Gentleman, we can rebuild it. ... Better, stronger, faster. Garmin has done that and more 
Wayne Gerdes -
CleanMPG - Sept. 9, 2012
Chrysler’s Uconnect partnered with Garmin to bring Uconnect owners the most advanced navigation system available within the confines of an automobile. Specifically designed for drivers, the Garmin navigation software displayed via the Uconnect’s 8.4 in touchscreen ensures that you will enjoy the drive and never worry about how you are going to get there.
Garmin is currently my personal favorite navigation system including both portable and OEM embedded systems. And the next generation built into 2013 Model Year Chrysler and Dodge vehicles is even better.
The new Garmin solution is part of the Chrysler Uconnect 8.4N infotainment system and includes several new features and enhancements. It is available for 2013 model year Chrysler 300, Dodge Journey, Charger and Dart vehicles (offered standard on some models and optional on others). New features include 3D buildings and terrain views, improved traffic and routing functionalities, a refined user interface with enhanced colors and themes that are consistent with each vehicle brand and junction views that now cover more than 60,000 intersections across the U.S., among other enhancements.
New features- 3D Buildings, Landmarks and Terrain - Realistic 3D views of buildings and key landmarks throughout major U.S. cities provide drivers better orientation. Using topographic map data, the new Garmin system also displays 3D terrain views of landscape elevations, helping drivers to see what lies ahead.
- New, Customized User Interface - Garmin introduces a new color configuration and design of its user interface that is customized to Chrysler and Dodge vehicles and provides a more refined look and feel.
- Trip Planner, myTrends and Multi-Route View - A new Trip Planner feature allows users to easily plan trips with multiple stops, view routes in an overview screen and edit destinations at any time. myTrends automatically remembers frequent and favorite route destinations based on driving habits and predicts them at certain days and times without the user needing to enter an address. When starting a trip, the new Multi-Route View displays route options, such as fastest and shortest, in one convenient overview map, including time and distance for each, so users can pick their preferred route.
- New Routing Features and Enhancements - Garmin’s new navigation system includes a couple of new features that improve routing. TrafficTrends predicts traffic conditions and recommends routes using historical traffic data and recurring trends at any given time or day. Garmin’s new point addressing technology enhances routing accuracy, for example, where several addresses of a housing complex are combined into a group of house numbers. The new system can now identify each individual house number and navigate there. Additionally, Garmin significantly improved the routing algorithms to provide even faster route calculations and destination searches.
- Broader Junction View Coverage - Garmin’s exclusive junction view database now includes nearly 60,000 junction views in the U.S. and Canada, 25 times more than in previous versions. photoReal Junction View realistically displays road signs and junctions along the route with photographic detail to clearly mark the correct lane to be in for interchanges and exits. – I have experienced it firsthand it and it provides the easiest comprehension and displays like no other NAVI I have ever used.
Garmin Navigation for Uconnect is all Garmin placed into the dash. The navigator includes highly detailed maps of the US, Canada, and Mexico with more than eight million points of interest, as well as many cutting-edge features found in the newest Garmin devices.
Spoken turn-by-turn directions, one-shot address entry via voice command, lane assistance, junction views, speed limit and current speed, a trip computer and mileage log as well as customized vehicle icons that looks like a Chrysler or Dodge vehicle are but a few of the basic and advanced features.
In addition to displaying the navigation interface and maps on the in-dash screen, the system also makes use of a second display, positioned behind the steering wheel, to easily let the driver see important information, such as next turn, at a glance.
Garmin’s in-car navigation in the Dodge Charger was recognized as “Highest Customer Satisfaction with Factory Installed Navigation Systems” in the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S. Navigation Usage and Satisfaction Study.
If you have not seen the Garmin system in a Chrysler product lately, you are in for a really nice surprise. Unless of course you own a competitors system and not only paid too much but lack the usability and functionality of those driving Chrysler’s? The Garmin based Uconnect makes my Alpine based Honda Navigation system look and feel as if it came out of the stone ages.
Linear Mode
