When I 1st got my 2010 RX450h it had taken such a leap in technology it's like you said, no way the dealer can insert all the capability into your head in an hour (or less). It came with with 5 separate manuals that helped me get to sleep at night . And I spent quite a bit of time in the driveway and garage going page by page through some of the newer and more technical stuff the operator can do and set. It reminded me even as a crew-member of going to school to learn new cockpit features. At least now I'm sure the manuals will be available in PDF format at least weeks before my new love 'Shirley' arrives. And from what I've already seen the technical side of the dash will be a match for cars of any price. To say I'm really excited and anxious aren't words that describe my feelings adequately enough.

 

... and almost all the comments here make sense!

 

Quite the opposite. Looks like a nintendo game from the 90's.

 

Have you actually seen the interior in person? I have and those screens are so clear and crisp I assure you it looks nothing like a Nintendo.

I can say, there is no way a dealer is going to be able to teach a customer how to use all the functionality built into the dash. Not sure how GM is going to go about showing all the functionality.

I would think it would be cool to have a youtube channel just for showing how to do stuff with the dash technology.

 

Yes I have.

 

I've been a lot of places, some very new, and the NAV system in my 2010 C6 has always worked. In fact it worked great. It has never gotten me lost, and it has never failed to find a place, even if it was new (at least I thought it was new).

So all this time I've been assuming that it updated automatically when it was in sight of a satellite. So, now that I learn all this from this board, I'll have to admit that apparently, I am a dummy. But fortunately for me, it has not mattered.

 

And I'm so happy people like you still have your older C6's to drive.

Thank God.. GM finally moved the technology forward in this car. In case you havent noticed. Most new supercars have high resolution, digital, touchscreen dashes. Glad to see GM running at the front of the pack, instead of hanging in the back.

 

I was saying that because most people are financing this car.. how much money are they really saving by not choosing the $795 NAV option. My guess would be about $5 a month off the monthly car payment.

 

Glad you feel that way. It's only one year old and the Kenwood nav I'm putting in will blow the My LINK out of the water no problem. The My LINK is outdated compared to the Kenwood at roughly the same price.

 

This thread has gotten me thinking... I know there are some really nice, better aftermarket solutions for the C6, and I'm wondering how long it will take before some better alternatives are released for the C7 and how they will differ? While the Nav in our GS and C6 have been sufficient, they certainly are lacking to certain extents. The list of POI data, in particular, is nearly useless based on the few times I've actually tried to use it.

I'll be very interested to see what comes to market and will give this careful consideration when we order ours next year.

 

One of the things I like most about the tech in the C7 is that the MyLink apps & software is that it is designed to work very much like a smartphone or tablet. If you've used an iPhone or iPad (or similar device).. then you will be able to figure out how to use the touchscreen interface in the C7.

Thats not to say previous touch based systems like Ford's MyTouch & Cadillac's CUE hasnt been poorly rated and very difficult to use. They were slow, complicated, clunky systems that lacked physical ***** for quick/common adjustments (like radio volume) and were almost impossible to use while driving. Even "techies" like myself had a hard time figuring out these systems.

The most current touch based systems have focused on similar system navigation, friendlier user interfaces and making sure physical ***** have returned for quick/common adjustments. GM has had quite a while to "dial-in" their touchscreen experience (pun intended!) Mercedes has refined their Command system, BMW has refined its iDrive, Audi its MMI. Even the last Dodge rental car I drove (2012 Challenger) had a wonderfully simple and impressive touchscreen interface.

Expect the user interaction to be much better on 2014 vehicles like the C7.. than what technology was like when it first showed up on cars enjoy 5 years ago.

 

Looks like this system finally caught up with my 2008 Acura TL. My system has all of that and maybe a few more.

 

When my Gen III RX450h came out with the mouse like control it initially had as much bad press as good press. But the people talking bad only used one for a short test rather than owned one and got to know it. Like anything it has positives and negatives but I've grown used to it and can use the 'haptic' touch controller and place the arrow on any icon I want with only minimal distraction. I have to wonder how easy it's going to be on the C7 with my right hand multitasking between grabbing gears and punching icons in a bouncing car. But I'm sure I get it figured out. Should help keep the left side of my brain working while the right side is doing the driving .

