anyone use garmin/tom-tom navigation systems?

[tony hipchest]

we got one for our trip to laughlin (now if you cant find laughlin with a map you shouldnt be driving).

i dont mind driving in big cities, but am definitely not used to it. i like to either memorize a map beforehand or have a good co-pilot to give me directions.

and in a true act of retrosexuality, i have no shame in asking the 1st stranger where i am at or where the 'f' i am going, if i am lost.

but our tom-tom has sucsessfully navigated me to las vegas casinos, and most recently to a scottsdale AZ hospital, smack dab in the middle of what i though was phoenix.

these things are amazing. and actually fun too. it calculates your estimated time for a trip and if you stop off for a smoke, you see how much time you lost and can easilly calculate how much you got to speed to make up lost time.

the detail and accuracy is pretty impressive, and the best thing of all is there is no monthly charge. while it is pretty much a luxury item for me, i would recommend it for anyone who travels on a regular basis.

[Borski]

yeah its great, I have a tom tom. I drive long distences somewhat frequently and though I generally know where I'm going its good to have the gps to make sure you stay on track, and its also great at finding places to eat along the way in strange towns. I would recommend one to anyone who owns a car.

[MACH1]

Nope, I'd like to get one though.

If you were to be further north, like Jackpot, Wells or Elko. I'd let you buy me a drink.

[SteelersinCA]

Garmin is the way to go, best GPS out there, imho

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Yeah, got the wife a Garmin and its pretty cool. Great for travelling to new city;s or navigating unknown addresses in a big city.

I read that TomTom systems are better maps for Europe and the Garmin 255 has a faster processor in it.

[Crushzilla]

I got one for my birthday.

It was something I'd never buy, but I find it really useful.

I have a Garmin.

It's awesome. It's comforting to know I can just hit "go home" and find my way there.

They seem like a very "spaceship" quality. Living in the back-country, I can see how the road bends ahead.

Also, I love how it tells me the speed limit and how fast I am going. It's a lot easier than looking down at the speedometer (like that was a big hassle).

I often find myself using it when I'm just cruising around. It probably makes me look like a d-bag, but who cares...

It's more useful than just for directions.

Just an FYI... Car-jackers have it made now.

Steal your car... hit "go home"... and use your garage door opener. Brilliant!

I'd keep an eye on that little guy, and take the mounting bracket off when you get out.

EDIT: I realize you don't leave it just mounted there in all it's glory. I'm just saying... consider taking it with you instead of stashing it in the glove.

Also, my brother said that cold weather (not a concern for you) wrecks havoc on the lithium batteries.

[SteelersinCA]

They have a new program, I forget what it's called, saw it on the news in SD that you can download and it warns you when you are coming up on red light camera's, known speed trap, sudden speed limit changes, etc. The cops are all pissed about it. Why they would be pissed about people following the rules of the road, I have no clue, cops for ya.

[Steeldude]

sometimes they steer you in the wrong direction. i went to vegas in the lexus and used it's built-in navigator. i was looking for the monte carlo casino(free room woo hoo) and it said take a left when getting off of the freeway. i could clearly see monte carlo on the right, but i obeyed the navigator. i figured with so many small one-way streets and the construction going on, it knew better than me. turns out it kept making me turn in circles, but never quite near the monte carlo.

but yeah, they are cool. so many things can be found with them with a click of a button.

i heard truck drivers have to be careful with them because the navigators don't take into account the height of an underpass.

[SteelersinCA]

I have heard there are problems with the lexus in car navigation, but I dunno. The other problem I noticed with most of them is they have no concept of the "bad Part" of town. On my Acura in car navigation you can put in areas to avoid, not so on my wife's Garmin.

[MasterOfPuppets]

Originally Posted by tony hipchest

we got one for our trip to laughlin (now if you cant find laughlin with a map you shouldnt be driving).

i dont mind driving in big cities, but am definitely not used to it. i like to either memorize a map beforehand or have a good co-pilot to give me directions.

and in a true act of retrosexuality, i have no shame in asking the 1st stranger where i am at or where the 'f' i am going, if i am lost.

but our tom-tom has sucsessfully navigated me to las vegas casinos, and most recently to a scottsdale AZ hospital, smack dab in the middle of what i though was phoenix.

these things are amazing. and actually fun too. it calculates your estimated time for a trip and if you stop off for a smoke, you see how much time you lost and can easilly calculate how much you got to speed to make up lost time.

the detail and accuracy is pretty impressive, and the best thing of all is there is no monthly charge. while it is pretty much a luxury item for me, i would recommend it for anyone who travels on a regular basis.

:bus ted:....TOMTOM SALESMAN !!!