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Apple Partners with Ford 187

Posted by Zonk from the i-have-a-synergy-deal-deal-with-delorean-motors dept.
conq writes "BusinessWeek reports on Apple's latest partnership with Ford. This new accessory will be available in all Ford, GM and Mazda 2007 models allowing users to control thei iPod through the car's stereo controls. From the article: 'Currently, most MP3 players connect to vehicles via tape-deck or FM radio adapters. The devices are relatively cheap, ranging from $20 to $90, but are often difficult to operate while driving and can distort sound quality. But the iPod jacks, situated in glove compartments, let drivers easily operate players with existing stereo controls and charge a device's battery without an additional adapter.'"
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Apple Partners with Ford

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  • OK But... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by MBCook ( 132727 ) <foobarsoft@foobarsoft.com> on Friday August 04, 2006 @09:41PM (#15850115) Homepage

    These things look nice. I would love one in my van. I tried 3 or 4 different FM transmitters before I finally got a CD-changer interface so the iPod plugs directly into the back of the stereo (which took a long time to find because of my car). That said, there is one thing that worries me.

    What happens when Apple changes the interface? You don't expect them to keep the same dock connector forever. Does the system have an alternate input (standard line-in, for example)? Is there a cable that can be changed so you can use dock-connector 2.0 (or whatever)?

    Just something to think about.

    Really, I wish some kind of audio input bus would be put into cars to simplify all this stuff. You either have to get a special (and expensive) adaptor to fake being a CD-changer, or use the FM transmitter. Now let's say I have an XM receiver and a iPod and I want both plugged into my car stereo? I can't do it (without hacking a dock interface connector for the XM). Or what if I want to add HD radio? Or plug in a tape player (which my car lacks). Just a simple line-in jack would be fine with me. I don't need the rest of the fancy stuff (although it's nice).

    My guess is this is just vendor lock in since there was basically no demand for it before iPods (and their ilk) and you could always use a tape adapter (although more and more cars lack cassette drives).

    • Assuming the next ipod adds features A and B to the connector, I would assume that you could just buy an adapter to hook it up to the old connector, sans features A and B. You'd still have music control functionality, just maybe not some wifi-detecting functionality or whatever features A and B are.

      Personally, the proprietary connector is one reason I got an archos - every system just recognizes it as a fat-formatted mass storage device.
      • Personally, the proprietary connector is one reason I got an archos - every system just recognizes it as a fat-formatted mass storage device.

        The iPod is also "a fat-formatted mass storage device". I don't see what the proprietary connector has to do with that anyway.

    • Re:OK But... (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Jeff DeMaagd ( 2015 )
      Frankly, just an analog audio jack would work for me, there are players like that. I don't want to pay a good fraction of the portable device's selling price to make it work with an audio deck's proprietary connector and changer controller. That also means that I'm not tied to any audio device brand on either end of the cable.

      • Re:OK But... (Score:4, Insightful)

        by iso ( 87585 ) <.slash. .at. .warpzero.info.> on Friday August 04, 2006 @10:14PM (#15850244) Homepage
        That would entirely defeat the purpose of having the playlists and controls through the faceplate of the stereo.

        • That is definitely true. One of my favorite things about using my car to listen to CDs is the little button on the wheel I can hit to change to the next track. I don't really care about my stereo being able to tell me what track I'm listening to, but having the controls make the iPod work would be great. As it is I I would have to hit the button on my iPod to change tracks.

          In fact, that is one of the reasons I have kept my 3G iPod and didn't buy a 4G. Because of the cutouts in the plastic for the buttons a

          • Controls on the wheel must be safer by at least an order of magnitude. The vehicle I typically drive has them, and I use them all the time. Contrast that to a different vehicle that I drive on occasion - while I'm quite familiar with the stereo and fiddle with that all the time as well, the lack of controls on the wheel has me looking down at the thing dangerously often. I rarely do anything besides change the volume or occasionally skip to the next track/preset FM, so it's not as if I feel I've lost som
          • You know, they make an external RF remote for the iPod now.

            It's not manufactured by Apple -- I'm not sure who makes it, actually, although when I'm done writing I'll try some Google searches -- but I've seen them in person. It's a little black receiver box that mounts flush to the bottom of the iPod (via the Dock Connector), and then has a pass-thru connection on its bottom, so that the 'pod can still charge.

