Here's a cheap and respectable 7" antenna alternative. It is a matte dark grey that matches the wing and cladding nicely. It is flexible and without fancy tips or grooves/ridges.

URL: http://stores.ebay.com/Mangowalk-Inc
Link: Short Antenna Black
Link: Mangowalk 7" Rubber Antenna Mast - Black (narrower base of the two 7" antennas listed)

The antenna comes with the 5mm male and 6mm male adapters. Previous threads had indicated that all VX's have a 6mm receptacle, mine is definitely 5mm.

Your total is:
$8.95 per item
$1.65 insurance (optional)
$4.99 shipping/handling
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$13.94 = Total

I rate the antenna an 8 out of 10 for gain against the stock antenna. I purposely loaded a few fringe FM stations to see the degradation. It was minimal, at least as far as I can tell just by the audio strength.