All in all, it's an excellent and nearly foolproof system. Should you miss a turn, the GPS recalculates how to get back to your specific location. Controlled by an independent CD-ROM located under the passenger seat, the Alpine offers different regions to choose from across the country. This way, should you wind up in Florida, you can pop in the CD-ROM pertaining to the East Coast to find your way like a pro.
Once the GPS was mastered, we moved on to the DVD player. To watch a movie, turn the key to the "on" position, pop in the DVD, and step on the foot brake. Pull the release, reset the break, release again, and set the parking brake one final time. Let go of the foot brake, and the movie springs to life. No, the hokey-pokey isn't required; however, rumor has it that other stereo makers have tinkered with the idea. It's all in the name of safety, of course, to make certain the movie isn't playing while the vehicle is on the road, distracting the driver worse than any cell-phone ever dreamed of doing. However, much to rear-passengers' relief, the movie will play on the rear overhead LCD while the vehicle is moving--just press play, plug in the headphones, and move on.
Cerullo stepped in with a helping hand to the tune of a leather-clad console serving as third seat, cupholder, armrest, and storage bin. The console was built on slide rails, enabling it to move forward and back. Despite its clever design, the unit was too small to house a CD changer.
Once you get the movie going, it's well worth it. The quality of the LCD screens is immaculate, and the clarity of the sound from the 5x7s is incredible. Despite being a compact unit designed for automotive use, the system rivals a home unit, the picture and sound are perfect, and it offers the same features as a home DVD player. Sliding a disc into the unit is exactly like putting in a CD: they both use the same head-unit entry point.
Ironically, we didn't have a CD changer with this setup, only the single in-dash player. Thus, the larger console wasn't necessary, but the stock look does fit the sleeper motif of Thunder--and the stereo sounds great to boot. The system also is "buildable," meaning that if we decide to incorporate a changer in the future, it will be easy to do. Despite its somewhat temperamental nature, the new unit truly sets off Thunder as a great project vehicle.
Tune in next time when Project Thunder receives some custom appliques to set it apart from the sleeper crowd and draw it closer to the vehicle SVT never built that it mimics. TT