The six-disc CD trunk changer is dead, dead, dead, we tell you. Proof comes along with the arrival of $200 replacement car radio/CD players with USB jacks. Plug in a 1GB USB thumb drive (as low a $50) loaded with MP3 or WMA files, and you've got the equivalent of a 15-disc CD changer. Kenwood has USB jack units nearly ready to ship in the U.S. market. So do Audiobahn, JVC, and shortly, Alpine.

Most are single DIN units, meaning they fit in a more or less industry-standard 7-by-2-inch dashboard opening. The cheaper your car, the more likely you've got a single-DIN faceplate. (More expensive cars have custom radios that aren't easily replaced. Sorry, Lexus owners.) The Audiobahn A1200N and the JVC KD-G720 will each cost about $200 street, with CD, MP3, and WMA playback. The Kenwood KDC-MP532 (also $200 street) adds AAC playback to the mix, and the Kenwood DPX-501 ($325 street) does the same in a 4-inch-high, double-DIN opening. Based on what we've seen, none have buttons big enough to be used when the car is moving, but that's par for the course.

These new products arrive in addition to replacement radios that have slots for SD Cards or Memory Sticks (the latter from Sony, in case you couldn't guess). A couple automakers integrate SD slots in new-car radios, and the Mercedes-Benz S550 has a PC Card slot. All play unprotected MP3 and WMA files; support for protected (downloaded) WMA and AAC music is variable. And Fiat's Grande Punto, not available in the U.S., has a glove-box USB jack capable of playing MP3 and WMA files from any USB device, including music players—even the iPod, but only if the iPod plays unprotected MP3s. The Blue&Me option uses Microsoft Windows for Automotive.