I want to load my music collection onto an mp3 player for use in the car. Are there any car audio units here that can do this or is the ipod/zen plugged into the current cassette player the only way to go. I know there are cd players that can play mp3 cds, but that's not what I want.

get a car cassette/radio that takes a 3.5mm stereo plug into the front - then you can plug whatever you want into it - harddrive/ram/disc based mp3 player.

I have a little gadjet that takes the output from an mp3 player and broadcasts it on the car radio FM frequency (choice of 4) and so the radio receives it and then it plays right out of the radio speakers.

It does not work all that well thoough.

There must be some lobby group that keeps the car mfrs from being up to date technically. There clearly should be a USB port, mp3 player and internal flash (or slot for an SD card) on every car CD/radio. Really no excuse for them to be so many years behind.

Cheers

I use a JVC CD player that accepts mp3 discs in the car.

You can get a decent amount of mp3s in on a 700 MB Cd - works fine for me.

There must be some lobby group that keeps the car mfrs from being up to date technically. There clearly should be a USB port, mp3 player and internal flash (or slot for an SD card) on every car CD/radio. Really no excuse for them to be so many years behind.

Cheers

CF card slot and 802.11 chip maybe even the ability to be part of a Bluetooth PAN

slightly offtopic - I like the idea behind these headphones - http://www.omiz.com.cn/products/order.asp?type=1

Strange that car audio manufacturers seem so far behind. Ideally a harddrive unit that goes in the standard slot - maybe would get too hot,- or a unit that fits under the seat maybe & can be taken out to load songs from the pc.

My current stereo has the jack plug input on the front - I could plug a creative zen into this, I guess, but with this or the ipod, you're paying for the minituarization you don't really need. What larger (cheaper!!) alternatives are available here?

Most new head units in cars these days comes with rca jacks (mine does) - below might be a viable option.

I use a JVC CD player that accepts mp3 discs in the car.

You can get a decent amount of mp3s in on a 700 MB Cd - works fine for me.

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Put a cheap Sanyo in the wifes car the other day that does the same - mp3/vcd/cd etc

Most new head units in cars these days comes with rca jacks (mine does) - below might be a viable option.

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That's the way to go,

FM trans doesn't have the fidelity due to limited S/N ratio, a direct pipe in like a 3.5mm mini-plug or RCA's is preferable, then just plug your POD or other in.

Most new decks will read MP3's along with CD WMA, etc, then again your still handling physical disks (CD),

I plug my little iPod Nano right into my Sony deck via RCA / mini plug adaptor, piece of cake, works great.

I got a Sony DVD/CD/MP3/VCD player in my 'Tuner, also got the AV leads out the back of it so I can hook up my I-Pod too. Cool set up, but cost nearly 70K to get it sorted.

In the beginning....

Earl Muntz (1917-1987) is credited with developing the first car stereo in the early 1960's. Muntz was an audio nut. According to Billboard, he developed the first known car stereo -- a 110-volt system that was modified to run on the car's own battery to avoid the risk of electrocution for occupants.

Other Contributions: Mr. Muntz started producing the Muntz Stereo-Pak, in the early 1960s. Oddly enough, Bill Lear (inventor of the LearJet) took a ride in a car with a Muntz stereo in 1963 and was so impressed that he immediately drove over to see Muntz and signed a distribution deal. Mr. Lear installed Muntz players in several of his LearJets, and began taking the players apart to find ways to improve upon their design.

And so the 8-track was born.

(sliding paper matchbook for track stabilization not included)

edit/ source here

I have a little gadjet that takes the output from an mp3 player and broadcasts it on the car radio FM frequency (choice of 4) and so the radio receives it and then it plays right out of the radio speakers.

It does not work all that well thoough.

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If you have a cassette player in your car, you could use a cassette adapter -- this is basically a cassette with a wire coming out of it that plugs into the headphone jack of the MP3 player. It's supposed to sound a lot better than an FM transmitter, but not as good as a direct connection to an input jack on a car radio.

Unfortunately, my car's radio/cassette player does not have an input jack, so I'll have to go the cassette adapter route. I can't find an adapter in the provinces, so it will have to wait till I make a trip to BKK/Pantip; the adapter costs $10-$20 in the US, and Belkin supposedly makes a decent unit.