Nav technology
 

The other day I had a chance to drive the new Taurus SHO with the MS Sync enabled touchscreen Nav - WOW! It seems to me there is gulf developing with the Europeans falling way behind.
I know some people will argue they never use a Nav, but is that still true if you have the ability to check e.g. for the lowest gas prices on the spot and let the Nav get you there?

In my opinion, future products must offer a cost-effective upgrade path as such features become ever more decisive in selecting a new product. Wouldn't it be nice if we were able to load the latest gizmo's into the existing head unit, not having to do major surgery to get these features??!

I agree!

While the car is the foundation the requirement for more connectivity is quickly becoming a requirement. You can get all of this in the top of the line Garmin and TomTom units for very little money including
Traffic
Gas Prices
Stock Quotes
Weather and of course NAV!!

All this and available for well under $500....in most cases under $300. The newest Garmin that I have will even interface via Bluetooth to the newer Bluetooth formats so it will interrupt the radio with calls and/or turn by turn (if you want this). The aftermarket units are quickly becoming more competent and the ability to interface with factory audio systems getting better and better.

In my case I elect to use the newest generation of Garmin (with 5" screen and Traffic) instead of the factory Nav system that was a VERY expensive option when new. I bought a ProClip mounting bracket that took about 30 seconds to install and now have a relatively permanent installation just to the right of the SW and easily within the drivers scan.

While I can certainly still get map updates for the Command system (and do for some strange reason) the user interface of Garmin (at least for me) is so much easier to use that I prefer to use the portable! I get constand display of ETA, Elevation, Posted Speed limit and my actual speed and distance to destination without scrolling to another page if that information was even available on the Command system.

Bottom line for me is that I can upgrade my system every couple of years with the latest and greatest for relatively little compared to living with old electronic technology that is outdated well before the mechanical platforms have outlived their usefulness. The manufacturers will be hard pressed to continue getting >$2000 for systems that are outdated most times before the factory warranty runs out. :D

+1! To say nothing of a 1/8 jack with auxiliary iPod input (<$50)!!!

Embarrassing that this all hasn't been standard in the luxury cars for years.