Am I Not Compact Enough?

Sixteen years ago, Kasey Chambers famously and plaintively sang “Am I not pretty enough?” as her relationship came to an end. Now in 2018 another long-term relationship is reportedly ending, as more and more auto manufacturers seek to ditch the compact disc player from their new model cars. It is a relationship that has lasted more than three decades, so why is it on the way out now?

Well, it turns out that compact as a CD disc slot is, it is not quite compact enough to keep its spot on today’s dashboard — dominated as this now is by the trend for ever larger infotainment screens.

Locally, Holden has been quietly deleting the CD since late 2012, with some models of the pint-sized Barina losing the wherewithal to spin discs first. But it wasn’t just an issue with space in compact cars