i need to buy a new headunit for the cq cause the one that came with the cq is just a plain-jane headunit. i hate changing CDs all the time plus i'm not a fan of cd changers because you still have to change CDs if you want to listen to more/other music. so the ipod is the only way to go so you dont have to change CDs all the time?

cdr's in my car. Ever since I purchased my iPod my car hasn't even seen a cdr. No having to burn a new cdr everytime you get new music. Just encoded it, sync. the iPod, and go. Nothing better!

Not to mention that your entire music collection is with you and available at the push of a few buttons.

how much am i looking to spend? i need to buy a new headunit thats ipod ready, buy an ipod and accories (sp?) to transfer my music from my computer to the ipod. anything else i need?

As far as anything you're missing, just a good case to put the iPod itself inside. Apple really screwed up with the form over function design and NO durabilty. I purchased an iSkin EVO3 and couldn't be happier.

For what it's worth, I was never going to get an iPod but I have to say I never regreted the purchase. It's a great thing to have.

I'm going to purchase a new Pioneer Premier DEH-P880PRS next week with the iPod adapter. The whole upgrade with adapters should cost me around $475.00. I hope I like the thing as much as I think I will...

i'm thinking about getting a indash motorized (sp?) lcd headunit so i can easily see the tracks/playlist on a bigger screen (more of a safety thing) then trying to look at a small screen.

Since you're talking about your CQ and no intention to stay with factory HU, your options are much much more open. There are now many aftermarket HUs that have either a proper iPod interface or a 3.5mm line in or even a USB socket. With a line in, you can really use any brand of mp3 player and skip the whole CD thing. With a USB socket, you can even forget about the mp3 player and just use a USB stick.

As far as a motorised LCD HU goes, not sure if any out there does combination of display + iPod or display + USB. Display + line in will DEFINITELY NOT get you song info onscreen, since the info needs to be read off the file itself and line in will only provide the audio signal.

You can roll your own carputer with LCD touchscreen, etc. but that's a much bigger job again.

my cq already has an aftermarket headunit but its a plain-jane cd player.

i guess i have a find out if there is a motorised headunit that can display a playlist from an ipod or a usb

it would be cool to do a carputer but it'll probably cost an arm and a leg

This spring I bought an Alpine 9856. Starting with the '06 models, all you need is a $20 cable. All of the song info, playlist info, etc is displayed on the HU screen, and all controls are on the head unit. You never touch the ipod. Mine is in the glovebox. Charges the ipod as well. Audio quality is great, which is not something you can say for all methods of ipod integration. I love it. Ended up being about $220 from crutchfield.com (200 HU, 20 cable).