Uncle Meat

After spending 3000 miles on the road over the 4th of July and using the GM NAV system in my car I found a couple things that make me scratch my head...

First off I know aftermarket GPS systems from Garmin or TomTom are so much better than the GM NAV so we can skip that debate. However there are a few things all GPS system do (or don't do) that doesn't make sense. The first being...

Why is it the GPS/NAV system won't reflect the current & correct time when moving into a new time zone? I mean it's a GPS so it knows where the hell it is at any given time. Most maps have their time zones clearly marked. So why can't the GPS/NAV automatically adjust its internal clock when crossing into a different time zone?

Now specifically about the GM NAV system... why the hell does it not automatically recognize when you're in a different region? For example, I'm in Alabama and my son is in North Carolina. I program the NAV to get me to his place. Upon arrival in NC I want to search for a place to eat in the local area. The problem is you have to first go into the "Region" area and tell it where you're physically located otherwise it's searching through a list of local Alabama restaurants!? Is this stupid or what? Why doesn't the region change along with the location of the car? Just dumb IMHO...

Okay I'm done bitchin' for now...

U.M.

ChefMark

GM Nav systems are the worst on the market. I have a Nav in my Honda and it works like a charm. We did not get the nav in our Vette for just that reason...it sucks

OY YEA, Ford's Nav system sucks too

LOUSVETTE

I strongly disagree with your statement. While the GM NAv has a larger learning curve then Garmin or Tom Tom, once you get to know it, it is an fantastic Nav.

peter pan

Was happy with the portable I already had and did not want to get a factory NAV that had an older interface than what I had for something like 1.5K

robertaj

As far as updating time... I beleive it DOES... read the manual.

as far as the regions thing.. I know WHY they do it but your right it is a pain! Specially since PA is a diff "region" then NJ and we are only like 30 minutes drive away...

they reason they break it up into regions is for speed... the memory cant load the whole USA at one shot and still be fast etc etc.

Bucknut2006

Not all GM navs are made equally. Try one of the newer units like in the CTS, SRX, and Buick Lacrosse. They are much better than the ones found in the Vette and I feel better than was Honda/Acura currently offers.

cmnguye8

wow this makes me reconsider getting stock navi

EDinPA

I disagree with your statement. I don't want to have to read a book to use what should be a convenience item. It should be user friendly and intuitive like other units. This is the same nav the vette has had for years. It is dated and it shows. After living with the nav in an Infiniti, I ordered my vette without the old worn out GM unit.

Bat Man

I'm torn between the gm nav, and an aftermarket version.

I like how the HUD will display navigation, and it already shows radio info.
I like that option. Plus it's cheaper at 500-1000 to do.

But aftermarket you can install bluetooth, back up camera, dvd, etc...but it will run 1000-2000. Plus aftermarket has an easier learning curve.

I like how the Corvette emblem shows up on the factory nav too.

Bat Man

BTW: you haven't seen a horrible navigation unit until you dealt with a 2010 Mazda 3

Bucknut2006

The factory Nav is a $1750 option. I was able to get the top of the line Kenwood DNX9960, backup camera, and adapter for around $1500. Plus it shows the Corvette emblem on start up

Bat Man

you can definitely score a nav for 300-600 bucks on fleabay.

Although the ones that are steering control enabled usually go for a little higher.

Deftly

I use the Vette NAV system all the time and have found it to be very user friendly. What I wish it did was let me put in coordinates out to 3 decimal points. That was it could be used for geocache events.

Josh_tampa

Right, so both are about the same price, and aftermarket can seemingly do a lot more.

I will NEVER get rid of my factory nav until an aftermarket can show up on the HUD. That is the main reason I got the Corvette in the first place. I don't care to learn directions. I live off my nav. I feel much safer and much more comfortable never looking at my dash, but only needing to still look ahead through my windshield and see the HUD, which also displays my turn by turn directions while in street mode (which is the only mode in which I drive).

There is no right or wrong answer. Every driver must decide what is most important to them! My last car was a 2008 Infinity G37S, which had a GREAT backup camera, it showed a path when I turned the steering wheel, and it made it so that I could flawlessly drive backwards at about 30 mph, just looking at that camera.

When I test drove the Vette (I still had the G), I felt horrible! I had actually lost the skill to drive backwards. I was not able to judge things on my own, as I had become reliant on that backup camera! I SWORE by that backup camera, and I vowed to never get a car without it, but I fell in love with the GPS on HUD more than the camera.

Guess what happened? I re-learned how to drive backwards (yeah.. that took about 1 day to get comfortable again) and now I have a HUD nav display, which makes me feel much safer.

Like I said earlier, prioritize, and to each his own!

Uncle Meat

I did, and it doesn't say whether it supposed to change automatically or not, but I can tell you mine does not. It stays set to the central time zone regardless of what time zone the car is currently in.

My old Garmin didn't do this and neither does my newer TomTom so I highly doubt the GM NAV changes the time automatically as you drive into a different time zone.

U.M.

Josh_tampa

I am pretty sure that the clock is a completely seperate application from the NAV. The clock is something that you set on your own, and it is not location based. When your car is first made, the time must be set on it. It is NOT like a cell phone that has a widget to be tracked by a sattelite. It is more like an alarm clock - you set the time. You change the time.

Uncle Meat

True enough. However in the case of my previous Garmin and my current TomTom it calculates estimated time of arrival based on current time and distance remaining. If your destination is located in a different time zone then the estimated time of arrival will be off by however many time zones are between you and your destination.

Regardless whether its an integrated GM NAV or an aftermarket unit, I have yet to find any NAV which updates the time automatically based on your current position. It would be very easy to program the unit to do this too i would think.... just don't understand why they don't is all...

U.M.

Gearhead Jim

We've had GM Nav in our 2006 and now 2009 Corvette.
We have Toyota Nav in a 2005 and 2011 Camry.

Neither one is better or worse that the others, overall. Each has certain nice features and certain features that make you say "WTF?"

We've taken several road trips of several thousand miles in the company of other Corvettes using aftermarket Nav systems. Sometimes the aftermarket stuff works better, sometimes worse.

For me; the built-in installation comes out on top. I learned how to use it and prefer the HUD interface, theft-resistance, radio muting during nav instructions, and warranty coverage. You are free to make a different choice.

N2TU

Here we go again!



The 'vette NAVI is by far the worst Navi...PERIOD!

It isn't a matter of a learning curve...it is a matter of user interface...as the OP pointed out, it is basically a DUMB system and requires the user to adapt to it...it took Talon (thanks again Talon!) many chapters to explain simple functions.

A NAVI should be simple to use, flexible, readable, reliable, and easy to upgrade. All the things that our beloved NAVI isn't!

Remember folks, it costs $200 a year to get the new maps and POIs and the underlying operating system cannot be changed, so user interfaces have been the same since 2004/5 and are archaic, at best.

I would NEVER have bought this NAVI if I had known how horrible it was!

BRCC

I have a Honda Civic with Nav and it updates the time zone within seconds of crossing the line, mine goes to MT time when I cross to New Mexico and PT time right in the middle of Hoover Dam. Honda Navs are Alpine units. Of course the Corvette needs a manual time change.