If you like to ipod your car – pump music on your ipod through your car stereo system – apart from changing to a brand new car that has ipod integration such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Volvo – there are other options available to you .
If your car does not have the ipod connectivity, the solution to ipod your car is to install an ipod adapter.
An ipod adapter retailed by companies such as Peripheral and Monster can be installed within the cavern of wires behind your car dashboard, with one prong from adapter going to the back of your stereo while another prong goes to a ipod holder near the front seats of the car.
The ipod adapter works like an emulator and tricks the stereo to think it is a CD changer, so that you can use the track buttons on the stereo faceplate to select songs of your choice.
Installing an ipod changer might be difficult for the non-mechanical inclined, and the services of a trained mechanic might be easier.
If your car is too old, the factory installed stereo might not be suitable for ipod integration. For such cars, it is advisable to install a new player from manufacturers such as Alpine, Kenwood and Pioneer.
If sound quality is important to you, the use of ipod cassette adapters is not recommended as the sound quality is not good enough, and more importantly they do not recharge the ipod's battery.
Yet another solution is to use a FM modulator that can produce better sound, and can recharge the batteries, but can not be directly controlled from the radio.
With these drawbacks, the ipod cassette adapter and the FM modulator are not the best options, and it is still the ipod adapter that is recommended.
To facilitate your personal research and to find out what ipod integration is necessary for the model of your car, there are online catalogs from car audio online websites such as that from Crutchfield.com
So your first step is to determine the ipod integration requirements for your car and get the suitable adapter. Before long, you can be placing your ipod tracks through your stereo and enjoying your favorite songs.