I left Chicago this morning for a week long road trip throughout Indiana. This will be the first of my daily updates. I started out with 150 miles on my car and I'm anxiously waiting to hit that magical 600 mark.

This has been my first opportunity to really spend some time in the car, away from the city and the traffic that goes with it. I was able to communicate the voice controls and generally enjoy the car.

The navi was extraordinary today. It was fun to use the voice recognition, but more importantly, it was able to get me where I needed to go. Now I do have a map for all you naysayers. It's even a nice map. But the nav system is in a league of it's own. It has a much more advanced database than my CL-S, and it includes furniture stores in the middle of nowhere. It had my customer in Warsaw, IN. Then while I was on my way, it helped direct me away from closed roads without a fuss. Detour solved. What makes it better than a map is not having to constantly find yourself, and then knowing where you are ON the map.

Another realization happened when I exited the freeway in Ft. Wayne, IN to get to my next customer (also in the DB). The offramp was one of those twisty deals, and since I haven't really tested the handling yet, I decided to ATTACK. Whoa! The car was smooth smooth smooth as I did about 40-45 in a 25 mph curve. Absolutely no loss of traction or tire squeal. I was very pleased.

The last item of note was when I went from my hotel to get some dinner. I was in the mood for Chinese food and called in my order for pick-up (what else). I actually did the cliche of "find nearest Chinese restaurant." In Ft. Wayne mind you. Up popped a dozen or two restaurants and I was able to scroll down to the one I ordered from. It was great because it was about five miles away and I couldn't understand her directions. The nav was great! The food blew. For those wondering, don't get Chinese food in Ft. Wayne. I should have known better.

I currently have 340 miles on my car and I am hoping tomorrow is the day I can find out what happens at 7000 rpm. I'll keep you posted.

 

nice nice! can't wait to take a road trip so i can truly use the navigation to its full extent

 

Real nice write-up! Keep 'em coming.

 

Sounds good...bout to hit the 8000 mile mark myself...really breaking it in now!

 

Of course, you won't forget to fill us in when you and your good buddy Navi head on over to the local nudie bar, with such perfect directions that you slide right into a seat with the spread-eagle legs and heaving busom of your lap dancer awaiting you.

It gets lonely on the road don't ya know. (And a great opportunity for you two to cement your relationship with a little man-to-navi bonding).

of course, I wouldn't know anything about such things. really. I said REALLY!

 

You've exposed yourself (no pun intended) as being local so I hope you're coming (not going there) to the meet.

I actually tried the commands "find nearest titty bar" and "find nearest adult bookstore" but they didn't work.

 

I enjoyed a few things today. When I started out this morning, I needed some coffee but I didn't have time to look around for a gas station before my first appointment. So I looked at the nav screen in the vicinity of my customer and saw a gas station right around the corner from my customer. Problem solved.

There has been some question as to the radio recption. I can say without a question that it is better than my CL-S, which was good in it's own right. I was able to listen to Chicago radio stations in Ft. Wayne this morning, a long distance from home. I was also able to pick up some Indy stations in areas that I couldn't beofre. Two gold stars for the TSX.

Finally, I love opening and closing the trunk to get my bags. What a satisfying sound it makes when the lid closes. Thhuuunnnkk.

528 miles on the odometer. Tomorrow is the day! BTW, I'm on my first full tank of gas and I'm averaging 28.8 MPG with almost all highway driving.

 

Great little trip so far.

And -- Congrats on Mega-Mod!

 

Hey Jase -- don't fail to take a look back at this thread:

http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...&threadid=1342

 

Day 3 -- You forgot!!!! :'(

 

Jason got lost!!

 

Maybe he's dead.

 

I got home early. I didn't do day three (or four) b/c there wasn't a whole lot more to say. I broke the car in, that was good. I'm having a ball revving the car up and watching her fly. To be honest, I don't think the car is all that fast from a stand-still. That's ok but it's worth mentioning. I may look into doing a simple mod once they become proven. Bottom line, I love the car and I'm thrilled I bought it. 800 miles on her now.

 

Wont you feel bad if he really is...

Be nice. He is probably just paralyzed.

 

Jason did you try going WOT off the line in 1st and 2nd?

 

You need the 5AT!!

BTW yes I would have felt bad if he was dead.

 

huh?

 

huh?

 

Doh!

I knew I should have gotten the navi. Nice write up! I love hear about peoples' interesting finds on the road using the navigators suggestions for nearby restaurants.

 

http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...7315#post17315

 

Sure Larch. Actually, today I timed myself at 4.9 seconds 0-60.

 

 

How accurate is the Voice Recognition?

Do you have to teach it (Training Mode) to train it to your vocie or what?

And how many people actually use the Voice Recognition, Do you guys actually say "Change Drivers Temp to 72" or do u just press up and down for the temp?

 

WOT = wide open throttle?

 

 

This is a good question. IMHO, the whole voice recognition thing is blown out of proportion. It's very cool but not that big a deal. It's a phenetic system so you have to say commands the way the system wants them, but anyone can speak the commands. It's pretty accurate too (unless the A/C is blasting; loud). But it always mutes the stereo when you push the voice button, and in most cases saves you no time as a shortcut.

Having said that, it is still a useful feature. I find myself using it in situations where I don't really want to take my eyes off the road, even though I am able to. It's easy to say "temperature 65 degrees" instead of clicking several times down to 65 degrees. It's nice to say "display map" instead of hunting for the button (I assume that in time I'll be able to know the buttons without looking at them). It's VERY useful for nav setup, like showing or hiding gas stations. That saves about seven button clicks. But for using the stereo and programming the nav system, it has limited use. There are only so many times I want to "find nearest parking lot."

In the end, I am thrilled I bought the nav system. I'm a big fan and I wouldn't have it any other way. The fact Honda included the voice recognition in the package is great, you can either use it or not. If it was an option to the nav system I would probably pass on it. But since you do have the voice capability, you WILL use it. If nothing else the voice recognition is good for impressing a woman.

 

I don't need to use the voice recog. system much, so for me it's no big deal.
But just for fun, I tried using what is apparently the main standard demonstration line (also joke line) -- "Find nearest Chinese restauarant" -- and I couldn't get it to work, no matter what screen I got it into.

So, does anybody know: Does that line really work on the Nav, or is it just a joke and a myth?

 

Reread the first post of this thread...it works.

 

I know about that -- that's what made me believe it's for real -- but when I couldn't get it to work, I thought maybe somehow you didn't mean it literally or something.....

I'm not too worried about it.

 

Does that mean find nearest italian resturants work as well? I doubt korean food will, but i love spaggetti