Rolling on down the highway with the radio blaring, wind whipping through your car, is a summertime treat. But static from bad reception can curb your fun. A new digital radio technology--poised to compete with increasingly popular satellite radio services but without their subscription charges--could banish the hiss and static from the airwaves while keeping the personal charms of local radio.

Dubbed high-definition or HD radio, the new digital technology allows local AM and FM radio stations to broadcast a pristine digital signal on their existing frequencies. Because the transmission is converted into digital form for broadcast and then decoded by the receiving radio, the noise and interference associated with traditional analog radio are all but eliminated. And the sound quality is greatly improved; high-definition AM stations sound as good as FM stations, while high-def FM stations can deliver near-CD-quality sound.

During a test drive around Manhattan--an environment notorious for poor radio reception--we compared HD broadcasts from WOR-AM, a news and talk radio station, and WNEW-FM, an adult contemporary music station, with their regular analog broadcasts. On the HD stations, songs by Paula Abdul, the Beatles, and Neil Young sounded bright, crisp, and free of background noise. Switching over to conventional radio was like throwing a blanket over the speakers: Songs were muffled and marred by intermittent crackles and hissing. On the West Side of Manhattan, where interference makes most analog radio broadcasts sound as though you're listening to music filtered through a picket fence, the HD broadcasts were stable and unscathed.

To receive HD radio, listeners do not need a new antenna, but an HD-compatible radio is required. Currently, there are two available aftermarket models for cars. Kenwood offers the KTC-HR100 HD radio tuner ( $500 ), which has to be professionally installed. The other option is the in-dash Panasonic CQ-CB9900U integrated HD radio and CD player ( $1,000 ). If you know your way around a car stereo, you can install the Panasonic model yourself. The Panasonic receives both analog and HD broadcasts (the radio will automatically switch to analog if you travel out of HD range), and it displays station, artist, and song information--another benefit of digital radio--on its bright blue display.

Much of the motivation to improve radio broadcasts is a result of the arrival of satellite radio. The commercial-free satellite services, Sirius and XM, offer audio fidelity that is comparable to HD radio, but consumers have to buy a special receiver, install a new antenna, and pay a monthly subscription fee. HD broadcasts are free.

Adoption of HD radio won't be immediate, however. In addition to the consumers' cost of replacing old radios, stations also have to upgrade their equipment. According to iBiquity Digital, the company that developed HD radio, there are about 300 AM and FM stations across the country currently broadcasting in HD. In spite of the hurdles, at least two more personal-tech companies, JVC and Onkyo, are introducing HD radios this year, so HD radio prices are bound to drop. When that happens, we can all cruise along blasting rock-and-roll without the summertime radio-breakup blues.