I think I read in the 2014 Impala instruction manual that if your iPhone/Android has Pandora, it automatically places the icon on the screen and works as if it's your smart phone. Now that could be pretty kool.

 

You mean the same Kenwood NAV that has been working on C6 HUD integration for the past 3 years.. and its still not available yet? While the factory navigation system available in the C6 is horribly dated, it has seemlessly intergrated with the C6 HUD since 2004, when the 2005 C6 was first introduced. HUD integration is the best use of NAV instructions, because it means you never have to take your eyes off the road to see the instructions. Easier directions and less chance of causing an accident because you were looking down at your console trying to decipher a map while driving. Besides.. if I wanted to look down at a screen for NAV instructions, then I could just use my smartphone.

Neither the C6, nor the Kenwood NAV headunits are news to me. I've researched C6 NAV & headunit options for about four years now and never felt impressed enough by what the aftermarket has put those solutions in my car. The Garmin navigation in the Kenwood units is one of the better systems on the market, and can able to locate/direct much better than other aftermarket NAVs. But the interface on the Kenwood units is slow, clunky & still using very low resolution graphics. They really do look like something from a 90's Nintendo game. The picture below shows exactly what I mean:



I also looked into Pioneer NAV/headunit offerings which do have a smoother, prettier and higher resolution interface. Pioneer also has better smartphone integration & the ability to mirror/remote control some applications off my iPhone. But to get everything working there are still way too many adapters, cables, add-ons needed. (Bluetooth, Handsfree mic, voice navigation input, GPS antenna, clunky iPhone cable). Even then the solution is not stable and many people run into problems later when features stop working on the car.

Trust me. Having a choice of any available aftermarket solution in my C6 or 2014 MyLink. I'd still take the MyLink every time. Which is exactly why I said instead of spending $2K to upgrade to touchscreen NAV in my C6.. I'll just use that $2K towards upgrading the entire car to a C7.

 

You should have someone record the seminar and post it on YouTube as a reference, much like "Corvette Blogger" did with the April Bash seminars. Hopefully, GM will upload some useful video on their sites as well.

Agree on all points. The NAV is relatively inexpensive but the real money is in the updates. Cadillac charges $200 for every upgrade, through a self install DVD.

 

Good rebuttal. Red2012 is trolling as usual.

 

That was true for the prior Cadillacs but not the newest ones like my XTS. The updates so far have been done at the dealer presumably through one of the USB ports and at no charge. There is no DVD as there was in the STS. I expect the C7 to be similar (at least while under warranty).

 

The Kenwood is a great HU (I have one in each of my GM vehicles) but it's not going to integrate with your Corvette as well as a factory-installed unit will. Ignoring the useless HUD navigation, there's still the problem with adapters. You need lot of them for the Kenwood to work properly with the Bose, OnStar, door chime, and steering wheel controls of your car.

All of those adapters can and do break. Been there, done that.

Further, without perfect integration with the car, the navigation part of the HU will, at times, need to "Find the Satellite". If you're lucky, it'll take a second or two. If you're not so lucky: several minutes. This type of thing doesn't happen with factory systems.

As I said, the Kenny is a great HU when comparing it to the garbage that comes OEM in the C6. Trying to compare it to the OEM system in the C7 is ridiculous. Since the *Link APIs are publicly available, it doesn't take a developer much effort at all to integrate his or her iPhone or Android application with it. That means perfect on-screen controls for any application that can take advantage of the APIs. Nothing like that is available for the Kenny.

 

Chevrolet and BMW has inspired Garmin to provide a good answer with their HUD.
See this link for the information:

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7...ur-windshield/

They have been listening to us!

 

About time! This is what one would expect when purchasing a luxury brand. Let's hope this policy "trickles down" to the Chevrolet division.