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The 1970s and 1980s were the decades in love with zany comedies, involving car and truck races and the world of CB radio. Cannonball Run, released in 1981, was one of the most popular in the genre. The critics didn’t take to this kind of movie but the public did and it’s still a favorite today. It was a follow up to Cannonball and it spawned two sequels of its own, including Cannonball Run 2.

The star was Burt Reynolds, who was much in demand at the time. He plays a washed up race driver called J.J McClure, who participates in an illegal race across America. The race is fiercely competitive with the drivers trying to outwit each other and the police in pursuit. Veteran actor Dom DeLuise plays McClure’s mechanic and the two friends join the race in an ambulance, converted from a Dodge van.  Farrah Fawcett’s role is as a photographer along for the ride. Cannonball Run is truly a star studded affair. Peter Fonda has a cameo appearance, based on his biker character in Easy Rider.

Other parts are played by Sammy Davis Junior, Dean Martin and martial arts action hero, Jackie Chan, who was not well known at the time. One of the funniest performances is by Roger Moore. He plays a character who suffers from the delusion that he is famous actor Roger Moore! This results in the character imagining himself as James Bond. For people that want to catch the movie again or for the first time, there is a digitally remastered release on DVD. It has a widescreen format and extra features include an interview gallery, animated biography and theatrical trailer. Cannonball Run 2 from 1984 is also available on DVD.

It is a surprise to many people that this comedy adventure was inspired by an actual event. Screenwriter Brock Yates took his own experience of organizing the Baker Sea to Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, a race between New York City and Redondo Beach, California, which ran for several years. Yates had introduced the race as a protest against the USA speed limit at the time, which was 55 mph. The underhand tricks, employed by characters in the movie, were based on true events. Cannonball Run is a fun movie. It can be said to be of its time but it still continues to entertain. It was one of the first films to show bloopers during the final credits, something that is commonplace today.

The satellite radio industry is dominated by two major players - Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio. Both companies charge a monthly fee for their services, but service payment plans often change to attract more customers. For example, starting in 2005 Sirius offers a $500 fee that is valid for the lifetime of the equipment. Sirius offers 65 music channels, without any commercials and traffic and weather reports for most of the major US cities. On the other hand, some of XM Radio’s channels did contain some commercials, but in much smaller quantities than those found on terrestrial radio channels. Today, XM has 67 commercial-free music channels, 21 channels with detailed traffic and weather information, 39 channels of news, entertainment and sports and an amazing number of 23 play-by-play sports channels. XM Satellite Radio Inc. owns the most impressive digital radio equipment and facilities, boasting over 82 end to end broadcasting studios. Sirius Satellite Radio is located in the heart of New York City with a huge recording studio. Sirius Satellite Radio has an impressive library of over 2 million music tracks.

Sirius Satellite Radio

Sirius Satellite Radio is one of the two main providers of digital radio broadcasting in the United States and it shares this important market with XM Radio. While you would think that XM and Sirius are 100% rivals, you will be surprised to find out that both companies are working together on a joint program in order to develop a receiver for both of their broadcast frequencies. Sirius uses three geosynchronous satellites that pass over the United States territory at regular time intervals and transmit the data alternatively. The Sirius satellite network is also located in a position that offers better line of sight – this means that transmission interruptions caused by trees, mountains or any other landscape form are less likely to happen. Sirius announced that the number of subscribers to their services goes beyond the 4 million count

XM Satellite Radio Inc

XM Satellite Radio Inc. began broadcasting in 2001 and has seen a continuous development ever since. The digital radio used by XM Satellite Radio Inc. is encoded using the CT-aacPlus technology which is broadcast in a 128kb/sec format that is high in fidelity and is similar to CD quality. XM Satellite Radio Inc uses two Boeing HS-702 satellites which are constantly orbiting the Earth at a height of 22 300 miles. IN order to minimize transmission ad reception loss, XM Satellite Radio installed terrestrial transmitters in most major cities in places where loss of signal is more likely to take place (tunnels, high building areas). XM radio claims to have an impressive number of over 6 million subscribers.

Working with the automobile industry

Both satellite radio providers saw a huge market in the car industry, so they began negotiating with al major car manufacturers to convince them to offer their services and equipment as standard or optional on the vehicles they produce. Some of the auto manufacturers that have either XM or Sirius satellite radio installed from the factory are: BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce, Chrysler, Dodge, Mercedes-Benz, Jeep, Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo, Land Rover, Jaguar, Mazda ,GM, Cadillac, Buick, GMC, Vauxhall, Saab, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Infiniti, Porsche, Lexus, Scion and Audi – to name just a few. Sirius has managed to get exclusivity from major car manufacturers such as Audi or VW2007 through 2012. IT was a major success for Sirius as Audi and VW previously also offered XM radio services and equipment on their vehicles. After conquering the vehicle industry both manufacturers tried to move the success of satellite radio into the homes of consumers by creating some trendy portable satellite radio receivers. XM satellite radio created the XM2go™ line of “walkman-like” receivers and Sirius developed a variety of portable devices, such as the Kenwood Portable Satellite Radio Tuner, Here2Anywhere and the Sirius S50. More attempts are being made for introducing satellite radio in the homes of conservative media consumers.