Drive to your own beat in cars under $25,000by Thom Blackett
If you commute to work in the LA area, you will likely spend 90 hours stuck in traffic this year. That’s two weeks at work - plus overtime - spent breathing in noxious fumes and listening to a stream of inane commercials and the blabber of amateur comedians passing as disc jockeys. Options include silence, carrying a bunch of CDs or satellite radio, which skips the commercials but still plays songs you may not like and charges a monthly fee.
Until now. Carried along but slightly behind the wave of iPod personal music is the idea that a person could rig up an iPod in their car and get hours of uncompromised entertainment. Initially, to do that meant an installation fee or poor sound quality, but Apple and the automakers have quickly gained ground. Some luxury automakers now offer complete iPod integration, and more are providing buyers with easy ways to pipe in their entertainment of choice. Listed on the following pages are ten vehicles that come standard with iPod compatibility, or require simple upgrades to make using an iPod in the car simple and easy. Best of all, they’re under $25,000.