            Then it has a small remote control that you can put anywhere in the vicinity, and adjust the volume
      • My 2007 Toyota Yaris has an aux connector in the center console that links into my CD player. That's an analog input. The sound quality is much better than using the FM transmitter I used with my previous vehicle. However, I don't have the ability to control my iPod through my radio since it is just an analog input for auxiliary devices. (Plus, I don't have any buttons on my steering wheel so no big loss anyhow).
      • Yes, this would work just fine for me. And to all the people who need all the stereo controls integrated, I say, get a life. None of the songs on my iPod suck so much that I need to skip tracks while driving. If you're that picky, just set up a playlist ahead of time with songs you know that you won't mind listening to. Unless you're going on a really long trip, in which case you can stop a couple times to select the next playlist, I don't think that integrating the controls is that big of a deal. Especi
    • Lots of stereos have a line in, it's just hidden around the back (sometimes inside the case). There are a few aftermarket head units that have standard line in jack on the front. I had one in my old car.
    • In 2001, the American Automobile Association did a study examining the interaction between distraction and automobile crashes [aaafoundation.org]. According to the study, "adjusting radio/cassette/CD" is the 3rd most common cause of distraction. Depending on the set of numbers that you use from this study, "adjusting radio/cassette/CD" causes between 1.5% and 3% of all automobile crashes.

      Judging from the numerous articles (in this particular discussion) praising the fun of using an iPod within an automobile, I suspect that

      • Depending on the set of numbers that you use from this study, "adjusting radio/cassette/CD" causes between 1.5% and 3% of all automobile crashes.

        I hooked my ipod into my mr2 (manual, natch) by way of the tape deck and left the iwred remote thing between the shifter and P-brake. With its known position and four buttons, it was easier than changing channels on my radio.

        If using an iPod causes a fatal automobile accident, will some victim of such an accident eventually try to sue Apple?

        Well, duhh, what

      • "Because of Apple's product I had an auto accident"
        "Specifically, because you used it in your car, when you weren't capable of doing that and driving"
        "Well..Apple made the product"
        "And they held a gun to your head and said, use your iPod, don't drive"
        "No, but they made something dangerous, and sold it to me"
        "So, if I beat you nearly to death with my briefcase, you sue its manufacturer."
        "No, I sue you. But that isn't fair"
        "No it isn't. If you beat yourself nearly to death with your briefcase, you sue its man

      • I won't argue that point. Doing ANYTHING other than driving is distracting. That said, which do you think is worse? Reaching over for the radio or iPod and then trying to use it (worse if you have to do the menus on the iPod as opposed to a single button press to switch radio stations); or pressing a button on your steering wheel that will control your iPod?

        Added convenience, better sound quality, costs less, slightly less dangerous.

        I don't see a down side.

    • ,i>What happens when Apple changes the interface? You don't expect them to keep the same dock connector forever.

      Why yes, I do. it's not like there's anything on the horizon that would obsolete the current interface.

    • Note: I don't work for the company but am really happy with it!
      I bought the IPOD2CAR from Peripheral http://www.peripheralelectronics.com/web/ipod2car . asp [peripheral...ronics.com] for my 2003 Jeep Liberty. Looking at the list [peripheral...ronics.com] of compatible cars there are very few missing especially domestically. They also have an AUX2CAR [peripheral...ronics.com] which uses RCA plugs (i.e if you want to hook up something else through a different connecter (i.e RCA, Headphone, anything with direct line out). But to answer your question of what happens if Apple changes their

      • That's the way the one I bought worked. There is a connector that looks like a PS2 connector on one end of the cable and an iPod dock connector on the other. It would be pretty trivial for me to hack a new one, but I assume they would sell me one with the new connector.

        But my question is, is that the way the ones that are built in (like these Fords, the BMWs, etc) work? Or is the cable permanantly attached to the back of the stereo and thus a major hack job to change?

        • Good question. I would doubt the cable is permanently attached otherwise that would become a real pain if the cable broke as you would need to replace the stereo. I would suspect that it would be either of the following:
          1. An extra port on the back of the radio that the cable plugs into
          2. choice between XM, CD changer or MP3 player (similar to IPOD2CAR does right now)
          3. some kind of data bus interface ala SCSI
          • Based on what I know of the car-stereo manufacturers, they will run a cable from a proprietary connector on the back of the head unit, to the glove compartment, where it will terminate in an entirely different, proprietary connector. Then, you will be able to order short pigtail adaptors, at exorbitant cost, to go from the radio manufacturer's proprietary connector, to Apple's proprietary connector. These adaptors will be available aftermarket if you want an additional one, or one other than what your car c
    • I understand your point, but I think that what you're asking for doesn't really exist yet. It would be nice if there were some standardized connector that combined analog audio plus some form of control I/O (and it would not surprise me if there were, somewhere, interfaces and connectors designed for this purpose, for other applications). However there isn't one right now.

