public service announcements and promos for local businesses such as marriage counselors). By the summer of 1971, the station had added harder rock and roll records to its format, and that fall the station made the full transition into Top 40 as "All Hit Music, The Giant 1130," similar in presentation to market leader CKLW. This incarnation of W-Car was consulted by Ken Draper, who at the time was programming similar formats on WFDF in Flint (which was known as "Giant 91") and WJIM in Lansing. W-Car's Top 40 incarnation featured an airstaff including Detroit radio veterans such as Dave L. Prince, Scott Regen, and former CKLW and WIXY Cleveland personality Steve Hunter. Hunter recalled on the CKLW tribute Website (http://www.big8radio.com/) that although WCAR sounded good, its locally based ownership didn't have the money needed to sustain cash giveaways and other prizes, and the format was changed just before a new ratings book came in showing promising growth in the station's ratings. W-Car would trudge through several more failed formats during the remainder of the 1970s, including progressive rock (being one of the few AM stations to feature this kind of music, now known as album oriented rock), all-news (using the NBC News and Information service), and another try at adult contemporary with new owners Golden West Broadcasters, which bought the AM and FM in the summer of 1977. The owners switched the station from news and talk back to music in October 1977. From 1971 to 1974, George Noory, now host of the highly rated Coast to Coast AM syndicated overnight radio show on Premiere Networks, worked at WCAR. WCXI In March 1979, WCAR changed its format to country and adopted the call sign WCXI ("Country 11"; the "C" stood for Country, and "XI" is "11" in Roman numerals). General Manager John Risher, who had run popular country station WDEE during the early to mid-1970s, brought back popular award-winning morning personality Deano Day, Bob Burchett and a few others who had worked at "The Big-D" to the air staff. Program Director Bill Ford was held over from the previous WCAR AM 1130 adult contemporary format as well as new music director Bob "R.T." Griffin. After his success with WCXI, Ford left the station to program WKHK in New York City. Dan Dixon (later of XM Radio), Larry Patton and Greg Raab were the following Program Directors, with Raab also