To get it working in the car you will need a sled - this must be installed in your brothers car I'd have thought - unless its already in the sled - try pulling the unit out of the sled with the handle. If not he could only have used it in the house. They'll also be a credit card remote somewhere - you'll need this for some functions, but not necessary for simple stuff.

You don't need to know Linux either - unless you want to that is!