Car Radio with ipod control and remote

[niva441]

Sorry if this is the wrong forum, but it appears to be the closest to car audio.

I was looking at changing the radio in the old Merc SL I bought principally so that I could have a steering wheel remote. Unfortunately there isn't room for the remote that could work with the Sony already fitted in the car.

So I was going to use an old Blaupunkt radio, which has a neat remote that clips on the steering wheel rim, however the plan changed. I found out that I could get a lead that replaced the Blaupunkt CD changer connection with an Ipod connector. That should have simplified things. However if the ipod is connected to the stereo, I'd like to control from the stereo.

Talking to Blaupunkt about a later model they tell me that none of their units can talk to ipods.

So can anyone recomend me a head unit that can control an ipod and can also have a remote that fits neatly on the steering wheel?

What has surprised me from what I've seen is that few remotes for aftermarket units can fit on the steering wheel, most are like held held TV remotes.

Thanks

Todd

[Morningside]

Shame you could not get the Sony to fit as the ipod mod is quite a good one. and being a starndard I/F it makes life much easier.
Example
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SONY-XA-110IP-iPod-Adapter_W...

[TEKNOPUG]

I bought a £200 Sony unit a couple of years ago with remote (about the size of a matchbox but half as thick), 2 pre-outs, 4*45w RMS, I-Pod connector, 3.5mm Aux-in and USB (both mounted on the front). CD-autochanger contro, plus CD player, RDS, face-off etc etc. Covered all connectivity bases. I purely use a 16gb USB stick but my girlfriend has an i-pod.

[niva441]

The ipod connector looks good, it would mean changing the head unit anyway as the existing unit is too old. I'll have to have another look at the sony remotes as the only one I've seen needs to screw on to the steering column and the car hasn't enough steering column exposed.

[Morningside]

I managed to get a cheap Sony head unit. One of the reasons is that it is Minidisc!
BUT what people (sellers) forget is 99% of them have the CD compatible connections ready on the back

Managed to find a Minidisc player + connectors, boxed for £15.

[JimexPL]

I think that the steering wheel remotes that you talk about haven't been around for some time. Either panasonic or pioneer were one of the last manufacturers to do them.
Your only chance is to get hole of one of the remotes and try it out on a new head unit in a decent car audio shop to see if the main controls still use the same signals.
Do you really need a remote on an SL?