I currently drive a 2000 Audi A4 and use a cassette adapter for my iPod. (I also own the iTrip FM transmitter but find it is complicated and doesn’t sound as good.)
I see that BMWs now have an iPod dock available, with controls on the wheel. Great, but the BMW Web site says that the dock is not compatible with satellite radio or the navigation system. Odd, as I’d expect that gadget-loving iPod owners would be the ones most likely to want the satellite radio and navigation system options.
So, does anyone know what makes/models of cars offer iPod support that aren’t hampered by the compatibility restrictions of BMW?
Volvo just announce a car with iPod integration. I can’t think of which it is off the top of my head.
Considering that new cars don’t have cassette players*, it’s not a bad idea to consider cars that let you integrate the iPod somehow. My rental Mondeo, for example, has an AUX button, but no visible mini-jack, and no cassette adapter. My $600 peso FM transmitter sucks just like I knew it would, so I currently do the admittedly stupid thing of driving with the headphones on**.
I could be wrong. I didn’t know that anybody still made cars with manually operated windows and locks that aren’t power (not to mention not keyless). But I’ve now seen several austere models such as these at top rental locations here such as Hertz and Avis.
** Audi books, not AC/DC, so yeah, at least I can still hear what’s going on outside the car. Remember this is a Mondeo***, just barely a step up from a Focus. I think even with AC/DC at full blast, I’d still be able to hear everything that happens outside the car.
*** For my fellow Americans, we don’t market the car. Maybe Google Images will have a picture if you’re curious.
P.S. Anyone know if there’s an input jack somewhere on European-style Ford radios?
Hey! My 2003 Saturn Ion has a tape deck, no power locks, and no power windows. I do appreciate your using the word “austere” over more … hmm… distasteful words as “cheap,” “crappy,” “bare-bones.”
When I bought my Saturn in 2002, a radio with a tape deck was available, but the CD player was standard. I think you get one that had both as an upgrade.
Why would anyone want power windows anyway? They’re a real bastard to repair when water hits the motor and the motors themselves cost $250 apiece. I can see power locking, but all the power windows add is weight, cost, and complexity.
Having an iPod dock is silly IMO. Electronic music player formats change every year, but having a 1/8" input would still let me connect my holographic SonyCreativeDell personal theatre system to my old 2005 Canyonero.
Just bitter that my 2003 Malibu spits out my cassette adapter right in the middle of the good songs.
They add the ability to roll down any window in the car without giving yourself a hernia trying to reach the stupid handle. Plus, I’m pretty sure they’re built to resist water. It’s not like the first rainstorm ruins them.
If I understood the info I got, direct connection for S60, V70, XC70, S80. Some type of transmitter arangement for XC90, new S40, V50.
Probably only will work on 05 models and later. Not sure, but I can check further if any of this is of intrest.
Does the stereo have a line-in jack with rca plugs on the back? If so, just hook up a rca to headphone y-cable to the ipodod, and then there to the rca plugs in back. What, so many people don’t have an aux button. Well, damn.
Saabs (the new ones) have an Aux 1/8" jack in the center arm rest. You can’t controll your 3rd party player of choice through the steering wheel controls, but it assures that anything with a headphone output will work.
Plus Saabs are quite nice cars.
It’s a bit pricy, but the ice>Link and ice>Link Plus looks like they’ll integrate your iPod with just about any vehicle that supports an external CD-changer.