I am certainly not a big fan of iPods and of course Apple has done an incredible job of brainwashing the planet into believing
that the iPod is the only MP3 around. As an example the Creative Labs video MP3 player is a better product than the iPod
in performance and features yet everybody is buying the video iPod instead.

I hope that DCX puts in generic audio jacks and adapters for connecting it to any MP3 player.



Automakers trick out rides with iPods
SAN JOSE, California (AP) -- In the latest boost to its dominance of portable music players, Apple Computer Inc. has teamed up with General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. to integrate the iPod into their car audio systems.

GM and Ford are the nation's No. 1 and No. 2 automakers, and the new alliances mean the iconic audio gadget will now be compatible with more than 70 percent of the new 2007-model vehicles sold in the United States, Apple said Thursday.

GM and Mazda will offer iPod integration on all new models, Apple said, and Ford will offer it on many of its Ford and Lincoln Mercury models later this year.

Carmakers say they are responding to a booming trend in which sales of iPods and other MP3 players are predicted to more than double from 57.7 million units in 2005 to 132 million units in 2009.

The iPod holds about a 75 percent share of the portable player market in the U.S., Apple said, and more than 58 million iPods have been sold since their debut in 2001.

Working with the iPod maker is part of increasing effort by Ford and other car companies to make it easier on drivers to access a variety of gadgets -- from cell phones and navigation systems to music players -- while on the road.

"Consumers are listening to music, they're messaging each other, and they want to engage in all those activities in their vehicles but in a safe manner," said Doug VanDagens, director of Ford's product and business development for electronics group.

Germany's BMW AG was the first automaker two years ago to incorporate iPods directly into its car audio systems, allowing users to plug the music player into an adapter that goes into the glovebox and access the iPod's music library through the car's standard controls.

By last fall, as sales of the iPod continued to surge, Apple had signed similar deals with about a dozen more car companies, including Acura, Audi, Ferrari, Honda, Nissan, and Volkswagen.

Ford said Thursday it will offer the iPod integration as a dealer-installed option called "TripTunes Advanced." An adapter that doubles as a battery-charging station would go in either the glovebox or center storage console. Users would then be able to control the iPod through buttons on the steering wheel or the radio. Playlists, artists, and other song information will also be displayed on the cars' systems.

In addition, Ford plans to add auxiliary audio input jacks on nearly half of its lineup, starting this fall. Tunes from any gadget -- iPods, other MP3 or CD music players, cell phones and game handhelds -- will then be playable on the cars' audio systems without the need for extra adapters or FM transmitters.

Demand for built-in satellite radio features has also prompted Ford to expand its relationship with Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. VanDagens said more than 90 percent of Ford and Lincoln Mercury cars will offer satellite radio by the 2008-model year.

 

Ya I dont like I-pods!!!!!

 

hard to tell if this is just a shameless ploy or will legitimately the car experience

 

Forget an I-pod i want mine ordered with an 8-track.

 

HAHA. talk about retro.

I like my iPOD, I have no complaints. I think alot has to do with that for awhile aftermarket support was geared towards the ipods. You can't blame Apple for this. They did what any company would do to make itself successful.

Here is something I am getting for my Mustang. The Hrman Kardon Drive and Play II. I have the first one that I put in my truck. It only is good for iPods. But HK with II has made it versatile for other models and it has Blue Tooth. Here is the web page.

http://www.harmankardon.com/drive-1/default.aspx

This shows both models.

 

How about an 8 track player that plays MP3's recorded on the tapes?
Then it'd be updated just like the car.

 

Okay guys let me help you with a little technology. I grew up as a teenager with 8-tracks. I had several 8 track players in my car and a 8-track recorder in my house
so I could make my own tapes. I still have an automobile player and I still own my JVC 8-track recorder I grew up with.

Frequency reponse is poor (usually less than 10Khz), wow and flutter is horrible (companies don't even spec this any more because todays digital technology is so good) and
wear and tear on tapes is bad. This is the reason why cassette tapes replaced this old mechanical design.

The only thing that never beat 8-tracks was the fast song switch ability it had since it was only a tape head on a solenoid swich. CD's have never been faster.
Only recently with digital recordings has it been that fast.

They used to have an 8 track tape that was an electronic module that had a wire with an 1/8 jack so you could plug it into anything like a CB radio. They you could hear
the CB radio on your car stereo. Cassettes had a smiliar module in the future.

What would be cool would be to have the same thing but the ability to plug an MP3 player into this module and it would still look like an 8-track tape from the outside
but all electronics on the inside

 

Along those lines, Jeremiah, I really wish they'd make the radio look like the AM-only models in the 1970 models with Chrysler Solid State stamped on the front. Retro rules!

 

Then you would want this. But unfortunately they don't sell it here in the US. It has all the newest technology(ie. Ipod connection, GPS, MP3, bluetooth) wrapped in old school stereo.

http://www.mybecker.com/beckerCms/ww...003&navSeq=219

 

That IS totally cool, Techman. A Retro car needs a Retro looking radio.