WPTR in stereo

[mwaters@mail.wesleyan.edu (Martin J. Waters)]

        Someone posted here recently about the new owners of WPTR pledging
to get AM stereo up and running on the rest of their stations as they
expand the group. I spent a little quality time with the Mopar AM stereo
car radio over the weekend, and noticed that WPTR is on in stereo.  I don't
think it was before it flipped from religion. So I guess that's a promise
kept, and fast, too.
        It's nice to see that not all owners have quit on AM stereo,
although I wonder why anyone would bother starting up with it at this
point. Aren't AM stereo receivers on the way to extinction as 80s' cars go
to the junkyards? Are any new cars being delivered with them now? In fact,
didn't they pretty much disappear from new cars around the early 90s?
        Does anyone know the percentage of radio receivers out there that
are AM stereo? My bet would be it's a single digit number. In fact, I'd bet
that the percentage of just car radios is a single digit number and for
other radios you'd start with a zero and a decimal point.