That's correct. People will just have accidents while reaching across the car with their head under the dash trying to reach the glovebox.

 

I don't buy this about the iDrive. All the important settings are set and forgotten. The only time I go into iDrive is for the stereo option such as selecting a different disc. I know the controller moves by heart so no need to take my eye off the road. For those who are familiar with its operations, it is no more distracting than any other car where the driver must reach and press an assortment of buttons for various stereo/climate operations. Just as that driver "knows" where that buttons are and can reach out to change stations on his stereo, so too can I in use iDrive with a minimal amount of looking at the screen.

Even if the six disc changer were in-dash, the reality is that changing discs while driving is distracting and dangerous no matter where the changer is located. With the in-dash changer, you still need to take your eyes off the road to find the disc, again to look down at which button you are selecting, etc. And yes, even popping a disc out of the standard single CD and putting in a new CD is distracting and requires the driver to take his eyes off the road. Granted, the location of the changer in the glove box makes changing while driving impossible, but an in-dash changer is still a distracting and potentially dangerous toy that many drivers play with rather than focusing on the road.

Sorry, but to me this is simply a non-issue with the car. Just my 0.02.

 

I have an Audi (German?) A4 Cabrio with the 6 CD changer in the center mounted radio. If I even attempt to try to change a CD while driving with my wife it leads to a lot of hissing and admonitions about keeping eyes on the road etc. So like a good husband I get everything ready before starting off on anything longer than a 1 CD drive. This leads me to say using a cartridge based system is actually easier to prep than the one slot load/unload system. Too bad this one it isn't compatible with my old home system that I have 30 + cartridges lying about pre-loaded.

 

This is exactly why some of us are begging for the Aux Input. My 500 hour MP3 player allows me to take ALL my music in the car with me.

 

By mercedes E its in dash also for the 7-series

 

I have no problems changing from one CD to another without taking my eyes of the road or hands of the steering wheel. Just push a button on the wheel say "CD4". Done.

 

You guys w/ NAV and voice commands are always showing off!

 

I really think that Voice commands are part of the original vision for I-drive and should not be bundled with the NAV. It makes the package complete.

 

I wonder if it could er retrofitted into the non-nav cars with just software. The cars already have the mike and button on the steering wheel. I wonder if the MASK is powerful enough. If its not, i wonder what the hardware specs are. 1.2 mhz and 1mb of ram?

 

My Accord has the 6 cd changer in the trunk.