It's a convenience item, just like many others. Sure you can find your way using a map or printing out directions from mapquest, but it's a lot faster and easier to just hop in the car, punch in the address, and let it tell you where to go.

There are plenty of items like this in our lives. Sure, I could take a cold shower every morning, but I'd rather pay for hot water and enjoy the convenience of not being miserable in the shower.

Any one of us could have bought a civic instead of the S2000. It still gets you where you're going and costs a lot less. Are sports cars a fad? Nah.

 

navs have other uses than just directions.

we found a wonderful steakhouse a few weeks ago in a part of the city that we were not familiar with...

and we once found a hospital in minutes when my wife thought her water broke on the way home from a dinner party....

 

the new ones have realtime traffic too and bluetooth so you can talk on your cell hands free. its like a huge package all in 1.

 

you bring up an interesting point...do you think people got tickets for having their horse go too fast? horse parking tickets? haha

back on topic...i think navigation is cool and definitely helpful, but for me personally i can't justify the cost (or the hassle of putting one in). just don't need one. i have a pretty sense of direction, can read maps well (and can memorize them), and usually don't get lost!

 

Our next vehicle will probably have factory nav. It's not just about finding directions to a particular location, it's also finding the location you want.

I can't tell you how many times I've been somewhere and wanted a particular restaurant but couldn't find it. Honda and Acura have it built in so that you can find restaurants, gas stations, hotels, etc, etc... That's very handy.

 

Amish kids were getting DUI's because they were getting drunk and passing out while driving their horsedrawn buggies.

 

Some people, my wife, are horrible with maps. Sometimes you are lost in the middle of nowhere on a long unmarked road. Sometimes finding a store by address-and-map is frustrating. This is not a fad. Just buy one, you Luddite.

 

I used to find nav systems useless as well... but when I bought my SLK55 AMG off the lot, it came with the COMAND unit, and I ended up using the GPS quite a bit.

When someone calls you to "meet me at x", I can just hop in the car, type in the address and I'm off, guided there safely and comfortably. No having to balance a map on my knees, spending a long time on mappy trying to determine where it is that it's telling me to go (and noting it down on a piece of paper), and so on... It really does end up becoming a bit useful.

And it sure as he11 was useful last summer when I drove 2000km's from Switzerland to Sweden, going through Germany, stopping in Amsterdam for a few days, driving through Denmark, and taking the ferry in Stockholm to continue my trip in Finland.

The GPS manages all the countries, I found every single place I was looking for instantly, and it was useful when I arrived in Sweden after driving over a long bridge from Denmark at 1am, and then doing a search for the closest hotel and getting myself a bed for the night.

Yeah, I'd say not having to buy a new map in each country and trying to figure out where I'm going rather then being lead, was a positive experience.

 

Oops forgot to add...I purchased the Garmin 340 (or was it 430?) a while back. It was one of the best purchases I've made. Its saved my ass a couple times. Best part is that its removable/portable.

I flew to NorCal for my friends wedding. I took it with me, rented a car and it got me to the hotel, to the mall for some clothes, restaurants (I had no clue which restaurant to go too...luckily it gave me hundreds to choose from within the area).

 

camera, i can understand your point of view because we don't really NEED them in dallas. we have our handful of major highways that will get us anywhere. and if you want to go to a new place just look it up on mapquest, that's what i do.

but no matter how long you live in cities like chicago, ny, london, i think you have to have a navi. my sis just moved to chicago last week and bought her husband a navi because he's horrible with directions, he would even get lost in dallas.

i think the best option is the new phones with navi on them, that's great! and their only going to get cheaper and the best thing is they will always be their when you need it. That's what i'm spending my money on.