Spotify:

Currently available to eligible users in the U.S., Car Thing enables you to play your favorite audio faster, so you’re already listening to that hit song or the latest podcast episode before you’ve even pulled out of the driveway. Switching between your favorite audio is effortless, allowing you to shift gears to something else as soon as the mood strikes.

And:

Our focus remains on becoming the world’s number one audio platform—not on creating hardware—but we developed Car Thing because we saw a need from our users, many of whom were missing out on a seamless and personalized in-car listening experience.

And:

The limited release of Car Thing is not meant to compete with in-car infotainment systems. Instead, it’s another step in our larger ubiquity strategy.

Here’s a link to Spotify’s ubiquity strategy, in case you just had to know.

As to “Car Thing”, follow the headline link, check out that first image. An odd, extremely specialized product. It mounts on a car vent (very Radio Shack) and purely does audio. Not feeling it.