That was the main finding in a new study presented at the NAB/RAB show Chicago today, conducted in a joint effort by Arbitron, Edison Research and Scarborough. The study, The Road Ahead: Media and Entertainment in the Car, had several key findings:

• 84% of all drivers or passengers still report that AM/FM radio is their top choice for in-car media and entertainment. The next highest was "CD player", at 68%
• In-car AM/FM radio usage is strongest in the key buying demos it has long targeted, reaching nearly 90 percent of adults age 25 to 54.
• One in four persons (24 percent) of those age 18 and older have used their iPod/MP3 player to listen to audio in their car; more than half (55 percent) of 18-24s have done so.
• Six percent of persons age 18 and older and one in five persons aged 18 to 24 (19 percent) have listened to Pandora on their cell phone in the car.
• There is also significant consumer interest in several in-car media applications: 41 percent are interested in pause, rewind and replay functionality for radio in-car and 40 percent are interested in built-in wireless internet for the car.

The study was conducted in July of this year, in which 1,505 people aged 18 or older were interviewed over the phone about their in-car media usage and desires. The study updates a similar one conducted in 2003, to provide a unique look at the changes and challenges in the in-car landscape over the past eight years, combined with a peek into the future of this crucial media space.

You can see the entire study presented at the NAB/RAB Show in Chicago, by visiting the Abitron, Edison or Scarborough websites.