As recently published by the German (not BBC) magazine Focus, Apple will be making an in-car system for Mercedes. This mystery unit will tackle "maintenance entertainment, communication and navigation". From Focus (translated):
Mercedes will exclusively offer the new Apple set for six months. On an introduction on the market presumably 2009 are to be counted. Unclear it is still whether Apple - similar as with iPhone - on Google will trust maps as navigation aid.
So this is what we "know" from the article:
1. Apple is making a Mercedes computeresque option
2. This system will handle car functions and navigation
3. Released in 2009
4. It's a 6-month limited edition
5. There is no mention of "entertainment" or MP3
6. No mention of Google Maps (yet)
If anyone out there speaks German better than Google, please hit the link and see if you can squeeze anything else out of cleaner diction. How could this be true? Apple has been made its way into the vocabulary of most car manufacturers/buyers through highly saturated integrated iPod support. And Mercedes-Benz was the first manufacturer to roll out a complete iPod system in their automobiles.
Still, we're gonna take this with a grain of salt, no matter what Jobs may be driving.