      An plain-old analog input to the car's audio system would be nice, and in fact a lot of aftermarket stereos have them (my Aiwa headunit i

  • Interesting, but... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by CyberSnyder ( 8122 ) on Friday August 04, 2006 @09:44PM (#15850131)
    I'd be happy with a simple mini jack standard on car head units. Then we wouldn't have to play around with those terrible FM tuners. My Sirius sounds worse than AM through the FM tuner.

  • Nice, but I want better... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by rthille ( 8526 ) <web-slashdot@ran g a t .org> on Friday August 04, 2006 @09:50PM (#15850154) Homepage Journal

    I don't want to have to remember to lug my ipod out to the car, I want my car to be an iTunes client. It should have wifi and 100GB, and should sync whenever I pull into the garage (or within range of my home wifi network).

    I'll leave the interface on the radio as an excercise for product developers, but neither the iPod interface nor the 'pretend it's a big CD changer' is the right approach.

    • For me, I like having only 1 device to sync up anyway. I don't even like setting up all the playlists for my and my wife's iPod, let alone adding cars in there as well.

      Anyway, while what you are asking for WOULD be cool, this is still better than what was there before - and that's at least movement in the right direction... I ended up soldering in a patch cable between the remote tape deck (weird, huh?) and the head unit on my Blazer, and it was a pain, and it didn't charge the iPod, and you still had no c

      • But the drive in the car could be a 3.5" 300GB drive for pretty cheap, so there'd be no reason not to keep your entire library in the car (unless you're like my coworker who collects bootlegs and such and has ~1TB of MP3s).
        For our cars, one has the tape player, and my wife's has an Mini-Disk deck, so she has a radio transmitter on her mini. The Prius we're on the waiting list for has the 1/8" mini jack, but doesn't do any iPod control.
        I've got a new head unit sitting in my office that has CD control, and I
    • No need to remember your iPod. Just remember to keep your iPod when the battery dies. You can get great deals on iPods that don't hold a charge and it doesn't matter because the adapter will provides the power.
    • "Lug"? What's your model made out of? Titanium?

      Maybe you need an iPod Pequeno (http://www.engadget.com/2005/11/20/steve-jobs-pre sents-the-ipod-invisa-on-snl/).
      • 'take' a better word? Besides, I'd bet titanium would be lighter than most of the components of the iPod.

        The key is I need to move the iPod to and from my computer often to get the latests podcasts (primarily what I listen to in the car), so it's not just remembering to move it when I rip new CDs.
    • and honestly I would not want it built in. Mine is buried in my center console (Murano) and its not easy to find. You would have to know its there; it sleeps under a bunch of water bottles and whatever else fits into that console on a paticular day.

      First, built in means it would probably never be upgradeable. It also means that it would probably be in some inaccessible location should it ever need service (try changing the cabin air filter in a G35 Coupe). Got a friend going along for a trip? Plug thei
  • Does that scare anyone else? I will put money on it that some idiot is going to want to start listening to their ipod while driving, reach over to the glove box and try to plug it in. I bet that will be the cause of more than one accident...

    • Re:in the glove box? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Kohath ( 38547 ) on Friday August 04, 2006 @10:05PM (#15850212)
      Does that scare anyone else?

      Yes, people who scare easily and are generally scared of everything. It scares them.

      I bet that will be the cause of more than one accident...

      Adjusting your iPod while driving is already probably causing accidents. That's a selling point for this feature. It makes it easier to change songs without looking away from the road.

      iPods are about music, not about avoiding car accidents. Everything in the world doesn't have to be about avoiding car accidents.
    • Anyone with half a brain would plug it in when/before they start the car.

      But these are drivers we're talking about...

  • Bah (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 04, 2006 @09:59PM (#15850189)
    Why can't they put a USB port in the cars instead, or even AUX inputs or stereo minijacks? If Ipods ever phase out of the mainstream, we're going to have a mountain of proprietary crap just because Apple refuses to use a standard, widely accepted connector.

    Being the owner of other brands of players (superior sounding, at that), I find how everyone only supports Ipod very frustrating.

