Honda Has In-Car Navigation

22 June 2005

Honda Has In-Car Navigation

New car buyers looking for a car that features integrated in-car navigation can now purchase this as a standard accessory if they buy a new Honda motor vehicle in New Zealand according to Luigi Cappel, Business Development Manager of mapping specialist company, GeoSmart Limited, of Auckland. Cappel said that over the last month, specialists from VDO Dayton in New Zealand and Australia have been blueprinting installations together with Honda and training their technical staff in preparation for orders. Which have already begun rolling in.

Integrated In-Car Navigation has been available overseas for many years, but was only launched in New Zealand in March at the National Motor Show. Honda was one of a number of brands demonstrating navigation on the stand. Cappel said that initial feedback was very positive, with many people giving reasons why they would be asking for it with their next car. He said that one of the most common comments was that people hate going into the cities except in emergencies and that navigation would give them a lot more confidence.

Comments included:

* "I always stay in the left lane of the motorway to stay safe. Next thing I'm not even on the motorway and don't know how to get back." * "I don't feel safe stopping to ask directions." * "If you get in the wrong lane, drivers close the gap and won't let you in." * "My wife won't drive at night, because it is hard to see street names and numbers on letterboxes." * "My husband won't ask directions and we can end up driving in circles for hours. We end up arguing about it, especially when I try to read the map. It's very stressful."

The next step is finding out where to test drive a car with navigation and Honda New Zealand has that covered. Marketing Manager for Honda New Zealand, Graeme Meyer says that new vehicles fitted with VDO Dayton in-car navigation systems are available for a test drive at all major Honda Agents.

About GeoSmart Limited

GeoSmart is the premier aerial photography and mapping company in New Zealand. In addition to being the leading supplier of cartographic and aerial maps, we are blazing the trail in digital Smart Maps including in-car navigation, vehicle tracking and fleet management. GeoSmart provides Location Based Services (LBS) intelligent maps for the widest range of devices including PC's, PDA's, Smartphones and Mobiles. This includes features such as 'Where is?', 'Where are my assets?', 'How do I get from - to-?' for example.

Clients include Wises Maps, DOC, Vodafone, Automobile Association, NavMan, Siemens VDO, Toll Rail, BMW, Holden, Mitsubishi, Honda in addition to virtually every local body in New Zealand and Transit NZ.

ENDS

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