Filed under: Gadgets, Tech, BMW
BMW equips cars with free Real Time Traffic Information
BMW announced today it would be equipping select 2007 models with Real Time Traffic Information. Provided by Clear Channel's Total Traffic Network to 44 major American cities, the service will be available on the 3-, 5-, and 6-Series models, as well as the X5, M5 and M6. What's more, it's free for four years with the cost of the navigation system.
BMW also claims the system will be the first sold in the U.S. that offers dynamic rerouting on the navigation system. We wanted to double check that statement so we checked with Acura, which was one of the first automakers to offer real-time traffic info, and indeed Acura's system on the RL will not reroute a path for the driver when traffic is encountered.
[Source: BMW]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
FikseGTS 11:11AM (9/07/2006)
they don't offer this on the 7 series??
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JayHovah 11:12AM (9/07/2006)
Garmin 2730's will re-route due to traffic. Of course this is aftermarket.
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M. Rod Von Hugenstein 11:28AM (9/07/2006)
Very cool. Even the aftermarket Garmin system is huge leap forward. I can't wait for they day when this kind of system is standard in a car that I can afford, or at least a car that my wife let's me buy.......
Don't get married kids.
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Dave T. 11:32AM (9/07/2006)
nada on the 7 series. I'm guessing it'll wait for the refresh.
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Meek 12:39PM (9/07/2006)
Get a monster truck, it will reroute traffic around you, or under you.
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Tankstelle 12:54PM (9/07/2006)
I know the circle on that map all too well.
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Jon 1:02PM (9/07/2006)
Great feature--too bad you have to have iDrive to get it.
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Dan 550i 2:56PM (9/07/2006)
I don't know what's worse, that this guy is coming in from Jersey, or that he's listening to 103.5 KTU the "Beat of New York". They must love dance music over at BMW.
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Steve 4:42PM (9/07/2006)
Big deal, there are already aftermarket systems on the market that do this, cost less than half what the OEMs charge for built-in systems, and can be taken in your other car or to your next car when it's time to trade.
I predict that in 5 years we'll look at cars with built-in navigation systems the way we look at cars from the 1980s with built in phones... we'll just laugh at the quaint technology and the stupid prices people paid to be first on the block.
From what I've seen, the built in systems make the use of auxiliary controls like radio and A/C more complicated than they need to be. This alone is a big turn off for me.
For grins, I looked at KBB for used car values for cars with and without nav. I picked an '05 Acura TL and found that they only add $500 to the value of a trade with nav vs. the same car without it. Not a great value based on the $2k it costs as an option. I'd rather spend $800 on the best portable nav system than $1,500 in depreciation for one that disappears when I sell the car.
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Son of Dat 5:07PM (9/07/2006)
What about the 07 G35?
Will it reroute around traffic?
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Dan 6:59PM (9/07/2006)
The latest issue of Lexus magazine indicates that the 2007 Lexus LS 460, which will be released later this year, will feature XM NavTraffic WITH DYNAMIC REROUTING. The article states that should traffic conditions change, the navigation system offers the reroute option to avoid congested areas.
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Steve J 7:09PM (9/07/2006)
My Garmin c550 has this feature, with Clear Channel's service. Despite the name, it is *not* real time. The service does seem to catch heavy traffic at the beginning quite accurately, but it takes forever to clear out. I've found it showing heavy traffic that has cleared out long ago. It needs to show both ends of a traffic jam accurately, and it just doesn't do that.
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Dan 7:15PM (9/07/2006)
Just to confirm: the Lexus LS 460 will offer NavTraffic with dynamic rerouting features in 2006.
"Many of the options for the normal wheelbase LS460 will be standard on the LS460 L, including: a GPS navigation system, power open & close trunk lid, four-zone automatic climate control with overhead diffuser and XM Satellite Radio with real-time traffic displays and dynamic rerouting."
From http://www.familycar.com/RoadTests/LexusLS460/
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David Baxtin 12:31AM (9/08/2006)
XM is not free
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Kevin 2:07AM (9/08/2006)
First?
Didn't the Acura RL include this feature two years ago?
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Mills 6:32AM (9/08/2006)
Do the USA Porsche's not have this on the PCM module ? I've had this on mine for nearly a year and I've gotta say that it's saved me from being late sooo many times.
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Argelius 6:38AM (9/08/2006)
I just bought a 2006 330xi with Nav -- is this something that can be "retrofitted"?
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beanspants1 5:50PM (9/08/2006)
how could this even work? if there's a big traffic jam ahead, all the people who know of alternate routes and could get to them from the main route will have blocked them up, making them as slow as the main route.
you can also get the traffic info for free on mobile internet from google, but its pretty much worthless for the reason above. who cares if the main road is @ 20 mph avg, when the side roads are the slower due to lights and congestion...
they also report traffic only on main roads that have the monitoring stuff attached, which isn't much now, but should be more in the future. this is one of those systems where it doesn't really pay to be an early adopter.
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Brian Croner 1:56AM (9/09/2006)
If they bribed our government to continue to allow traffic conditions remain ridiculously congested, and accepted the amount of the bribes from the toll road companies (minus a bribe profit for themselves), they could get even richer with this technology by further enforcing the need to find new ways to get home after a hard day's work. Any oil companies want to play ball on this one? I'm sure there's something in it for you, too. Just an idea.
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john 3:18PM (10/16/2006)
i was wondering when it will be available for the 335i.
cuz i need to get that car but i need the real time traffic.
anybody kno?? please post. thanks
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