New Stereo

[bmac]

Just curious. Has anyone removed the factory Bose stereo and installed a 3rd party unit? Was thinking of an in dash AV receiver with retractable LCD screen and DVD player (Alpine, Kenwood, etc.). Would it render the steering wheel controls useless? How about the rear seat controls? I've read some manufacturers have their own AV switcher for rear seat selections but don't know enough about electronics to know if these things are brand sensitive or if the Bose (?GM) rear seat controller could operate a different brand of stereo.

Living in a rather small town, we don't exactly have the type of customizers that the LA/Hollywood stars have at their disposal. Nor do I have their bank account. And keep in mind, I'm a middle-aged old fart who mainly listens to news-talk radio. However, I also have young kids who like movies while traveling. I wouldn't want to put a second rate system in a vehicle like the H2 but I don't want a gang banger, window-shattering, thump/thump, boom boom, low-rider, fluorescent light glowing, bling bling (is that what its called?) pimp mobile. Sorry if I've offended anyone who likes this sort of thing - its just not for me.

But I digress. Would an aftermarket unit like I described look cheesy in the H2 in lieu of the factory Bose stereo? Would anyone here let some place like Circuit City tear their baby apart for such an installation or would you only let a high-end installer tackle such a job? Granted the H2 is not a cheap vehicle but we are talking GM, American-made equipment and not a lambo, mazerratti or other more eccentric model. But i sure wouldn't some semi-trained bozo tearing into it and making irreversible changes only to find out that half of the other electronic gizmos and gadgets didn't work when they finished.

I guess I've covered everything. BTW, just returned the pewter H2 w/ Adventure pkg + leather demo this morning. Had the 24 hr test drive. Awesome vehicle. Now just need to decide if I get an '03 or wait for the '04.

Thanks for your advice.