Autoblog

The satellite radio option is about as common in new cars as the near-omnipresent AUX jack for portable music devices. You can argue that the presence of the latter essentially eliminates the need for the former, but some people like being able to tune in to a radio station where there's the outside chance of hearing songs they may not necessarily own yet. Most luxury marques, from Audi to Rolls-Royce, already have the satellite base covered. So it was a bit of a surprise to learn that Ferrari hadn't gotten into the game. That's over though, as Modena has selected XM as its extra-terrestrial radio provider of choice. The first car to get it is the 612 Scaglietti, which is fine and all, but we can't figure out why anyone would want yet another audio source to compete with the sweet music made by the car's V12. At least the NavTraffic feature can help keep the Ferrari on roads whose conditions allow it to maintain a proper pace.

[Source: XM Radio]

In a gesture of unwavering generosity, Cadillac announced yesterday that select 2007 models would come equipped with free satellite navigation. The offer will end on January 2nd 2007 and is only available on "specially-equipped" models.

What directional joys await those of you willing to drop the coin on a new Caddy? It's pretty much the standard navigation fare, with a dash-mounted LCD displaying turn-by-turn directions, with the option of a sultry vixen barking orders at you if you make a wrong move (some don't need a sat-nav for that). Other standard features include an address finder, a business search and, for those of you willing to upgrade to XM, NavTraffic, that provides real-time traffic reporting.

The free navi will be only available on 2007 models and we haven't found out the meaning of "specially-equipped" yet, but we'll call our local dealer today.

[Source: Cadillac via GM Inside News]