Looking for a restaurant, a gas station, a hotel, or directions? There's an in-car navigation system that can help you. If you want to know what the weather ahead is like, or exactly which lane is closed in an accident, or where the earth has a tendency to split in two, then you need to buy a Honda Fit in Japan.
Honda's new navi system will also warn drivers of heavy rainfall with exclamation points on the display. The automaker provides the service for free, but the system is updated via data transmission over a mobile phone, for which the mobile service carrier charges. As for tremors, when you enter an area prone to earthquakes, the system will send an e-mail to a pre-assigned address to let you know. There's also no more changing discs with the map system -- new maps can be downloaded in just a few minutes. The system can also communicate with other cars on the road to let you know about specific things like lane closures.
[Source: International Herald Tribune]
