Just wanted to say thanks to ASL and Fadi75, the cable arrived yesterday (after some delays with the courier company, no fault of ASL) and was easy to install. Really happy with it, the ipod only needs to be on approx 1/2 volume for it to be as loud as a CD, don't know how it compares to the Ford part, but i can't fault this one, no whine or any noise. With the ignition off (ie not boosted) i need the head unit on almost full volume to hear it, so i can see now why people haven't been happy with the non boosted cable.
I stole Reddevil's idea and ran the cable under the cup holder into the centre console, and installed a mobile phone presenter (from ford $31.75), and screwed on an ipod holder (from
www.holdmyphone.com.au $79.00 with shipping, pretty expensive for what it is, but it was the best one i could find on the net, from the box it says it's a "clicon" brand, so don't know if anyone else sells them). So it's a nice neat install, easy to fold away and hide when parked, no wires to see except poking out of the centre console when it's folded out. Easy to operate from the drivers seat, and doesn't invade the passengers space which i was worried about. I added a bit of foam tape under the phone presenter where it touches the cup holder surround, it looked like it might rub away a bit there over time.
So i'm really happy with it, thanks again to ASL and to Reddevil for your ideas, definately the way to go.