Rather than write out a whole review, i’m just going to copy and paste a conversation i just had that pretty much sums it up:

me: wow
me: i got this “Monster iCarPlay” cassette adapter so i could plug my mp3 in my car
Gudo: uh huh..
me: first one didn’t work – when i put it in, it started like fastforwarding ,and then spit it out..
me: so i returned it today, and the second one, same thing.
Gudo: well.. looks like you’ll have to upgrade your head unit
me: it has 2 of 5 stars out of 235 reviews: http://​store.apple.com/​1-800-MY-APPLE/​WebObjects/​AppleStore?​productLearnMore=​TA381LL/A
me: nah. it’s just this one thing. my brother’s adapter works fine
Gudo: wow
Gudo: ok
me: wow. like every other review comment is: “didn’t work in my car”
me: woops
me: guess i’ll have to get a different one
Gudo: yea
Gudo: reviews are pretty reliable
Gudo: when theirs that many
Gudo: or.. useful
me: AND, it came in one of those retarded plastic blister packs that are a pain to open and can’t be reclosed.
me: two thumbs down.
Gudo: yea, those packs are actually a discouragement for me buying something
me: yeah… when i first picked it up, i was eyeing it – and it’s only “riveted” on 4 corner points (instead of sealed all the way around), so i thought i might be easier. but no.
me: hmm… seems to like honda/acura. not vw
me: sorted the reviews to “highest rated” to see who got it working
me: oh wait. works for one audi. hmm…
me: WTF???… “I do not have this spaciftic tape (Monster) but I have one from Sony.”… and rated it 5 stars
Gudo: haha
Gudo: nice..
me: well, i’m gonna try opening it up. i had a hunch something might be screwy inside. and i just read a comment that said something about that
Gudo: wow
Gudo: you should probably just get somethin better dude
me: yeah. it’ll most likely be back home at Best Buy tomorrow, but my curiosity is reaching for the screwdriver

How about some pics to top it off:

Blister packs are from the devil.

The iCarPlay undressed.

So, uh… what exactly is this supposed to do?

How about those bare wires all up in the spring?

So for the record, this thing does not work in the factory Monsoon system in my ’01 VW GTI. I also tried it in another front slot loading player and it did the same fast-forwarding thing. When i tried it in my drop-in-and-close boombox, it played okay, but the signal was very weak. But hey, at least the plug is 24k gold. Wouldn’t expect anything less from Monster.