USB Car Stereos

This morning Slashdot has a posting about CNN's coverage of VW's new car stereo. The stereo has a in dash USB connector to allow connections to iPods and similar music players. A few people reply that there are off the shelf stereos in Europe that offer this.

So I take a look at the site of the masters of car stereo here in the U.S., Crutchfield. And yes, they do have an in dash stereo that accepts USB inputs among other features. The Audiobahn A1200N supports the iPod. From the description:

For starters, the A1200N offers a direct connection for your iPod® that lets you control track and playlist selection right from the radio. Just connect the optional data cable, plug in your iPod, and the CD player will display iPod song, artist, and album information, giving you near total iPod control for less than $20.

So this goes to prove my theory that I car companies should go back to standard sized and shaped stereos in their cars. But that discussion is for another day.