    A USB port could have other potential uses, too. For instance, adding a hard drive unit that could interface with the audio controls, that would enable you to truly bring your music collection wherever you go. Or, quickly charging other devices via USB. The possibilities would be endless.
    • Make the car look like USB speakers. Make the radio controls look like a joystick with lots of buttons. Make the radio receiver look like a USB tuner.

      When no computer is connected, it's all like a normal car. Add a computer (iPod, Mac Mini, Linux SBC, etc.) and the computer gets to operate everything.
      • The car should be the computer, not the peripheral. Make the car stereo mp3 capable and let it read from USB storage. If you plug in a USB memory stick, or a USB hard drive, or an MP3 player that acts like USB storage, the car steroe can play the music.

        • You say the car should play MP3, but what about: wav, ogg, flac, aac, and unknown future formats?

          I may keep a car for more than 10 years. Can you tell me what sort of tech we'll be using then? It's bad enough to take a bet on USB, but it's either that or Ethernet.

          One could offer both connections of course. If both are used, the added USB storage is visible to the added computer.

    • Re:Bah (Score:5, Funny)

      by Mattintosh ( 758112 ) on Friday August 04, 2006 @11:52PM (#15850602)
      I find how everyone only supports Ipod very frustrating

      Ahhh... yes. Mac users' revenge. I speak for Mac users everywhere when I say, "Cry me a river."

  • 3rd Party Mods for Prius (Toyota) (Score:3, Informative)

    by rsborg ( 111459 ) on Friday August 04, 2006 @10:02PM (#15850197) Homepage
    This mod I bought for our 2005 Prius allows control through the steering wheel and touch-screen:
    http://www.vaistech.com/sli.html [vaistech.com]

    They even have a video-in unit.

    All that said, I am just as happy with the line-in for our 2006 Prius (any audio source works, and I can control almost as easily with the iPod in the cupholder.
    • You have an 05 AND an 06?!

      The iPod2Car [peripheral...ronics.com] Toyota version works well enough for my 04. Steering wheel controls work, but no video (I like seeing my map all the time anyway). I bought a little Monster dashboard attachment and placed the thing to the left of my steering wheel (little vertical space available on the Prius dashboard). Works great.
      • You have an 05 AND an 06?!

        Yeah, we got the 05, wife wanted new car to replace hers, she didnt like anything else out there (she's from Europe, so most big cars sucked for her), so she kept the 05. Then I got my own the next year... got too addicted to "stealth mode" :-)

        The iPod2Car Toyota version works well enough for my 04.

        Yeah, heard some ppl had troubles with it, and there was a group buy for the VIAStech one in PriusChat, so I joined. My VAIStech has some sound quality issues (perhaps I need to inst

  • This is nothing new. My CD player came iPod-ready, though I have to purchase an extra extension seperately to make it work (for some reason, they decided to put the attachment on the back of the unit). The only interesting thing I see here is some conjecture about how the other auto giants will respond.

  • Ford? Uh oh. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by gklinger ( 571901 ) on Friday August 04, 2006 @10:04PM (#15850206)
    Now is the perfect [cnn.com] time to partner with Ford! Seriously though, it's good news and I look forward to such a feature being available on all cars. Using an FM transmitter isn't viable in a metropolitan center with a clogged FM band and a cassette adaptor is becoming less and less useful as many new cars lack cassette players. While a simple input jack that connects to the output jack of any electronic device (rather than just iPods) may be cheaper and more flexible, it doesn't allow for integration with the iPod's interface. The day is approaching when all cars will have LCD displays built into the dashboard/console and being able to browse through songs on your iPod as well as display information about the current song would be ideal.

  • Aah, American cars (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I remember driving down a deserted country highway, drunk and stoned, from one get-together to another in the cottage country where I spend my summer days. I was in a late model american full-sized family car. Being used to a modest '97 civic, I was tripping out - there were so many dials, knobs, leds and displays, it felt like I was in one of the Culture ships from an Iain M. Banks novel. I can't wait until I do the same, playing my ipod through the car stereo with tracknames scrolling by on the display...

  • Glove compartment? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by anlprb ( 130123 ) on Friday August 04, 2006 @10:08PM (#15850225)
    Why are these in the glove compartment? In the dashboard, as a slot, or instead of the ash tray, etc... Why do I have to reach into the glove box each time I want to put my iPod in there? Does anyone do any usability studies anymore?

