Detroit Sings iTunes

Pretty soon iPod integration in your car may be as standard as Cruise Control.

Late last week the big iPod news came from Detroit as General Motors, Ford and Mazda unveiled their iPod integration plans. GM, for example, will introduce the Personal Audio Link on the Chevrolet HHR and in 2007 iPod integration will find its way as a deal installed option to all 56 models of GM cars. GM, Ford, and Mazda join some good company: BMW, Honda, Toyota, Mercedes and Chrysler all offer iPod integration on some models. And last year Audi and Volkswagen announced their iPod integration plans too.

According to Apple, and reported heavily in many of the auto blogs, that means that 70 percent of 2007-model vehicles in the U.S. will provide iPod integration. The plans vary. GM's initial Personal Audio Link systems will include a jack that plugs an iPod or any other MP3 player into a unit that synchronizes the player with the car's XM Satellite radio band. Ford is introducing a more ambitious TripTunes Advanced. With TripTunes the iPod will be integrated through a glove box connection and charge while the car is running. The song information will be displayed on the radio and the iPod functions will be controlled on the steering wheel.

Bill Howard's TechnoRide coverage reports that a small but growing number of cars are simply offering USB jacks in their dashboards, which doesn't limit you to iPod only integration and other cars like Infinti, Mercedes, and Honda are offering memory slots in dash.

If you're not in the market for a new car just to have a place to put your iPod you should read Bill Howard's post on Technoride that discusses the pros and cons of how to link your iPod to your home radio.

Having driven cars with built in iPod integration and aftermarket products like my own RoadTrip, I can tell you those after-market adapters like mine just don't give you the same quality of listening experience. They can also be clunky (like my unit that plugs into my cigarette lighter but makes it hard for me to get at my gear shift)!

And there's something else going on in my car. Between my GPS, my iPod and my XM Radio I know that I'm driving myself to distraction. My iPod is not alone in my car; I'm not alone either. As a matter of fact for 2007, Ford has doubled the number of models with navigation systems, and quadrupled those that feature Sirius satellite radio systems according to one analyst. What are your 2007 auto plans? Fiddling with gadgets or eyes on the road?