posaune

Mapquest
Good trip planning
and a real paper map
...Can...

do marvelous things when going on a trip!

graham

Am I the only one that just never really needs directions that much? Any trip can, and is, solved with a quick trip to google maps or mapquest for me..

Threxx

I guess the primary advantage of the nav setup is it's more immediately obvious where you are on the map at any given point in time, and instead of looking for signs you can see exactly where the turns and landmarks are. Plus it will show you restaurants, banks, post offices, dealerships, and just about everything else that you may not know the location of in unfamiliar territory.

Oh and lastly the newer nav systems from Honda/Acura also integrate realtime traffic updates into their route suggestions, meaning you don't have to try and find a traffic report on your local FM radio and hope you hear it before you miss your best opportunity to plan an alternative route to get to work or whatever.

I know the way I get to work is typically pretty traffic-free, but when a wreck occurs in some areas the resulting jam can easily double my time to get to work, and there's about three completely different ways I can get to work that all take around 25-30 minutes so if I only knew about the wreck ahead of time I could have planned to go one of the other two ways.

number77

Wasn't there a thread/article posted a while back about the police/fed tracking some criminals through onstar? That seemed to upset some people on here.

F1GT

exactly, the only advantage to a regular map is that it is easier to see where things are in relation to a reference point, like a freeway, since you can only fit so much on a screen w/o having to scroll around. On labor day weekend we had a BBQ and I didn't know where it is, just that it's off this one freeway, punched in parks and the nav took me there.

But it is much more convenient with a built in nav. I have a portable one and it's a hassle when on a trip. You have that stuck to the windshield. And at least maybe 2 cell phones plugged in, and if you are a speeder, you have a radar detector as well.

Before I bought a nav, I used to carry paper maps and put them in the glove box, took up ALL the room. Hassle as well, especially at night time. With a navigation, you know exactly when a turn is coming up instead of constantly looking for the upcoming cross st. If it's at night, you can't even see the cross street signs!!

I drive a lot, for work and for personal reasons. I would LOVE to have a nav. as an OPTION.