    • Re:Glove compartment? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by NMerriam ( 15122 ) <NMerriam@artboy.org> on Friday August 04, 2006 @10:32PM (#15850304) Homepage
      Because people want to put it in there, close it, and have it completely invisible to thieves. You have to break into the car and pry open the glove compartment to even know if there's an iPod in there. Several aftermarket units already locate the iPod there for these reasons, and because it's usually an easy place to access all the wiring and the car's antenna if you want to do a passthrough.

      I agree, I'd like to have a slot I loaded my iPod into (I even started building one a few years ago), but it's not like putting it in the glove compartment is some crazy counter-intuitive place that nobody would ever want.
    • Because this way its more difficult to access and therefore more distracting to the woman driving behind me putting on makeup and talking on her cell phone....
    • Simple.

      Cost savings. You have any idea what it would add to the cost of the vehicle to design something to plug an iPod into? Instead of a 50$ addition for the additional wiring.. you are adding a few hundred dollars because now they to re-engineer the dashboard to fit the iPod.

      It is cheaper to just run the wire to someplace no one really uses much anyway.

      Also it is theft deterant; out of site, out of mind.. and the iPod is still in your car when you get back.
    • Putting it in the glove box means that thieves cant see that you have an iPod in your car.
      If it was visible, thieves would smash the window to steal your iPod.
    • [parent sig]
      One Token Ring to Rule them All, One Search Engine to Find Them, One WAN to bring them in, and TCP/IP Bind them...

      It should be "One Token Ring to Rule them All, One Search Engine to Find Them, One WAN to bring them in, and DNS to BIND [isc.org] them..." ;-)

  • bad choice (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    If Ford had waited for Zune, their customers would be reasonably happy and building up their music collections until one day their players stopped working. Then the MS support people would give them the news: "The version that you have is lacking in robustness. You need to upgrade to the current version of Bronco."

  • ... when all cars have iPod dock connectors.... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Cryptnotic ( 154382 ) * on Friday August 04, 2006 @10:23PM (#15850276)
    No, not everyone will buy iPods. Instead, it will open up the market for adapters for other devices to iPod dock connectors, possibly with translating command signals.

  • Apple and Ford is a perfect match (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 04, 2006 @10:25PM (#15850280)
    Nothing better then grooving to the iPod while you're waiting by the side of the road for your tow.

  • Why Ford? Why not "automakers"? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by NotQuiteReal ( 608241 ) on Friday August 04, 2006 @10:34PM (#15850315) Journal
    Even the summary says "Ford, GM, and Mazda"...
  • I have a 2006 Honda CR-V. I bought the Honda iLink. It sucks. Stay away. It comes with a crappy software prg that goes and makes a talking name/artist for each song. It is an AppleScript (compiled I think) that does not even really work! I tried it on a library of 2000 tunes and it errors out half way thru. There are no updates and the company that wrote the code does not support it - call Honda they say. Did I say that the 2000 tunes takes about 40 mins to run? Wonder how it is going to work on my full col
  • Am I the only one here reading Ford as in Prefect?

    Are the people that find me strange actually right?

  • Not really "new" (Score:3, Informative)

    by Transcendent ( 204992 ) on Friday August 04, 2006 @11:03PM (#15850420)
    To get in the 2007 model year vehicles, this had to be planned years ago. The announcement just comes out right before product launch.

    • BMW was one of the first. VW's were around the same time. Then Prius owners got the same thing. Lots of companies brought back "mp3 player" jacks for their stereos.

      My mother has had a changer-plug interface in her volvo for 2-3 years now, from Blitzsafe.

      How is this johnny-come-last press release even remotely worthy of front-page status? How much did Ford's PR firm pay to get this put there?

  • About time. (Score:5, Informative)

    by kahrytan ( 913147 ) on Friday August 04, 2006 @11:09PM (#15850432)

      Honda already did this in 2006 models. It's called the iPod Music Link and you control the music from the steering wheel or the audio system. Read their official announcement at Honda.com [honda.com]

    Other words, this is not news. Ford is just playing catch up as always. Honda owns the auto industry and is always one step ahead of the others.
    • Other words, this is not news. Ford is just playing catch up as always. Honda owns the auto industry and is always one step ahead of the others.

      And BMW did it a few years (2004 to be precise) before that, but I don't think it was quite as full featured... and now they're releasing one just like this. Honda was years from first on this.
    • Honda owns the auto industry and is always one step ahead of the others.

