“I always wanted to make a good car stereo/computer out of one. The Chinese ones are crap and the good ones are priced ridiculously high. I simply have too many other habits ...”
There was a time when that was the best way to go, but at this point you can buy something better than you can build, unless you are possibly retired and your time is cheap :)
Now THERE'S an interesting project. I've often wondered how one could make a DAR...Digital Audio Recorder...to record and buffer FM radio audio the same as is done for video with a DVR.
With a Rasperry Pi...one could...in theory create such a device. Not unlike a Linux Myth TV DVR for home use. But this would be small enough to install in a car.
Haven't you occasionally listened to the radio and said, "What the heck did he just say?"
“There was a time when that was the best way to go, but at this point you can buy something better than you can build, unless you are possibly retired and your time is cheap :)”
I have enough side stuff to keep me busy (a startup company, plus my habit of pinball restoration :-)) ... What I wish someone would make is a kind of chassis for a Nexus 7 tablet (the good 2013 one)... Have that slide in vertically ... Make a baseboard with radio, multicamera interface, and preamp :-).
The closest I saw was a Chinese head unit running Android ... It was only $300, but the reviews werent so good :-). Some of the Pioneer/Kenwood ones I saw were OK, but not worth the $700+ price tag.