That option was dropped from the Vibe in January, probably due to lack of orders. Also, every GM division with the possible exception of Saturn has something available with Nav.

 

The problem I see is that other than a couple Cadillacs and one Pontiac (Gran Prix) no GM cars have navigation..No Chevrolet or Buick cars have them. Pontiac has one car , and it is a dated Gran Prix. Hopefully the New Lucerne will have the option, or it would be really bad for Buick. I also think the Lacrosse needs the option badly to pick up some consumer excitement. it needs all the help it can get.

 

I was just looking over the Acura RL unit. This thing shows Real-time traffic which can be really useful/practical in that it can point out trouble spots and reroute you to lesser congested areas. If you live in a big metro area and do extensive driving during rush hour, this would be a very worthwhile feature.

The ability to play DVD's, etc.... is a plus as well. Many serve as entertainment systems as well.

I think this tech will come down in price in the coming years. From what i read a couple of weeks back, demand is supposed to double in the next 5 years. Currently, 3% of cars sold in the states have it and it's supposed to go up to 6% by 20120. Currently in Japan, they're at 16% and the numbers are supposed to go upto 32% by 2010. Either japs love gadgets, have crappy street signs and roads, and/or they do a lot of commuting. Either way, it's a growing market. I posted an article about a month back in which Ford was talking about increasing the availability of Navigations on their mainstream models. I think they had the Freestyle, five hundred, explorer, sport-trac, Zephyr, and mountaineer as recipients of this option.

 

Those people in Japan are gadget obsessed. And they always get all the cool technology before us Americans do, hence why more of their cars have navigation than ours.

 

Mazda 3s have them as well as RX-8s

If the 3 isn't mainstream affordable, I don't know what is. You can also get HIDs. and OHC engines....