How does it connect in a vehicle? Do you connect to the auxillary port on the front of the factory radio or does the installation require tools?

You can connect a few ways, if your vehicle is older you can connect to the docking a cassette tape adapter and it will play over the speakers that way, if your in a newer car you can of course use the adapter for AUX. AUX will provide you with the best sound quality compared to the other option which is connecting over the FM. The car docking units when mounted allows for the device to let off a connection to the FM. It's very weak and usually XM customer service will recommend you buy and install their FMDA adapter that attaches to your car's FM antenna as an extension to connect the device directly so that it overpowers outside FM channels from playing over the channel you choose to use. Always choose a channel that is not being used and the FMDA will ensure for the best quality. The use of the FMDA allows for better sound quality, not as good as AUX tho, but also if you drive a long distance you don't have to worry about changing and adjusting channels as it works to ensure your XM is playing over it compared to a local station if you were to end up somewhere where the channel is being used for broadcast. If you have AUX i would use it over the FM but if you don't want cables all over the FM is a bit cleaner of a look with less wires, but you sacrifice sound quality and stable listening.