Throughout the last couple of posts I have inadvertently discounted the perceived value in the host of Telemetric options available in many of today's cars. Now, my contempt for many of these features is part nostalgia for times when cars were more mechanical than electrical, but also, it's due to the fact that much of this stuff doesn't really work. And while I maintain that much of the electrical gadgetry is simply gimmick, some features like navigation just might become as standard as ABS brakes and airbags one day and deserve mention.
True, many of the original navigation systems have been improved to utilize DVD and/or Bluetooth rather than CD technology and now include relevant maps and information for all of the traveling salespeople out there looking for the next Denny's or Red Roof Inn. And one can certainly argue that a functioning system can assist those traveling in a new city with a rental car. However, the luxury of having your directions described to you by a computer generated-voice rather than your very anxious spouse with a $12 atlas has come at a considerable cost.
The electrical gremlins, which plagued many a British car fitted by a certain components company (which will remain nameless) during the 70s and 80s, nearly took down Jaguar. In a strange bit of déjà vu, the venerable Mercedes-Benz toppled from its perch at the top of the JD Power and Associates ranking to Yugo levels largely in part to more "advanced" electrical components. Mercedes-Benz is not the only one. Trying to effectively operate early versions of BMW's iDrive interface is about as pleasant as a two-day bout with the Norwalk virus.
Having said that, things are improving. The newer versions of this must have feature in the luxury segment seem to work better. No longer should you have to endure the mysterious opening and closing of your sunroof and the starting of your windshield wipers just for requesting directions to the nearest ATM. Systems available in the 2005 Acura RL and Cadillac CTS will not only alert drivers to upcoming traffic jams, but will also reroute their current directions.
So, like many things, there has been a bit of a learning curve with this technology. After my first experience with a navigation system, (which I used on a 650-mile trip from Massachusetts to Snowshoe, WV the last 20 miles of which took me on an overgrown, single lane logging trail deep in the Allegheny Highlands where we encountered no less than 12 hunters in vintage Jeeps with their freshly-killed bears), I have elected not to go anywhere without a backup map. Apparently some systems take this Shortest Route Available stuff very seriously.
For a description of the new Acura navigation system, click here.
For a description of Snowshoe Ski Area, click here.
For a description of the symptoms of the Norwalk Virus, click here.
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Posted by: Hillary | September 22, 2007 at 11:26 AM