I read stuff in Flat mode usually, so it is easy enough to lose the hierarchy of messages!

Think of it ripping at multiple speed (e.g. 8x for the Sony) while you are using the car anyway. Even the shortest journey should be able to rip 1 CD (especially if it finished ripping after ignition off and then shuts down), so to and from work gives you 10 CDs a week minimum, without any special effort to rip at other times. As mentioned, it is personal preference, and I am guessing that all those posting to this board regularly are showing more computer keenness than the majority of the target market, and probably a considerably larger CD collection (please forgive my extreme generalisations!). Market research gives a surprisingly low figure for the amount of HDD space most people think they want (certainly not enough to trouble the size of laptop/automotive drives available! (Please don't tell me about the reliability of market research results!!)

I work for Visteon in the UK on automotive multimedia of various sorts. I guess I am empeg's main advocate inside Visteon, which is by turns fruitful and interesting, and other times frustrating - the latter pretty much always on our side I have to say - OEM is rarely the cutting edge of technology!

Nick