Blank Slate 2006 - Help Me Make It Great?

Total newbie, as of tonight! Yeeeehaaaa!

I just bought a 2006 with great miles (under 30k) at a really great price, but the most basic (at least I think so) options package.

It's got the screen with only three options; no nav, no keyless; single CD player, cloth interior, etc. I want to make it into something I love at the surface as much as I love on the inside.

So, two questions - First, any advice for getting leather upholstery (I know it's not electronics, but the rest of the post is)? In particular, will a dealer just send it to an aftermarket guy and mark that up, or will a dealer do a better job? What do I need to tell a guy to get it as close to factory as possible? Will they do the console, arm rests, etc?

Second, I'd love some suggestions on the best way to upgrade the electronics. Here's my parameters:

I want to take full advantage of the cool screen in the middle of the thing, and am willing to upgrade that if that makes it better and is possible. Options? I would love as much control over the car/audio/electronics as I can get. What's the best option for that? Upgrade to whatever comes in the more advanced packages? Is that even possible? Best aftermarket?

Also, I want the cleanest possible interface with my phone (currently an iPhone but you never know) for both calls and music. Wires and a custom bracket if installed professionally are okay. Bluetooth is okay too. Sound quality is only a little important. It can't totally suck, but I mainly listen to spoken stuff (podcasts, etc.) and just don't care that much. I mean... we're starting with MP3s here, so...

I don't really care about on-board navigation (I can use my phone) but if there's an excellent option out there, I'd consider it.

I'm happy to lose the CD player -- CDs are all in a box in the attic. Sirus XM is a possibility but depends on integration and cost.

Everything has to look really, really clean. Head units with flashing lights that don't match the dash are not what I'm looking for.

Anybody got any advice on one or more areas here? Help me make this my dream car!

 

Cool, thanks! I'll check out the DICE unit.

 

I'm trying to get more info, but weirdly, searching "dice silverline pro" doesn't really get me anywhere, and dice's pages aren't terribly clear on products either.

Any good links?

Also, does anybody make a price-no-object replacement unit that just totally overhauls the screen/audio system in these? I probably can't afford it if so, but I'd dream! I'm not finding anything like this, and I'm sort of surprised.

 

I found this in another thread, and it seems to summarize the problem nicely: "The people that make these devices (Scosche, Dice, Vais, etc.) are really boxed in. They are trying to make something work when they weren't able to design the interface. The interface is hard coded in the computer in your car. So, they can only make it work so well."

So here's my question: if I was willing to gut the whole thing, screen, head unit, everything, and don't really care about the MPG readout and so on, is there something totally amazing I can do with this hole in my car that will 1) look factory, 2) give me nav, music, and phone, and 3) have lots of other goodies?