the trash.

Good to hear the Bolt has eliminated the useless CD player. Perhaps it should be an option, but it shouldn't be the default option.

I guess now is the time to inform you the car also lacks a spare tire, jack, and lug wrench. Best to pick up a plug kit, pliers, and 12v inflator.

 

[mtanenbaum]

Great work-around suggestion especially since my CD education vendor says that the CD files can't be burned to a Flash Drive. I will try anyway.

 

[EldRick]

Your "CD education vendor" is either lying or ignorant. There are dozens of free and fee programs for Mac or PC that will allow you to copy the tracks to a computer or flash drive for personal use. Making such backups for yourself is even legal.

 

[Dimitrij]

I guess now is the time to inform you the car also lacks a spare tire, jack, and lug wrench. Best to pick up a plug kit, pliers, and 12v inflator.

I wonder if GM is going to surprise us with a retro edition of Bolte - complete with a crank handle, carbide lanterns and a donkey range extender.

On a serious note, like Dr. Tanenbaum, I often feel unworthy of my ancestors if I don't stuff my head with some kind of random knowledge while driving, hence the last millennia devices below:

 

[nautilus]

Yeah, no 8-track player either, it's a travesty!

 

[GJETSON]

My wife listened to books on CD, from the library, in her Corolla. She was pretty unhappy at not having that option in the Bolt. I plugged her Sony portable CD player from the headphone jack to the audio input jack in the console. It worked fine, but she didn't like having to fool with the buttons on the Sony while driving. She ended up getting a cheap MP3 player, which works through the USB, and displays on the infotainment screen. And she can download the books from the library without leaving home.

 

[borkbork]

no reason to have a cd player when i can get a 32GB thumb drive that only extends out of the port by about 1/4". how many CDs would it take for that many songs? i just wish the ports in the back worked for data, so i could keep the front ones open.

 

[-1-]

SiriusXM is all I need.

 

[BoltR]

I think this is more due to the market dictating use of ssd's versus use of optical drives.
I would recommend ripping your albums on cd and converting to MP3 as suggested as I have done so with my existing cd collection.
As for use of dvd, a kindle 16gb 7" can be had for $49.99 on sale and I have used a headrest mount for my little ones in the back seat.
The nice thing about using a kindle over a portable dvd player is that it is actually much more portable and they can also play games on them.
Good luck with your conversion!

 

[calpolyarc]

Before getting our BEV we checked out Tesla and like a complete dumb ass one of my first questions when we got inside the car was "where is the CD player?" - I must have turned as red as the T logo itself. The salesperson said, "Perhaps a Chevy is more suited for you..." - ok just kidding, they were really nice.

 

[EldRick]

"Who decided new higher end cars don't need a CD player?!"

Almost everyone. And the Bolt isn't a "higher end car" anyway.

 

[David M O'Rourke]

15 years of MP3 players and the fact that most low end phones can hold 5,000 songs - or stream from the internet.

 

[NY-Rob]

"...And the Bolt isn't a "higher end car" anyway.

Agreed!

It's really on the level of $20K cars... but it's got an expensive battery.

 

[Jesse Green]

I can count on one hand the number of times I used the CD/DVD player in my Volt. More often I either listened to Sirius radio or stuff from my iPhone. Come to think of it, it's been a while since I've listened to a CD.

I bought a Malibu way back in 1999 and I had the dealer put a new radio with a cassette tape deck in it, figuring I could use an adapter and a portable CD player if I wanted to play CDs. The car originally came with just a radio and no CD or cassette player. A few years later I got a Taurus that had a CD player and each of my vehicles since then had a CD player. The Bolt is the first vehicle I've had in 15 years that doesn't have a CD player.

 

[Sean Nelson]

I can count on one hand the number of times I used the CD/DVD player in my Volt.

I have never, ever used a CD player in any car I've ever owned, include my current ones which both have them. I graduated directly from MiniDisc eek to USB sticks.