Toyota and TomTom Team Up for GPS Unit - September 12th, 2007
Lots of automotive news has been coming out of the Frankfurt auto show in the past few days. An interesting announcement is a partnership between Toyota and TomTom to embed a portable navigation device into the radio stystem on the Yaris.
From what we’ve been able to glean, there’s a port in the dash with connectors that hook the unit into the car’s speaker system and draw power from the battery. The removable navigation unit can be updated when a newer unit is available. Bluetooth is included so that handsfree operation is an option. (Depending on how easily the unit can be removed, this also has significant theft-reduction potential.)
Putting this in the Yaris is on the one-hand a strange choice but also a boon for folks needing to get in on the lower end of the car buying experience. The 2008 Yaris has an MSRP of $12,175 and is powered by a 1.5-liter I4 with a five-speed manual transmission. The engine chugs out around 106 horsepower.
Certainly the presence of GPS navigation is becoming ubiquitous in the family car. The fact that Toyota is willing to target one of its lower end offerings for use with the TomTom unit proves that and hints at the same kind of flexible navigation system appearing higher up in the Toyota stable in the future.
Posted on September 12th, 2007 by Shorty
Filed under: technology |
Hi ! I’m here from Michele’s and a little out of my depth. Randall Sherman - yesterday - sent me a you tube thingy by Harrry Enfield about a lady driving a car in the fifties which illustrates my competence in all things techie. Ah well!