Originally Posted By: tanstaafl.
Is this a pretty impressive thing, or is it common on new cars these days?

This is pretty common, I would say, at least as an option.

BTW, I found that various iPod interfaces (say, on my cheap Panasonic home theater) are rather inconvenient (at least for my 160GB model) unless one prepares playlists in advance, as navigation through artists or albums is typically flat, without quick scrolling or search available on iPod itself.
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Dragi "Bonzi" Raos Q#5196 MkII #080000376, 18GB green MkIIa #040103247, 60GB blue