Alpine Electronics

Products and technologies

In 1981 Alpine created the world's first automotive navigation system, the Electro Gyrocator, for Honda. The following year saw the first in-car computerized equalizer. Alpine introduced remote control auto security systems in 1983 and the Model 9500 Mobile Cellular Telephone in 1984. The 1990s brought the 7909 CD Tuner, a 5700 DAT head unit, and the world's first in-dash 3-CD changer and tuner in 1993.

DDDrive Technology debuted in 1994 with the first speaker using it. The world's smallest CD Auto Changer appeared in 1998, and the first swivel in-dash monitor in 2001. In 2004 Alpine released the first Dolby Digital EX aftermarket in-car product, introduced BioLite display technology, and became the first company to manufacture a component that could interact with an iPod. The first full Class D MOST bus amplifier for the Volvo XC90 came in 2005.

The iDA-x001, the first head unit developed with Apple for iPod use, launched in 2007. Imprint sound processor Technology arrived in 2008, along with the IVA-W205R Mobile Media Station that could house a portable Blackbird Navigation device. Head units with integral Bluetooth handsfree capability (with an additional module) appeared in 2009. The ICS-X8, the world's first MirrorLink enabled Mobile Media Station, debuted in 2011, and the ILX-107, the world's first in-dash receiver with wireless Apple CarPlay, in 2017.

Other innovations include the Alpine F#1 Status systems and V12 AccuClass-D power amplifiers. A model 7307 radio/tape recorder from around 1981, shot by an American with a .45-caliber pistol at 4 feet, is displayed at the Alpine Museum in Japan; the incident led Alpine to spend US$25 million on a testing and evaluation centre in Iwaki-city.

iPod devices

Alpine was among the first to introduce in-vehicle iPod devices, allowing users to control iPod playback via the head unit's front panel or remote, view song information on the display, and search songs through Quick Search. The first aftermarket Interface Adapter for iPod, the KCA-420i, was introduced in 2004. In 2008 Alpine introduced a full line of iPod integration Digital Media Receivers, and in 2009 the first double-din iPod digital media station, the iXA-W404.

Show cars

From the early 1980s until the end of the 1990s, Alpine used Lamborghini's top-of-the-range sports model—first the Countach, later the Diablo—as a mascot car in product brochures and at shows. Alpine UK had a yellow Lamborghini Diablo SE30 Jota with the registration L666 LAM. From 2001 onward, Alpine of America commissioned a series of show cars designed to incorporate many of its products. These included a 2001 BMW M3, a 2002 Acura RSX, a 2003 Honda Civic, a 2004 MINI Cooper (a speedster with a low rake windscreen), a 2005 BMW X5 with a mural of musicians, a 2006 BMW 645 (Sinister 6), a 2007 IMPRINT RLS based on the Mercedes Benz R500, a 2008 25-foot V-Bottom Alpine Sport Boat trailered by a 2008 Mercedes-Benz GL550, and a 2017 Jeep Wrangler with Smittybilt for SEMA.

Miscellany

In 1984, Alpine bought the Luxman brand from Lux Corporation and began selling products under the Alpine/Luxman name. The two brands used very different materials—Alpine relied on standard metals and plastics, while Luxman used exotic metals—and the merged product lines confused customers, nearly ruining Luxman’s reputation.

Alpine sold Luxman in 1994 to refocus on car audio. From 1992 to 1995, Ford Australia partnered with Alpine to offer a premium sound system in its Fairlane and LTD models. In the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye, Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 had an Alpine 7817R CD Tuner that also worked as a communication device and color printer/fax.