| What's the difference? I only noticed this week the cars with shark fin antenna when I bought a ball topper for my car antenna. |
| The shark fin ones are more aerodynamic. I think most newer cars have those types of integrated antennas. Functionally they are the same, I believe. |
| Shark fin is for SiriusXM satellite radio. |
The difference is that a shark fin antenna is smaller, unobstructive, has better aesthetic and is more aerodynamic. The shark fin antenna is already even out of style. In newer cars the antenna is "invisible". They are often just metallic traces on the rear window just above the defroster traces. It similar to the old days when cell phones had long visible antennas.
Then the antenna became smaller.
Today I bet you can't tell where the antenna is located on your cell phone. |
While that may have been the case at one point, it isn't anymore. My car has a sharkfin but does not have SiriusXM. There's a whole load of antennae (AM, FM, 4G, etc) that fit in there. |
My car has a free trial of Sirius XM satellite radio with it. My car is a 2019. I like the older antenna because I put a bright colored ball topper on the antenna, which makes it easier to find my car in a parking lot. I used to have a little college football helmet on a bright yellow smiley face. And that was cute. |