With all the fancy radio controls on my steering wheel I’m beginning to wish one was a record button. 

I drive 32,000 miles a year in the Saint Louis area, which typically means that I’m listening to a whole lot of AM talk radio.  I’ve grown accustomed to using my Digital Video Recorder (DVR) to catch up on television shows that I miss and watch them on my own time, when can I start doing the same thing in my car. 

Often I’m drawn in by a particular segment or sometimes simply an interaction between the show’s host and a caller.  I haven’t kept a log, but I’m sure that I could save a lot of gas money if I could record a segment and continue on when I get back into my car instead of sitting in my running vehicle while I wait for my interest to conclude.

Another frustration which is done intentionally by my favorite stations to keep me listening are the use of ticklers..  Sometimes I am extremely intrigued by an interview coming up and I’d much rather listen to and fast forward through it on my old time!  If I had a similar button on my steering wheel as my remote at home, I could automatically go back some segment of time in case I missed something, like the portion of the traffic report that I might actually need.

I know there are so many distractions in our vehicles already.  Doesn’t it make sense to give us the technology that would allow concentration to stay on obeying traffic laws rather than trying to quickly memorize, or even worse attempt to write down, a phone number.  While listening I could have been distracted by my cell phone or what if I had someone in my car that decided to be obnoxiously loud just as the most important point was made.  Rewind sounds like a dream to me!

There just has to be something out there I can use, I’d assume it’s not called a DVR but what about a DRR, Digital Radio Recorder?  I know that XM and Sirius have some of the features I require, but I’m talking about local real time talk radio.  Well, after a little research, I’ve found that I’m not alone and GM has already put the idea into action and has begun including the Pause and Play features in some of their vehicles.

I don’t believe it’s quite there yet, but it is certainly a start with the Chevrolet Equinox, Buick LaCrosse, GMC Terrain and Cadillac SRX as well as the Cadillac CTS Jukebox and Navigation radio. “Basically, the feature allows you to hear something on your radio, mash pause when you get to your destination, and hop back in to hear the rest. This is also handy if you receive a call right in the middle of a heated debate on your favorite talk radio show. You know if we're talking about you.”

Currently, the feature only has enough memory to store up to 20 minutes of audio for play back at a later time. It's also scheduled to come to the new Buick Regal and Chevrolet Cruze in due time, but there's no mention of a longer buffer time in the future. Now, if only there were an easy way to transport missed clips from the radio to your iPod as you step out of the car for work, we could really see this taking off.