Introduced in 1966, the
"Stereosonic Tape System" brought high fidelity out of your living room
and into your Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury for the first time.
Available for the entire Ford line, the system consisted of an AM radio
with integral stereo "8-Track" tape player. 8-track tapes contain
a continuous loop of tape with four programs of music. Each program
uses two tracks with one track for the left channel and one for the right.
Since
the tapes to play on the new systems were fairly new and not readily available
other than at your finer truck stops, Ford provided Sampler tapes.
These tapes were put out by the RCA Victor Special Products Division and
contained a variety of music and instrumentals. As shown here, the
tapes came in a plastic case and included a warranty/instruction manual
and a card with information on how to obtain tapes containing musical selections
other than the fine collection of American Dental Association approved
tracks provided by Ford.
 One
of the more interesting features of these tapes is the artwork on the packaging.
The artwork on the first few years was somewhat utilitarian and limited
to the box only. The tapes contained a label showing the music selection
for each program.
1966 and '67 tapes came in these plastic boxes.
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Sometime
in 1967, the plastic box was scrapped for the more economical cardboard sleeve.
The '67 PC8S 500 tape came in both the earlier plastic boxes and in the cardboard style as seen here. The artwork stayed the same; however, the musical selection
was now included on the sleeve as well as the tape.
The
1969 tape is interesting in that the design looks so much more modern than
the '68 even though the basic components of the design were the same.
This design looks as if it were done by the same folks responsible for
service replacement part boxes.
