Jason

As many of you know, I am a big proponent of the nav system. To me it's not JUST that you can find any address, and it goes beyond being able to look up any type of business and get their address or phone number. No, the hidden value to those of you that "don't need it" is the ability to be the eye in the sky and take any detour available.

This came into use yet again for me yesterday, as I was travelling on I-65 from Indianapolis to Chicago. There was an accident ahead and they shut down the freeway. Fortunately for me, there was an exit well before the accident and all traffic was able to get off. Problem is, the road we all got off on was not built to handle this volume of traffic. Cars, semis, trucks, it was all there. I immediately pulled up the map and looked at my options.

I saw there was a road that ran parallel to the gridlock, and to get there I needed to make a left a half mile ahead. So I inched along for a few minutes waiting for my chance. I didn't know what kind of road it would be, but I knew it would work. When I got there I made my left.

The road was narrow and unpaved, and I had to go slow so as not to kick up too many rocks. But since 30 MPH was faster than no MPH I was happy. I drove on this road for about a minute, and then turned right to run parallel to the road cum makeshift parking lot. This was the same kind of road but it cut through a corn field. A fricking corn field! As I continued there would be a break in the corn and I could see all the semis still standing there. Let me tell you something, it is a powerful feeling to be in that situation knowing all those guys are sitting and I'm moving.

Not to mention the interstate, because this winding gravel road went alongside it too. Those people were stuck. Their engines were off and they were milling around, watching me speed ahead with more than a little angst.
After a while I found more roads to get me moving forward, and those were even paved. I sped like a banshee knowing there are no cops on these roads. This whole time I was watching myself on the screen in full control of where I was going. I finally got back on the freeway and continued home.

Without the nav system I would have been screwed, and no $5 map would have helped. These were back roads man, Dukes of Hazzard type shit, and the nav was the only thing that could save me. This is one example of the MANY times it has bailed me out, whether it's country road detour or escaping Chicago gridlock. Remember this if you're not sure whether to get the nav.

biker

Very nice but functionally the same thing could be accomplished by an aftermarket $500 system. The whole thing depends on the system having the latest mapping info available. Without that road though the corn field being in the system you'd be just as screwed as the folks sitting the main road.

Jason

Please

robert_tsxgeek

Great story ! I am glad I went for the Nav too...no longer do I have to look around for building/house numbers (Does it ever amaze you how many buildings/houses do not show numbers !!??)..Just say "Display Current Location"

pansuria

Nice story - I too am glad I sprung for the navigation system - it has saved my ass many many times!

type-s

very cool, but sometimes in those situations instinct works just as well.

MoFocker

im sorry, i know half the people here say stuff about the nav is not necessary, but your all crazy. the nav MAKES the car. You almost never have to take your hands off the wheel, your eyes off the road, it says everything you could want it to say or do. ive literally pressed buttons on my dash about 10 times since i got the car back in february. You dont even need to look at the screen when you give it a command or nav command bc it repeats back to you. People say the trip computer is inaccurate, yet when they post their manual results, theyre within 1 mpg of the trip computer; big whoop. And like the first post here, Ive done the same thing. I cant explain how many times ive been lost or in traffic, and instead of just punching in an alternate route home or saying "go home", ive just used the screen to see what roads were around. Its an amazing system, and i can honestly tell you that i wont be buying a car without one anytime soon. its worth more then the 2k they charged in my opinion. :fingerfawk:

gfxdave99

:'( :'( :'( :'( enough with the nav stories... why oh why didnt i get it :'( :'( :'( :'(

ClutchPerformer

:'(

They have unpaved roads though CORN FIELDS on the navi maps??

toddstuh

Very nice but functionally the same thing could be accomplished by an aftermarket $500 system. The whole thing depends on the system having the latest mapping info available. Without that road though the corn field being in the system you'd be just as screwed as the folks sitting the main road.

We live in the information age and information is key but You've got to realize that Honda/Acura or Alpine dont create this information or more explicitly these map databases. They're sold by one or maybe two companies that provides these map databases to all gps/nav systems. Thus, a lower cost GPS system would/could provide the same information because the maps, if current, are the same regardless of the GPS receiver using them. Whether it be the in car navigation system or a portable gps unit.
I definately see the virtues of the TSX navi system but in my case, we own 3 cars and opted out of the Pilots and TSXs navi options saving us about $4K and instead use a portable map based GPS unit enabling us to move the system from car to car as necessary.

GeorgeTSX

I love my NAV so much all my future cars will have them.

TSX 'R' US

If I had the money to get the nav at the time of purchase, I'd have plenty of these stories too.. :'(

satoshi801

I think we've all done similar things, but I've never driven through any corn fields. Usually when the freeway traffic looks bad, I get off the freeway and switch my route-finding algorithm to 'Avoid Freeways'. If only the navi could warn you about the traffic problems ahead of time. I heard the RL does that.

Wonder if the Duke boys found a TSX navi that fell through some time warp, and installed it in the General Lee. That would explain how they ran rings around Roscoe P. Coltrane all that time.

Jason

iamhomin

Good for you!