Acura Annie

We're putting some serious miles on the SUV on this road trip (see previous post Hotel Blues).  We have an Acura MDX (which we really love) and have come to depend on the navigation system.  At first the idea of a navigation system seemed kind of stupid to both of us.  What's the point when maps are so easy to come by?  But let me tell you, it is really great to have. 

We've had the MDX for less than a year and we have already used the navigation system dozens of times.  First, because of the GPS, it shows you exactly where you are and direction you're facing on its map.  So right off the bat you already have a map, which is stored on a DVD underneath the front passenger seat.  The map can be expanded to show more area with less detail or closer with more detail.  The current road you're traveling is on the display as well.  Icons on the map show nearby places to eat, ATMs, landmarks, etc.

What makes the system so great is the directions and guidance system.  I'm sounding like a commercial now, I know.  By simply entering in the name of your destination, address, intersection or phone number, the navigation system comes up with a path and directs you there.  You just follow the blue line on the map and listen to the voice.  We use this all the time and it takes all the guesswork out of driving.  Another cool thing is that you can verbally ask it for nearby parking, places to eat, etc. and because it knows where you are, it will give you ideas in order of closeness to your current location.  Very cool. 

This is totally cheesy, but we call the car Acura Annie.  The voice warranted a name and that's what we came up with.  You can have a male voice if you prefer.  The male voice was lame to me, probably because I'm a man.  So, thumbs up on the navigation system.  It actually does much more than what I've described but you get the idea.  Okay, commercial over.  Back to our regularly scheduled program 

Comments

[Steph W.]

Just catching up on your blog. Love the car name! We name all of our cars. We're a one-car family, and the current one is named Blueberry. It's medium blue (Mitsubishi Exop). It's a cutie.

We also own a scooter. We call her Stella - that's actually the model name, but it just fits. She's tangerine orange and fine, fine! She's from Genuine Scooters - they bought the rights to the all-metal Vespa body style about 2 years ago. We got her in the first batch released in the US.