Chrysler raises the bar on in-car technology with the MyGiG: a 20GB hard drive embedded in the dashboard for ripping CDs and for storing navigation data. Included is a Gracenote lookup engine to provide artist, track, and title information; this is the first use of Gracenote in a new-car audio system in North America. (By the way, the Wall Street Journal reported that Gracenote may finally be legally allowed add lyrics to its other track information. It's about time!)
Chrysler showed off the MyGiG in the restyled 2007 Chrysler Sebring Thursday at a press conference in New York City, along with a reworked Chrysler Pacifica crossover vehicle (a tall station wagon) and Chrysler's first SUV, the Hemi-powered Aspen, a cousin to the Dodge Durango. Take a look at our slideshow for tech highlights of all three cars.
There's no question that the biggest highlight for Chrysler is the MyGig head unit (car talk for the radio), a single module. Here's what's included.
An AM/FM radio.
A CD/DVD player. It plays DVDs on the back seat's optional display or on the front-seat LCD when the car is parked.
Embedded Sirius satellite radio. It's a single chip in the radio, instead of a separate module, with real-time traffic reporting and the ability to route you around a traffic tie-up.
A 20GB hard drive. The drive is ruggedized for automotive use.
A USB jack. You use it for transferring music from memory keys. Also, a line-in jack for playing music off portable players. Unlike Fiat's Blue&Me LINK and several replacement radios, this is for flash-based keys only, not music players. There's no dedicated iPod controller option, though.
Two audio outputs. One goes to the car's speakers, the second to the rear-seat headphones if buyers opt for the console-mounted rear-seat LCD display.
Bluetooth hands-free calling. It's called U-Connect by Chrysler.
A 6.5-inch LCD panel. It also has a touchscreen and voice control.
The MyGiG hard disk holds navigation data, system software (about 1GB), up to 1,600 MP3 or WMA files (allocated a bit less than half the hard disk), and the Gracenote lookup engine. When you rip a CD, Gracenote music ID software provides the artist, title, and track information for the most popular of its 4 million CDs on file. You can also upload photos for a slide show and select one to be used as a screensaver.
Chrysler spokesman Cole Quinnell enthused, "You might expect this in a $40,000 Lexus, but a $25,000 Chrysler?" Pricing on the MyGig module hasn't been set, but most navigation systems are in the $1,500 to $2,000 range. Although the hard drive adds cost, Chrysler saves part of the cost by eliminating the single-purpose optical drive for navigation data.
The MyGig will be available initially in fall 2006 in one car from each of Chrysler's three brands: the Chrysler Sebring, Dodge Nitro, and Jeep Wrangler. There's also a 20GB hard drive in the console of the $85,000 Mercedes-Benz S-Class LINK, and while they're both sourced through the Harman Group, a Chrysler spokesman says they're different, particularly since the Mercedes uses its drive for navigation data only.
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