      No, I own the auto industry and I lease it to Honda. That's only part of why I'm so cool, though.

  • Maker of exploding music players [ilounge.com] joins forces with maker of exploding cars [wikipedia.org].
  • Ford (Dodge too) needs to stop over engineering thier vehicles. For some reason neither can make a vehicle that doesn't have problems before I pay it off. Warranty my ass.

    There is a specific reason (multiple ones), I'm replacing my wifes Grand Caravan with a Toyota/Honda/Nissan.
    American auto makers Suck, no matter how many gadgets (gimmicks) they throw in.

    Enjoy,
    • For some reason neither can make a vehicle that doesn't have problems before I pay it off.

      American labor is more expensive than Chinese labor.

      If you slash the number of hours of labor put into a car to compensate for your more expensive labor, guess what happens to reliability?
  • The article clearly mentions a partnership with "Mazda, Ford, and GM."

    They're 3 different companies. (Though Mazda is 1/3 owned by Ford.)

    And besides, as we all remember from several years ago, Ford really sucks. [fordreallysucks.com]

    • The article clearly mentions a partnership with "Mazda, Ford, and GM." They're 3 different companies. (Though Mazda is 1/3 owned by Ford.)

      Of course Ford and GM are quite distinct, but Mazda is virtually a Ford division. Ford's ownership is a 33% plurality, not a majority, but Ford effectively controls Mazda, and product development cooperation between the Ford brands these days is very tight. Ford considers Maxda one of their brands. (see www.ford.com)

      So, the proper headline would be about Apple mak

  • DAMN IT! I just bought a Mazda 6GT Hatchback!

  • Fords problem (Score:3, Insightful)

    by tf23 ( 27474 ) <tf23@@@lottadot...com> on Saturday August 05, 2006 @12:30AM (#15850749) Homepage Journal
    The article title seems misleading. It's not just Ford, it's GM (and Mazda).

    But this has been Ford's, and American auto manufacturer's problem. They're behind the times.

    I bought a Ford Escape 2005 (in 2004) a few years ago. Asked if their stereos could handle the iPod (I already had an iTtrip). The sales guy says "a what". Ended up talking to the sales manager, discussed it with him. He bluffed that he knew what I was talking about. :(

    While this is great news, in that it can only help sales, they should eat the cost and build it into every single auto they manufacture. The iPods are that prevalent that the small cost (and write-off) to them is relatively insignificant, compared to the positive sales and attitude towards the American manufacturer.

    And yes, I come from a long line of family who's worked for Ford. It's depressing to see them doing so poorly. But that's another topic in and of itself.

  • Alpine has this already for anybody who mods their car audio. Their 2006 head units have full support for most IPods (3rd gen and up). All you need is a compatible head unit and this $30 cable [alpine-usa.com] and all controls are through the head unit. Charges the battery as well. I have it, its great. Works just as well, if not better, some of these factory units.
    • I have a CDE-9850Ri (Just looked at front) and a 60gb ipod color and it works great, but the scroll speed are (still? my first Alpine so I cant complate) slow. I mostly start with artist search and then album, and it takes forever. (I just have 300 CDs with about 100 artists)
      The scroll speed really needs to follow the speed at which you turn the dial.
  • Hmm. Yea, an iPod connector in your car would be pretty nifty. I'd love to have one -- happily, I drive a MINI Cooper, and Mini's offered a glove-compartment iPod connector as an option for years.
  • Both have expiriences with massive [detnews.com] recalls [vnunet.com].

  • Not new... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by AfricanImpi ( 879572 )
    This is nothing new. BMW has been doing this since 2004, when they were the first to partner with Apple. Since then, Apple has partnered with other manufacturers, including Honda, Audi, Volkswagen, Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, Dodge, Jaguar, Jeep, Nissan, Daihatsu, Renault, Suzuki and Volvo. http://www.apple.com/ipod/ipodyourcar/ [apple.com]
  • I have an iPod shuffle, so this thing won't do me any good. My wife's iPod is a 2G or 3G -- I can't remember which -- so it'd probably work. But I'm the one that drives my car. I use a cassette adapter, 'cos FM modulators frankly suck. I don't know what car I'll ever replace my 01 Continental with, though -- no more V8's and no more cassettes! Really, though, all I ever need is the aux. input and I'd be happy.

    Look, by having the iPod interface on the car stereo, you're just treating the iPod like an externa

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