DETROIT ? General Motor?s newest SUV, the Chevy HHR, will be fitted with a new car stereo system that can play the iPod as well as other sportier GM vehicles slated for launch later this year.

GM?s wrinkle on jumping on the iPod bankwagon is new radios in the HHR will feature a spare channel and a front-mounted plug-in jack that can be used for connecting an iPod and other audio sources. The audio can then be played through the vehicles’ sound system.

“The Chevy HHR will help launch a new family of radios that will bring iPod connectivity to a broad range of GM vehicles,” Paul Nadeau, GM Engineering’s director for infotainment displays and controls, said in a statement.

Other 2006 GM models ? Chevy Impala, Chevy Monte Carlo, Saturn VUE, Pontiac Solstice, Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS ? will include an iPod adapter as a standard feature.

BMW kicked off the iPod trend in 2004, while others followed suit almost immediately. Mercedes and Volvo have announced that some of their new models will have iPod connectivity, and others such as Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Nissan have made provisions for adding support in new models before the end of the year.