GM's OnStart joins MapQuest for desktop planning

Ever look up your destination on MapQuest or Google before leaving the office or home, print it out, then head out the door to your car? GM is now working with MapQuest to send a route from a computer to an OnStar system, skipping the print-out phase entirely — much like a program BMW is conducting in Europe with Google.

[Source: Kicking Tires]

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New OnStar systems in select GM vehicles feature Turn-by-Turn navigation. That means you get directions spoken to you through the OnStar system and shown via small images on your stereo head unit. It’s not a full navigation screen like in many cars. This new MapQuest effort will have the directions ready for you when you get in the car so you won’t have to use the OnStar button then wait for the directions to download.

It seems like a basic idea but a good one, especially for devoted OnStar users. We’re also hearing rumblings from some automakers that investing in built-in navigation systems isn’t ideal because the technology becomes outdated far faster than the cars themselves, which are lasting longer than ever. Add the lower cost, smaller size and augmented capabilities of aftermarket GPS units, and we’d have to think that current built-in nav systems may need to adapt. Which method sounds right to you?

Posted in: GM