Hello all,

Well I did something crazy a couple months ago: I bought a new car without giving my empeg top consideration when deciding which model. I love my Chevy Impala and wouldn't be happy with anything else, but I've decided it's time to investigate possibilities of how to get my empeg installed.

I've attached a picture of what my dash looks like. This is from the brochure, but mine looks the same. Well, it's hard to see from that shot, but the ideal location would be below the climate controls in that little cubby area. The picture on the right shows what that section looks like if taken out of the car. Unfortunately, GM wasn't kind enough to make that wide enough for an easy install inside there. It's about an inch too narrow. Therefore, one option I could consider is to somehow modify this piece to accomidate the docking sled. Of course I'd get a second hand one from a junkyard to play with, but I can't imagine any way that it will look that pretty. Well, for now I'm just playing around with ideas, so maybe someone out there has a solution.

If location isn't difficult enough, there is also the matter of integrating it with the current sound system. I don't really want to lose my factory stereo, because for one I think it looks nice, and if I can I definately want to retain the steering wheel controls, but also, the head unit is the interface for many programable features of my car, including the key fobs and tire and oil monitor system. Plus, OnStar also interacts with the factory head unit.

In the worst case, it is possible to relocate the head unit to the trunk via an adapter cable to retain the programable features, which would free up the dash for the empeg, but I am hoping for a better alternative. I just thought I would throw this out here first and maybe someone out there has some ideas I haven't considered yet. I've also posted this on an Impala board that I frequent and at the same time put in a good word for rio car. :) I know this is going to be quite a project and I will definately be giving more thought to the matter. Thanks,

Duane