Hall Automotive: This Week in 1926-August 13, 2026 – Before Smartphones, America Discovered Radio 

As Hall Automotive celebrates 100 years in Wisconsin, we’re looking back at the events and innovations that were changing everyday life at the same time Hall’s Wisconsin story began with a Chevrolet dealership in 1926. 

America’s First Connected Generation 

Imagine buying a new Chevrolet in the summer of 1926. There was no satellite radio. No Bluetooth. No smartphone. No streaming music. In fact, even having a radio inside the automobile was still far from commonplace. 

But inside America’s homes, something remarkable was happening. 

Radio was connecting the country 

By August 1926, radio had become one of the most exciting technologies in America. The August issue of Radio News included a nationwide list of broadcasting stations along with articles about batteryless receivers, new radio equipment, transoceanic reception, and even portable “vacation” radio sets. 

What we now take for granted—the ability to hear something happening hundreds or thousands of miles away—still seemed extraordinary. 

Information Was Suddenly Traveling Faster Than People 

For most of history, news traveled only as quickly as someone could physically carry it. Telegraph and telephone technology had begun changing that, but radio brought something entirely different into the American home. One person could speak—and thousands of families could hear the message simultaneously. 

Music, sporting events, news reports, and entertainment could suddenly travel across enormous distances without wires. Even explorers in remote parts of the world could use radio to communicate their accomplishments. Scientific American’s August 1926 edition described radio transmissions carrying news from Arctic explorers through conditions that would once have left expeditions almost completely isolated. 

For families living in Wisconsin, the world was suddenly becoming smaller. 

Technology Changes Quickly 

There’s an interesting parallel between 1926 and 2026. A century ago, Americans were trying to understand how radio might change their lives. Today we’re having similar conversations about artificial intelligence, connected vehicles, electrification, and autonomous driving technology. Some technologies eventually disappear. 

Others become so commonplace that we forget there was ever a time without them. Radio ultimately became one of those technologies. And before long, radio and the automobile would come together, transforming the driving experience and creating something generations of motorists would take for granted: entertainment while traveling. 

100 Years of Innovation 

Consider how dramatically the automobile has changed since Hall began serving Wisconsin motorists. The vehicles of 1926 were mechanical machines. Today’s vehicles combine mechanical engineering with computers, cameras, radar, wireless communication and sophisticated safety technology. 

A modern Mazda or Volkswagen contains technology that engineers in 1926 could scarcely have imagined. But those engineers and inventors shared something with today’s innovators: They were always asking the same question. What’s next?

For 100 years, Hall Automotive has had a front-row seat as the answer continually changed. 

Hall Automotive – Serving Wisconsin Since 1926