My sister and her kids decided to come to LA at the last minute to spend a couple of days at Disneyland. Just because I live in LA doesn't mean I know my way around Anaheim.
I readily grabbed the keys to the xB not only because it was the only car available, but it had a nav system to help me get around D-Land. I know how to get to the park, but how to get to my sister's hotel and places around it I have no clue.
Getting there was a snap. I had a lot of fun and I took a spin on the Tea Cups with my niece after she begged me for a really long time. I'm not a fan of the ride but I couldn't refuse her. After a few nauseating spins the torture was over and I had a great rest of the afternoon. Until I had to leave, that is.
I exited the park into an area I didn't know and I was supposed to meet my family at the Denny's next to their hotel. At that moment the nav system decided to go Tea Cups on me. It spund around and around even though I was driving straight. It had me driving through buildings and on roads that didn't exist. I had to navigate the old fashioned way: I stopped and asked for directions.
Technology is great until it breaks. Nothing can replace a good map in my opinion.
Scott Jacobs, Senior Photographer @ 32,451 miles
carguy622 says:
11:10 AM, 01/21/09
Did it fix itself when you cycled the car on and off?
adantium says:
11:40 AM, 01/21/09
Ha Ha Too Funny. Don't stare at the nav when it does that or you'll experience the teecup effect. I can't agree about the paper map thing. How much space would you need to store road maps for the entire continent? Better get something with a bigger truck. Maybe a pickup.
dougtheeng says:
01:14 PM, 01/21/09
You made your family stay at a hotel? For shame!
lsd says:
01:33 PM, 01/21/09
As much as I like maps for their inability to lose a satellite signal or experience a similar failure, I doubt your family knew the Denny's address off hand. Without the address, your Thomas Guide or what have you wouldn't have done much good. Then again, in this case, neither did the navigation system.
carfreak8394 says:
01:38 PM, 01/21/09
Nice photo.
tmanz says:
03:10 PM, 01/21/09
I've had a couple of the portable nav units go on me. A tomtom years ago just died at about 9:00 at night after driving since 11:00 that morning. Fortunately I was on my way home so aside from finding places to buy coffee to stay awake it wasn't needed.
On another trip a garmin kept popping up every 5-10 minutes with "A better route is available" and adjusting my route. After about 20 times of that not only did it get annoying but it decided that I should spend an extra hour on the road and see some of Rt66 (I guess it depends on the definition of a 'better route'). Fortunately, I had consulted a regular map before the trip and knew that wasn't the way I wanted to go.
Then there is the Sony that wanted me to go a couple miles more and spend about 20 more minutes in the car by taking a different highway. When I ignored it it spent the next half hour trying to get me to turn around and go back to its route since the highway I was on didn't even show up on the display. I guess having been built over 30 years ago it was too new for their mapping software.
The nav units when they work are great for finding things like Dennys, starbucks, in-n-out but the rest of the time they aren't that great.
estreka says:
03:34 PM, 01/21/09
"Nothing can replace a good map in my opinion"
Amen.
linard says:
04:35 PM, 01/21/09
I had this happen in my Lexus, I had to get an updated DVD but since yours is a 2008, I assume yours would have already been updated.
MS3lvr92 says:
05:10 PM, 01/21/09
I love the teacups... that's all I really have to say.
bal169 says:
05:24 PM, 01/21/09
When doing donuts in an empty parking lot most nav systems seem to have this same problem; their screen refresh rate can't keep up so you get the whirlpool effect.
firstwagon says:
06:03 PM, 01/21/09
" I can't agree about the paper map thing. How much space would you need to store road maps for the entire continent? Better get something with a bigger truck. Maybe a pickup."
And you plan on travelling everywhere in the continent at once because...why?
Unless you're a traveling salesman, Nav systems are a pricy gadgets for those who like to waste money.
If you don't like to buy $5.00 paper maps, print one out from goggle maps before you leave.
Cheaper and far safer then playing with a tool in your dash board.
IMHO
jahfakin says:
09:20 PM, 01/21/09
having a backup is always good....never leave home w/o it. It sits under the drivers seat.
http://www.amazon.com/Road-Atlas-2008-North-American/dp/1595082115
louiswei says:
06:41 AM, 01/22/09
Portable GPS unit FTW!!
'Nuff said.
gearhead1977 says:
11:51 AM, 01/29/09
Maps can't take you right to your destination and Mapquest or Google maps can be wrong. I've had my share of problems with portable nav units too, but I'll take them any day over a paper map. I did deliveries as a courier for a year or so. GPS saved a lot of time and gas money. Not perfect, but it got me where I needed to go 90% of the time, to the front door.
Agreed that a paper map or an atlas is a good back up to the GPS.
Having a device that can take me anywhere in the US by punching a few buttons for $150 more or less is hardly a waste.
mjp16 says:
05:36 PM, 07/22/09
@lsd
GPS systems are great and work well 90% of the time. But no, you wouldn't be totally stuck if you just had a paper map. Before I could afford to buy a GPS, I used a paper map and Google SMS. Greatest thing ever. Text "Denny's Anaheim" to their short code and it returns local listings... free! With addresses and phone numbers. It can even return turn-by-turn directions if you have your current address/postal code. Not too shabby and great in a bind.