This Week: Car Navigation Systems

Last week I hinted that I would make my following week's blogging theme about navigation systems, partially inspired by the kickass navigation system installed in the 2009 Mini Cooper (or should I say Cooper Mini to annoy all you car snobs out there). True to my word, here we go with this week's Car Tech look at the modern miracle for lost drivers everywhere, the car navigation system.

To kick things off, I found a video from Al & Ed's Auto Sound produced last fall about a portable hybrid navigation system produced by Pioneer Mobile, the AVIC-F500BT. One reason I chose this video to share with you is that I've had good luck with Pioneer goods in the past (especially their stereo equipment), and their prices are typically reasonable. Plus, this video actually shows first-hand demonstrations of what this voice-controlled device can do, and these guys know how to inject humor along the tech-speak here and there. Hybrid navigation systems are going to be among the hottest technologies for your automobile within the foreseeable future, so this should be an intriguing topic to keep an eye on.