I think you are stretching here, just to force a disagreement.
Oh? I don't think so - I think I'm pointing out the actual problem isn't just the delay, its the delay that happens every time the car is started.
If you took the car on a test drive, lets say it went 15 mins or so, and the ipod still hadn't loaded, wouldn't you be all over the dealer about it? I'd bet they'd offer to let you try it in another vehicle just in case there was a problem with that first one -- and then you'd get the same behavior again.
I think this is the flaw in your logic and assumptions. I'd find it annoying, but not completely unusual, for the car to spend 15 minutes to load the data. In fact, I had this very experience on one of my test drives. In my case, I made sure that the music eventually started playing before I "ended" my test drive. (When this did happen, I even commented to the salesman that it would be nice if Mazda allowed playing while it scanned the same way that Ford does.) I also verified that I was able to select a playlist and turn on shuffle.
It never occurred to me that this long delay would occur EACH AND EVERY time I started the car. THAT is the big problem, and I really doubt people test drive a car with an iPod attached, and as part of the test drive, they stop the car, turn off the ignition, wait 15 minutes, and then restart the car (all while leaving an iPod attached.)
This is just one of those things that are perfectly reasonable to assume works. Similar to it being reasonable to expect ABS to not lock up the brakes without getting on the highway and slamming on the brakes to test.
Some other things I didn't test during my test drive (and I doubt many people did):
If the AWD kicks in when the front wheels slip.
If the traction control works.
If the spare tire actually fits properly on the wheel hub.
If the jack used to put on a spare tire actually works (or that it lifts the car.)
If the highbeam lights work
That the airbags would deploy if I hit something head on.
That the side airbags would deploy if I let something hit me from the side.
...and so on. I think (hope) you get the point. It's perfectly reasonable to assume that some things will work as advertised without actually testing them. Mazda claims compatibility with my iPod... just as they claim that there's a clock on the console stack. I'd feel the same way if I had to reset the clock on the console each time I started the car.