This is the thread where you recommend a car stereo to me

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Alpine-In-Dash-CD-Player-CDA-9825-/sem/rpsm/oid/86198/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

I paired it up with some Infinity speakers I got for cheap off of e-bay, like these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14941&item=5753875225&rd=1

and complemented those with something like this for the rear:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14941&item=5752883646&rd=1

Voila! Now, unless you want a sub-woofer or something (I never did), then something like this should sound pretty solid. I'm not an audiophile or anything, so maybe a pairing like this will throw everything out of alignment, er, "out of phase," but it sounded great for the two years I had it. eBay is key regardless.

But it does have a 1/8-inch audio input jack
who makes this?

The simplest thing would be to go to a car stereo store that you trust or that someone recommends to you - a semi-shady place on a small highway, not Best Buy or Tweeter - and have them help you pick and install it. Try to get a 5-10% discount out of them. There aren't a lot of good review sites online (that I've found), and I wouldn't try to install it yourself unless you're really handy - I could tell you horror stories ...

A lot of new CD decks have jacks in the front or in the back; if it's in the back, you can snake a cord out into your console somewhere and plug an iPod (or whatever) into it. That's what I just did. My new CD deck, a Panasonic, also plays CDs and CD-RW's of MP3's or WMA, which is really handy. If you buy a new CD player, make sure it at least supports CD-R's - I used to get a lot of promos on CD-R that wouldn't work on my CD deck, forcing me to reburn them on a brand that I knew would work in my car.

You could just blow the whole $300 on the CD deck if you don't want to upgrade your speakers, or get an amp or a sub. I went whole hog and I'm really happy with my system - remember, an amp doesn't just make the system louder (although it can definitely do that), it makes the sound better and clearer - but I spend three hours a day in the car, so it made sense for me to invest most of my stereo-buying cash that way.

BTW, the new deck that I got is this one - I'm really happy with it, it does a couple tweaky things that I need to get used to (the forward-backward buttons could be more responsive, etc.) but nothing major. It displays images and animations that are cheesy but I kind of like 'em.

I bought the deck at a Circuit City, and they'll install anything you buy in the store for free (if it's above a $100 or something). An A/V wiz my brother was friends with installed the speakers for me, though. So I did save some money on that.

You could just blow the whole $300 on the CD deck if you don't want to upgrade your speakers, or get an amp or a sub.

I guess that's true. It depends on how crappy the stock speakers are. I had an old Saturn, so replacing the speakers was necessary (and not that expensive). Newer, nicer cars have decent systems, though.

I don't think you'll have to spend too much money on a deck if you're not going to hook it up to an amp or a sub. The deck your looking for is probably $150-$180 in-store and much cheaper on e-bay or most other on-line retailers (although you have to consider the installation fees).

My gf has had a bad run of luck lately (her car got broken into, camera got stolen, the newspaper industry is going down the toilet), so I want to surprise her with something nice. Her car doesn't have a cassette player or anything, so I thought maybe I could try to install one when she's at work.

this one, to be specific.

My question is, am I going to be able to pull this off? I've never messed around with car stereos at all. I'm not especially mechanically inclined, but I can follow instructions. I'm probably at about the 30th percentile of mechanical inclination. Crutchfield's website says that they'll include a free "Mastersheet" with the order that provides "detailed instructions on how to install a new stereo system in your specific vehicle."

Can I do this?

PS please don't make fun of me for wanting to order a cheapass cassette deck, I don't have much extra money.

it sounds to me like you have a car concern, and i know one person who could prescribe the best advice

hahahaha

Harry Douglas wouldn't be fooled by me again. Surely if I know how to trick out a Ford Taurus I can install a cassette deck into a Saturn.

That reminds me, back then I was going to virtually trick out a Ford Taurus in photoshop, complete with a hi-def windshield.