We just bought a Honda CR-V. I like the car, but i have to laugh when I think about the "mp3 player" feature of the car, which is nothing more than a PC Card slot behind the nav screen. I love that this is their solution. PC Cards? I'm not sure if this is a step forwards or backwards, given how difficult it is to find one. Hell, I can't even get the damn thing to work. I ordered some cheap parts from Newegg (PCMCIA CF reader, and a 2GB CF card for something like a whopping $10), and when I put it all in there it refuses to recognize the files, regardless of bitrate or file name.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share. When I think about this solution, nearly 10 years after the empeg, I just laugh a little.

ps-sorry if this has been discussed before, I couldn't find a record of it.

From random Googling, your CF->PC Card adapter should work fine.

It isn't a very good solution compared to an empeg but if you're going to have a card slot in there then PC Card is a nice idea. Flash memory PC Card readers exist for pretty much every format out there so you're not locked into buying Memory Stick or anything like that.

On the Audi satnav I think 1gb is the highest it will read, and its fussy about ntfs and fat and its fussy about how many files you can store. Also it has to be SD and not SDHC.

Check all those and you should be set

I'm having a hard time understanding this. Why would Honda fit a PC Card slot in there? That's not exactly a mainstream memory card form factor. CF or SD, yes, but PC Card (which I assume you mean ~PCMCIA).

Or do they offer a PC Card memory card reader as a "dealer accessory"?

I'll take Ford's Sync with its USB port, even though I think the USB drive has to stick out of the dash, easily knocked and snapped in half.

I agree with tman, them using a pc card means you can use any kind of card you want by getting a cheap adapter.

How will the average Honda buyer accomplish this? ie: in the UK, isn't Honda synonymous with "old people" (according to the Top Gear episode on the Honda Element).

I figure if they are so non-techie that they can't figure that out they wouldn't know what an mp3 is anyway

Heh. I was gonna guess "Vauxhall", even though I've got no knowledge of the UK ricer crowd. It just seemed the right kind of fit for that mentality.