Pioneer shutting down its Premier car audio line at the end of 2009

The car audio market isn’t what it used to be. The days of half-din radios and crappy stock speakers are long gone. As OEM systems increase in quality, the aftermarket scene is slowing down. So much so that Pioneer is killing its 20-year old Premier label at the end of 2009. It’s truly sad news for long-time car audio geeks.

There was a time when Premier products where among the best car audio products available. But those days are gone too. As of late, the product line has been simply a step up above standard Pioneer line and not really worth of the Premier designation. And that’s why Pioneer is killing the label.

Twice,

“We will cease production of Pioneer Premier products at the end of 2009.” said director of marketing for mobile entertainment Ted Cardenas.

He added, “We’re not exiting any categories, we will continue with the same types of products.” The Premier line offered superior features to the standard line but in recent years the feature differences had narrowed. Premier CD players allowed a two-year warranty vs. one-year and shipped with an iPod cable in the box rather than as an option, as on the standard line, said Pioneer.

You can’t knock Pioneer for this move really. All its trying to do is save face in a dying market and not let a respected brand slip into a coma of suck.