Presumably so you don't have to burn off a gallon of gas idling while you
retract the antenna after you park the car.
Another benefit is that by shutting off the car first (and therefore the radio
with it), you don't have to hear the radio signal turn into painful static as
you lower the antenna.
On later Mopars with automatic power antennas (discontinued after 1995), they
worked similarly: The radio shut off when you turned the car off, but the
antenna motor still had power so it could retract by itself with the key off.
Chris in LA
67 Crown
78 NYB Salon
> The power antenna is supposed to work without the key.
> Not exactly sure why this is, but it is wired correctly to do that.
Dick Benjamin