I’ve written a lot about the connected car and what new dashboard technologies mean for consumption of music, entertainment and information. I’ve also repeatedly stressed that traditional radio companies need to start thinking about what’s going to become of their listeners when this technology reaches critical mass among consumers.

Remember, radio people, the current average age of an automobile in the US is almost 12 years, which means there’s eventually going to be a huge rush to replace them. One of the things that’s getting cars out of showrooms is the cool gagetry that’s in the dashboard.

As an iPhone/iPad user, I would LOVE to see iOS intergrated into my dashboard. I want what I see on my phone to be the thing I see on my dashboard–at least in some respect. I certainly want the functionality to be similar–and I want easy (and safe!) access to my apps.

For example, I really like Waze, a navigation system from Israel that was recently purchased by Google. It offers crowdsource up-to-the-minute traffic conditions for the road in front of me. Whenever there’s a traffic jam, I know that I can fire up Waze and tell me what the problem is, where it is and if there’s a way around it.

Yes, yes, I know that I risk a $155 fine here in Ontario for handling my iPhone while behind the wheel. But that’s exactly my point. It would be so cool if I could just touch a button on my (woefully outdated) satnav system and the Waze info would appear right there on the dashboard.

That’s just a wish right now, but make no mistake: this technology is coming very, very soon. (Are you paying attention, stations that hang their hat on traffic reports?)

Apple has said they want tight dashboard integration for iOS and have been hiring automotive engineers for the past year. They’ve also struck deals with a number of manufacturers. And now we know who will be first: Nissan.

Nissan will be the exclusive launch partner for iTunes Radio. This is a big shot at Pandora, which has already launched an integration agreement with Mazda.

Read more here.