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I didn't know this but evidently on the 2012 Chevy Equinox and 2012 GMC Terrain, a NAV screen with multiple functions is now standard? Can anyone confirm this? Dad called my office while he was looking at vehicles and wanted me to pull up some info about different ones- he mentioned those two he looked at had standard LCD screens in the dash.
Is this becoming the norm? Soon are most vehicles, except the very basic ones, going to come equipped with multi-function screens?
As the price of LCD screens continues to drop it actually is becoming more expensive to have two separate radio systems. One touchscreen based, the other a traditional radio with buttons. I believe the Equinox and the Terrain now come standard with LCD screens on all trims. Others are following in the same direction and I think the next Malibu will be all LCD as well.
In terms of Nav, this can be a bit misleading. Of course LCD does not equal nav, but GM adds another layer of complexity. If you have a GM vehicle you could have two different versions of navigation. One is the traditional vehicle based nav system built in to the car. The other is the OnStar nav system. If you have OnStar nav on one of the LCD equipped models it will display a map and the directions like a regular nav system but you can't interface directly with it.
So, one could argue that all GM's will come with nav very soon as all models will soon have LCD radios and they all come with OnStar nav free for 3-12 months.
I just purchased a new car last week. I looked only at compacts and subcompacts. It was an option on virtually every car and standard in many on higher trims.
Cars I looked at:
Honda Fit
Nissan Juke
Ford Focus
VW Golf
Mazda 3
Mazda 2
Ford Fiesta
I ended up with a Ford Focus, it is the most techy car in that class. The car computer also has voice commands. I did not see this in other cars I looked at, but I didn't test out the navigation in each of these, but I saw it in the option list.
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In the case of the Terrain, they have 4 trim levels. I quickly looked at the base model and it was listed as a option. I'm guessing that's pretty much across the board as the base model looks like you have 3 choices to fit in the hole.
PS: Just looked and the top trim model and it's also shown as a option.
I hope they don't become standard because its another excuse to keep the car prices high. I'd rather have a $100 Garmin that does everything I need and I can move from vehicle to vehicle than have the "cool luxury look" with it being right in the vehicle.
I hope they don't become standard because its another excuse to keep the car prices high. I'd rather have a $100 Garmin that does everything I need and I can move from vehicle to vehicle than have the "cool luxury look" with it being right in the vehicle.
For me, I only have one car. And the screen placement with the built in is much better than where the garmin would go. If I am in another car, I'll just use my cell phone.
My car also adds it to the lcd screen with the trip computer next to the speedometer. It also puts the details for the next turn/direction into the window.
I think the built in navigation is a better experience for the driver.
I hope they don't become standard because its another excuse to keep the car prices high. I'd rather have a $100 Garmin that does everything I need and I can move from vehicle to vehicle than have the "cool luxury look" with it being right in the vehicle.
High? I actually think new car prices are reasonable if you're talking about mainstream brands. For the amount of features/conveniences new vehicles are offering, the prices have stayed fairly stagnant over the past few years.
You can get new, compact cars for less than $20K fairly well equipped. You can get small SUV's for the mid $20K's. You can buy a nice large SUV/Truck for the mid $30K's.
The Terrain that my parents looked at was around $30K fully-loaded with all the bells and whistles. The Equinox was a little less I believe. They're looking at a Caddy SRX in the mid $40K's with everything on it.
I really don't feel these prices are high at all, I remember 10 years ago cars didn't have nearly the amount of "STUFF" on them but prices weren't much lower than today.
High? I actually think new car prices are reasonable if you're talking about mainstream brands. For the amount of features/conveniences new vehicles are offering, the prices have stayed fairly stagnant over the past few years. .
Prices seem to have gone up a lot the past three years or so. I bought a Saturn Aura in early '07, not a single option on the list, MSRP about $21K with destination. Went to look at a new one in '09 as I thought mine was going to be totaled (kinda wish it was in hindsight) and to get one more or less the same was about $5K more. The V6 standard in '07 was optional in '09 and the only real difference in equipment was stability control.
Also, in the last year or so, the average discount per car has fallen quite a bit. That is definitely noticeable in car ads. As for the amount of stuff in them, I really don't want any of it. I'd cheerfully give up alloy wheels, keyless everything, and Stync (I mean, Sync) for a $1000 lower price. All I want is AT, AC, ABS, DRLs, and a CD player, hopefully with a real tuning knob. Those big screens in the dashboard are too complicated to play with while driving, along with all those features they have in them.
Prices seem to have gone up a lot the past three years or so. I bought a Saturn Aura in early '07, not a single option on the list, MSRP about $21K with destination. Went to look at a new one in '09 as I thought mine was going to be totaled (kinda wish it was in hindsight) and to get one more or less the same was about $5K more. The V6 standard in '07 was optional in '09 and the only real difference in equipment was stability control.
Your '07 had the old GM 3.5L as the standard engine. The '09's had a standard I4, same as the Malibu and the V6 was the newer 3.6L first used in the Cadillac CTS and was optional on the Aura in 2007 on the XR trim. It made about 70hp more than the 3.5L and got better MPG. What you were basically doing was comparing an entry level Saturn Aura XE in 2007 to what was basically the next model up, the Aura XR in 2009. The XR also came with a higher standard equipment load. The base XE was the same price in 2009 that it was in 2007, but had an I4 instead of the V6, though the I4 makes almost the same power and was also bundled with a much more advanced 6 speed transmission.
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Also, in the last year or so, the average discount per car has fallen quite a bit. That is definitely noticeable in car ads. As for the amount of stuff in them, I really don't want any of it. I'd cheerfully give up alloy wheels, keyless everything, and Stync (I mean, Sync) for a $1000 lower price. All I want is AT, AC, ABS, DRLs, and a CD player, hopefully with a real tuning knob. Those big screens in the dashboard are too complicated to play with while driving, along with all those features they have in them.
You are correct that average transaction prices have increased, but the actual MSRP's have stayed relatively stable. Blame production that is actually based on demand. If anything it is a positive sign for the industry that they don't need to lump $5k on the hood of every car to sell them.
If you want the basics, you can still get them in basic vehicles. However, as more and more people pick the higher equipment levels, it is actually cheaper for the manufacturers to make the "options" standard. Look at things like power locks and windows. They used to be options, but as more and more people bought them it was simply more profitable to make it standard on all models then it was to produce a version with cranks and manual locks.
In the case of the Terrain, they have 4 trim levels. I quickly looked at the base model and it was listed as a option. I'm guessing that's pretty much across the board as the base model looks like you have 3 choices to fit in the hole.
PS: Just looked and the top trim model and it's also shown as a option.
GM is using the same head unit on all the vehicles. The reason it is shown as an option is that you basically have three choices:
1. Activate the built-in nav feature into the head unit.
2. Use OnStar turn-by-turn nav.
3. No nav.
If you select to have nav as an option, they activate the built in nav in the system, but it's the same head unit. If you forego that, you can still get nav (with maps and directions displayed) by subscribing to the OnStar service. If you go with none of that, you basically just have a LCD radio screen.
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