New cars without cd players

[jglfan]

Hi, hoped someone might be able to recommend a cd player which can take power form the lighter outlet and plug into a usb port in a 2016car I just bought. Are there any which are particularly good at not skipping? Hate that cars no longer come with cd players!

Also, and perhaps alternatively, can anyone tell me how to transfer a playlist from iTunes to a usb stick? I'm a tech luddite. I've burned cd's from iTunes but clicking on that opens the cd drawer and doesn't seem to offer an option to transfer to the usb port.

Thanks for any help!

[NogbadTheBad]

Personally I'd suggest you get a thumb drive and copy your music onto that direct from your hard drive, ignore iTunes.

[jglfan]

Thanks Ian, but I'm not sure I understand. (Told you I was a luddite!) A thumb drive is a usb stick, no? Assuming so my question would be is the music I import to iTunes (from cd's) also accessible somehow elsewhere on the hard drive?

[markwoll]

If the stereo has bluetooth, why not just use that. Assuming that your phone has music on it.

[NogbadTheBad]

Thanks Ian, but I'm not sure I understand. (Told you I was a luddite!) A thumb drive is a usb stick, no? Assuming so my question would be is the music I import to iTunes (from cd's) also accessible somehow elsewhere on the hard drive?

A thumb drive is a usb stick. If you have burned cd's onto iTunes then the music files are stored somewhere on your hard drive. You can find where by going into iTunes, right clicking on a track and looking at the file information, it'll give you the address on your hard drive where the files are. You can then go to Windows Explorer (that thing that looks like a light brown folder) and find the actual files. Open two Windows Explorer folders, one for the USB Stick & one for the hard drive music folder and copy and paste the files onto the stick.

[Nearfest2]

A thumb drive is a usb stick, no? Assuming so my question would be is the music I import to iTunes (from cd's) also accessible somehow elsewhere on the hard drive?

Thumb drive = USB stick, yes.

Look for the iTunes Media folder on your hard drive. All your music will be in a subfolder there organized by Artist. mp3 and m4a (native Apple) are supported by all new cars. I'm sure others are as well, but check your manual to be sure.

BTW, my new 2018 Subaru Crosstrek still has a single CD player!

[jglfan]

Hi Mark, thanks. I hadn't thought of that. It does work however my phone (an iPhone 4) has only 8 g and only a max of 2 g available for music. I would get tired of hearing the same stuff and would have to change the playlist often, not terrible. I thought if I could get the music on thumb drives I could have several in the car and effectively have a ton of music available. But thanks again!

[jglfan]

Thanks Chad, I will check that out! Awesome your car still has a player. In my old age I seem to be reluctant to change!

[markwoll]

Thumb drive = USB stick, yes.

Look for the iTunes Media folder on your hard drive. All your music will be in a subfolder there organized by Artist. mp3 and m4a (native Apple) are supported by all new cars. I'm sure others are as well, but check your manual to be sure.

BTW, my new 2018 Subaru Crosstrek still has a single CD player!

I was happy to see that my 2018 Forester has a cd player, along with the other 6 ways to get music.
It moved the deal along.
I use bluetooth for most 'drivetime tunes'. I don't like fumbling with the cd cases with the car in motion.
My phone has 80gb of music on shuffle, so few repeats.

[jglfan]

Thanks Ian, appreciate the detailed explanation. Will give a shot later today.

[Shadowfax]

USB stick is best option. My '17 LaCrosse still has a CDP, but I think I have used it only 3 times.

I currently have about 5000 tracks on a 64GB stick on constant Shuffle. I add and subtract as needed.

[Supersonic Scientist]

Holy Shiite....Since I'm still driving my (purchased new) 2006 Toyota Tacoma....I can't imagine (other than what I see on TV commercials) the new tech that is in new vehicles these days.

With the way I keep my vehicles in good condition, I'm expecting to get 3-5 more years out of this truck....what sort of Whoo-Whoo/UFO-tech will be in cars by THAT time???

[Shadowfax]

....what sort of Whoo-Whoo/UFO-tech will be in cars by THAT time???

The cars will just play whatever song you have in your head with no interaction

[Rune Blackwings]

are there bluetooth devices one can attach to a classic ipod?

[markwoll]

Yes, amazon/newegg has many to choose from. Looks like a little dongle that plugs into the charger/sync port. Just search ipod bluetooth adapter.

[progeezer]

I have a 2016 Hyundai Elantra "bell & whistle" loaded car that in addition to Bluetooth technology (this Luddite is clueless) has a single cd player. Unless I'm listening to a WI team sports event coz' I'm not home, that's the only media I use.

[miamiscot]

Finally we're talking about something important: listening to Prog in my car is a religious experience so I hope the OP finds his way!!!

(I just plug in my classic iPod 120 into the Aux jack as the bluetooth doesn't always work in my Honda CRX. And voila!!! Valhalla.)

[Scott Bails]

The cars will just play whatever song you have in your head with no interaction

Awesome.

[Shadowfax]

Awesome.

Awesome, I have not heard that in 20 years.

[Spiral]

Don't know of any specific examples, but I'd guess there have to be options for connecting just about anything to a plain 3.5mm jack. It only makes sense there'd be demand for adapters to go with any new gizmo out there. Even better is if the car stereo has an auxiliary input so you don't have to rely on a USB (IME many stereos are made with both).

Where the actual CD player is concerned, if you don't live in an area full of potholes everywhere, the standard skip protection on any model should be fine.

USB stick is best option. ... I currently have about 5000 tracks on a 64GB stick on constant Shuffle.

Half agree. It's the best option for someone who likes to shuffle, but fucking awful for someone who doesn't. The bigger the drive, the more ridiculous a PITA it is to find the particular folder you want among all the others. If I got to the end of the work day and knew what I wanted to load up in the car, for instance, it'd be just fine--I'd plug into the PC and move one album to the root folder with a 00 in front so it'd play first. If I didn't decide on something before the end of the day or changed my mind, the flash drive was useless.

[Shadowfax]

I don't have to shuffle, sometimes I play a whole album or all tracks by a band.

It took me a few months to figure out the best way to store on the stick, my car did not like all in a single folder, so I ended up breaking it down by genre.

[Dave (in MA)]

I use bluetooth for most 'drivetime tunes'. I don't like fumbling with the cd cases with the car in motion.
My phone has 80gb of music on shuffle, so few repeats.

I can change CDs without having to look away from the windshield, and I have MP3 players with physical buttons that require minimal visual interaction, but unless I'm using my wife's 5 year old car with a bluetooth interface in the stereo, forget about using my smartphone on the road in my '04.

[Dave (in MA)]

The cars will just play whatever song you have in your head with no interaction

OMG EARWORM KILL ME NOW

[rcarlberg]

Old cars are warmer.

[markwoll]

I can change CDs without having to look away from the windshield, and I have MP3 players with physical buttons that require minimal visual interaction, but unless I'm using my wife's 5 year old car with a bluetooth interface in the stereo, forget about using my smartphone on the road in my '04.

Most single cd jewel boxes are no problem. Double cd jewel boxes come in many ( sometimes very frustrating ) formats.
Cardboard cd cases can sometimes require two hands. I try to treat the cd's with respect, players hate scratches and big thumbprints.
Driving back from Progday or rosfest with a pile of new cd's, unwrapping and fumbling while storming up the interstate can be pretty fraught with peril.
Done it, lived to tell.
In my old '98 forester I used a 3.5mm jack to aux input to play music from the phone. No usb, but it would play mp3's from CD ( that was a very short lived experiment ).
When the cd player eject button fell off it was time for a new car.